If you look at the numbers, you’ll notice that it took six years for Mission Impossible III to get released. Tom Cruise may have been busy with other projects, but what really held them from making another film was how bad the previous movie had been.
The reason why MI III works is the brilliant acting of the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman. As one of his biggest critics, I can only stand to watch him in a few performances, this being one of them.
When you also factor in the excellent performance from Michelle Monaghan, you have the pieces in place to revive a franchise and provide us with the entertainment we expected from the first one.
The supporting cast is excellent in this film. Those names include Ving Rhines, Laurence Fishbourne, and Billy Cupdup. Thanks to a better script, their characters were able to handle double-crosses, and the blame game as the agency implodes around them.
There will always be internal and external drama in these spy movies, it’s what keeps the intensity alive. Our heroes have to deal with enemies in the real world and friends that turn into enemies. Misdirection plays a vital role in these movies because just when you think you know the bad guy, it’s someone else.
I enjoyed MI III a tad bit better than the second film, but both failed to live up to the original. Thankfully the franchise took off from here, not only in terms of stunts but financially too. Things got so good after this one, they can’t stop making them now! 5/10
Ten Stars or Less 