Review of Mission: Impossible III (2006) by Ashton L — 22 May 2018

The first Mission Impossible was a great spy movie with a nice balance of cheesy 90's action and story twists that kept you engaged and thinking throughout. The second turned the cheesiness up to 11 and failed to capture me like the first.

Given this information, my expectations for the third were mild at best hoping that the trilogy didn't die a harsh death (granted to be revived in force later). I was pleasantly surprised at how gripping and immersed I was with this film.

The movie has one of those old "cold openings" which I usually despise because it takes tension away from the movie until we get up to that point. I still don't like the idea, but with this movie it forces you to still pay attention to details so you understand the dramatic twists that happen once the cold opening is returned too.

It's also a beautiful film with J.J. Abram's special flare (pun intended). I cared more about the romance in this film than the last which isn't saying much but is an improvement nonetheless.

Tom Cruise's acting in this movie might be the best so far in the original trilogy. The film is overall much darker which gripped me as the last movie is a far cry from this. They also do not use the Mission Impossible tropes as much in this one as opposed to the last which overused them to death.

When they happen here, it always works. This might be my favorite so far in the original trilogy. I have high hopes for Ghost Protocol since many hail it as the best in the series thus far.