MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 Film Review - 11/5/06

Tom Cruise goes into overdrive in this sequel with very strong support from Laurence Fishburne, Billy Crudup and Ving Rhames. Firmly backed in the acting stakes with a fine performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman and featuring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and a nice cameo from Simon Pegg, we also get Michelle Monaghan, Keri Russell and Maggie Q. Even Greg Grunberg from TV's "Alias" gets a cameo. As for the story and plot - Well lots of bangs and explosions, stunts and car chases but it isn't anything new - a passable action film to watch and that's about it! I would say that a couple of the set pieces did have me on the edge of my seat - But a bit hard to sustain that over a two-hour film. The aerial sequence in Shanghai being a pretty good stand-out moment flying from building to building.

Director J.J. Abrams fresh from TV's "Lost" tries to add his "Alias" realism to this massive production but does not seem to pull it off leaving it all feeling a little flat - There are several emotional threads that get plucked and a clever title sequence that pulls you in but I wouldn't rush out to buy this for my DVD collection when available. I'm sure it will do sterling business at the cinema and rake in a huge amount of cash due to the story and the stars.