Summer Review #1 -- Mission: Impossible III

And we are off! Another summer movie season has started. The first official blockbuster, M:I3, is a cinematic piña colada, replete with explosions, acrobatics, femme fatales and exotic locales. As a summer movie, it is a treat; as an action piece, it is a 100% adrenaline event; as a film, however, it is pretty average.


**POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD**


Tom Cruise does his superstar thing as IMF agent Ethan Hunt, on the trail of a psychotic arms dealer (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) who, in turn, is hunting down a certain artifact/virus/biowhatever, cryptically called the Rabbit's Foot. This time the stakes are even higher for Hunt, considering that he is about to settle into domestic bliss with an ingenuous nurse (Michelle Monaghan), while at the same time trying to keep his secret identity from her. Enter Hunt's team, consisting of computer genius Luther, explosives expert Zhen and transport man Declan (Ving Rhames, Maggie Q and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, respectively), and you get a respectable dose of blow-'em-up coolness. It is a fun watch, with a likeable cast and some truly original scenes -- the Vatican and Shanghai scenes come to mind -- but it feels disjointed and incomplete. I was not particularly impressed with J.J. Abrams' directorial style, since I felt that he would often allow the action sequences to replace or overshadow the story elements. I would have also wanted to see more of the villain(s?), who seem to have been mere spices in the story and whose backgrounds would have been interesting to know about. Overall, I do not think I should have held my breath for the movie, but I am glad I saw M:I3 on the big screen, since I do not think DVD does justice to stunts and special effects. Besides, I believe that action is the official summer flavor, and M:I3 has it in spades. What more can you ask for?

7/10