After watching “Mission: Impossible II” (2000) in theaters soon after its release date of May 24, 2000, I decided not to see anymore then promised to return once the franchise was on its last film. Time to pay the piper and (re)watch the existing entire franchise, seven movies, before “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” (2025) is released on May 23, 2025 (or more specifically before my screening on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. First, “A Minecraft Movie” (2025) and now this! What I do for the love of the game! I’m probably the only person not into this franchise.
“Mission: Impossible III” (2006) is the third of eight movies that reboot the television series. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) left the field for a normal life and settled for being a trainer. When one of his former trainees goes missing while tracking a black-market dealer, Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Ethan gets back in the game, which puts his civilian significant other, Julia (Michelle Monaghan), in danger. Will Ethan be able to complete the mission and save Julia?
“Mission: Impossible III” feels like a direct continuation of “Mission: Impossible” (1996) and would have made a better first film. As a sequel to “Mission: Impossible II,” the measuring stick, the action is mid, and it feels as if this movie pretends it never existed. Cruise goes from free soloing off a mountain to jumping off a high wall at the Vatican. At least this Ethan is not such an amateur in comparison to his first appearance, and the story explains why he has lost a step. He got soft and fell in love. Monaghan does a good job playing the kind of woman that farm boy turned adventurer Ethan from the first movie would fall in love with but compared to the sparks with Ethan 2.0 and Nyah (Thandiwe Newton), it is settling for an idealized version of wholesome life for an agent who wants the quiet life but keeps getting sucked in and jumps at the slightest opportunity.
“Mission: Impossible III” does succeed at balancing the team dynamic of the original television series and a Cruise action blockbuster. Director and cowriter J.J. Abrams and cowriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci emphasize the unified team dynamic unlike the preceding films. Luther (Ving Rhames) is back, and he is the group’s conscience, but the filmmakers make him do the dumbest thing, which puts Julia in danger so one demerit to them. At their best, they are “Alias” and at their worst, they are “Lost,” which is in the top two disappointing television series finales vying with “Game of Thrones” for the lead. They are a success staple to reboot franchises but are far from John Woo visionaries.
Maggie Q plays a fellow field agent Zhen. In the first season of “Nikita,” Maggie Q convincingly played an agent who could do what Ethan could not: get free of chains and handcuffs attached to the ceiling then kick asses of a building full of baby assassins. She never gets a comparable fight scene and is sexualized a bit, but at least she does not turn into a damsel in distress like most of the preceding women agents. Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays another field agent, Declan, and “Mission: Impossible III” gives a flash of shirtless Meyers, but never permit him to hit maximum levels of sexiness because then viewers may forget that Cruise exists. Both are underutilized and somewhat forgettable, but compared to the first team, they are doing great. Simon Pegg gets introduced to the franchise as Scotty, I mean Benji Dunn, and if you are not familiar with Pegg, you would never predict that he would play a larger role in the future.
If “Mission: Impossible III” is memorable, it is because of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman plays Davian as a world-weary bad guy who is bored with luxury, is utterly unperturbed at the prospect of getting caught and tortured and wakes up mildly annoyed ready to kill anyone who threatens to inconvenience him. If Vincent D’Onofrio was smaller, he could compete with Hoffman for the role just like in a perfect world, if Hoffman was still alive and larger, he would give D’Onofrio a run for his money in an audition for Kingpin. Hoffman really leans on the contempt that he showed in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” (1999). It is delicious watching him call Ethan on his BS and refuse to play his game. He also gave Ethan a run for his money in a fight and was convincing as a bruiser. After Hoffman died, I’ve always meant to watch every movie that Hoffman has ever been in, so this was going to happen one way or another.
The second most memorable actor in “Mission: Impossible III” is Keri Russell, who plays former trainee and field agent, Lindsey Farris. Russell is no stranger to playing secret agents after her performance as a Russian spy in “The Americans.” If actors ever get to sue for not having a big enough role and could take center stage, Russell would be first in line. She matches Cruise’s moves beat for beat, and he has been doing this crap forever. It was cool to finally see a woman agent show that she was capable of physical confrontation in the franchise.
“Mission: Impossible III” is also notable for being the first time that the movie reveals how those silicone masks get made, and the voices get imitated. It is the best logistical spy sequence because at some point, Hoffman must do Cruise moves, but in Hoffman’s body. Please note that they did not make a silicone stomach, but who needs logic in movies like this. Do not take that note as slander. If I had to choose between Hoffman and Cruise, I’m choosing Hoffman every time.
The power struggle in the Impossible Missions Force (“IMF”) is between Director Thedore Brassel (Laurence Fishburne), a calm hard ass, and Operation Manager John Musgrave (Billy Crudup), who appears to be close to Ethan and willing to tolerate his shenanigans. Fishburne does his job but is not at maximum presence. They disagree over whether to trust Ethan. If you watch too many movies, you will predict who comes out on top. Two out of three movies in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise is predicated on Ethan being wanted. I hate it in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I hate it here. Having the protagonist as a top suspect is such an overrated, overused trope. Ethan, why are you still working for them? IMF, why do, you keep hiring him. It is dumb.
“Mission: Impossible III” gets points taken away because “Rabbit’s Foot” is never defined. The stakes are Ethan’s ability to have a relationship and not get his woman killed. Buddy, that sounds like a you problem that my theoretical movie tax dollars should not be funding. The first movie had the lives of all Non-Official Cover agents on the line. The second had the threat of a pandemic. The third……they could not think of anything. It is “Lost” all over again. These guys are not closers. Oh no, I hope the villain does not get a dainty wooden briefcase. Ugh. Benji says it could be a piece of technology can destroy all life or some such nonsense, but Schrödinger’s threat called, and it is dead.
“Mission: Impossible III” is a solid movie but comes in second place after watching three of the eight movies. At least it finally moves away from the woman spy as sex worker trope and marks the return of teamwork without shortchanging Cruise’s headliner status, but it is not the kind of movie that sets standards. “Mission: Impossible II” is still the best. Favorite Cruise films for context (not in a particular order or an exhaustive list): “Interview with the Vampire” (1994), “Magnolia” (1999), “Collateral” (2004) and “Edge of Tomorrow” (2014). To be fair, I tend to stay away from spending money on anyone who owns an island (among other reasons), but he is entertaining.
