Mission: Impossible 3

I somehow missed Mission Impossible 3 at the cinema so ended up renting this weekend. I had really been looking forward to this film, especially considering I was a big fan of MI:2. I have to be honest and say this film is nowhere near as good as the criminally underated MI:2 and for me it was a big disappointment.

The plot is sketchy at best, The Cruiser has hung up his special agent boots and is now with the IMF in a purely teaching capacity. He has also discovered domestic bliss and is happily hooked-up with his new wife. Sadly it all starts to go wrong when Cruise's protege is captured in the field and the IMF botch the rescue attempt.

This leads to the IMF going after the villains and a mysterious commodity called The Rabbits Foot which the bad guys need to hatch their dastardly plan.

My main problems stem from here, the film lacks a decent plot and it is all very formulaic. There is no intensity or tension built into it, no clever twists or even any decent villains. All we get are about 5 set-piece by the numbers big budget action sequences that are just okay and don't really serve the plot very well.

As in previous MI outings we have got to know the bad guys a little bit and seen them engage in some banter with Cruise, there is simply none of this. We don't really know the villains motives or anything about them which all leads to a rather contrived and led-ballonesque final showdown.

The grand finale is also ridiculous and anyone who has seen the 24 series 4 finale may feel a sure sense of deja vu. The difference is that 24 just about pulled it off, and the MI3 effort comes across as a cheap hustle.

Other complaints include the attempts at humour with Simon Pegg trying in vain to make a pants script almost workable. Sadly he can't pull it off though - if only they had managed to persuade Gervais.....

It's a real shame that this film is a letdown because all the elements were there to make it a great one. Despite having an excellent ensemble cast, they are barely used and Ving Rhames (previously a key member of the team) is reduced to nothing more than a cameo role. The same can be said of MI newcomers Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Laurence Fishbourne.

Mission Impossible 3 is directed by Lost creator JJ Abrams and you can see his stamp all over it, indeed much of the score sounds like it has come straight from 'The Island' and I half expected John Locke to pop up in a flashback adjusting his toupe while doing doughnuts in his VW Beetle.

My final complaint is the use of a 'Mole' in IMF. Again, another lazy idea nicked from 24 and again if you don't guess who The Mole is then you probably have tumbleweed between your ears.

All in all save for the odd action scene this film was a severe let down.

I watched Mission: Impossible 3 yesterday evening and, to be honest, got pretty much exactly as I expected.

The trailers of the film,suggested a third dose of similar medicine administered by MI-1 and 2.....action, and lots of Tom Cruise performing unbelievable acrobatics. MI-3 doesn't disappoint.

I won't go into the plot in detail, but in short Cruise is still with the IMF but has now hooked up with a new lady friend who believes he is a conventional working man.

During a party Cruise gets a call and is invited to save another operative who he trained. This goes the way off the pear and he is drawn into the bigger picture involving the films bad guy.

The plot unfolds, inolving much conspiracy theory at high levels and a secret item called the Rabbits Foot. You never find out what this is, but basically Cruise has to deliver it to the baddie to save his Mrs, who is ever so unexpectedly embroiled and kidnapped......surely not.

The film is packed full of action, chases, shoot outs, gizmos and stunts. As a visual experience it is great stuff and particularly good on the big screen. Cruise gets up to his usual antics and throws himself around from start to finish, while never suffering too much more than the standard blood trickle.

I found the film to be quite enjoyable. The story line has been kept quite simple so you can just enjoy the action without wondering how Mr X or Ms Y fitted in. If big budget action films are your thing, then this is a great film. Just don't expect too much variation from the MI theme.