Mission: Impossible III
By Jane Louise BoursawAverage User Rating:
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of frenetic violence and menace, disturbing images, and some sensuality.
The minute you hear that familiar Mission: Impossible music, you know you’re in for a wild ride, and this movie delivers on all counts. Whatever you think of Tom Cruise and his headline-grabbing shenanigans, he still knows how to make a great action thriller.
In this third installment of the TV show-turned-movie franchise, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) comes out of his comfy, safe job of training agents and goes back into the field to save a captured agent (Keri Russell). Backing Hunt is the crack team of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF): computer expert Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), transportation expert Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), and the versatile and glamorous Zhen (Maggie Q). Laurence Fishburne plays Agency director John Brassel, and Billy Crudup plays Hunt’s new boss, John Musgrave.
The bad guy -- and he’s really bad -- is Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a sadistic monster who sells high-end weapons to terrorists on the black market. In a daring plot to thwart Davian’s world-destruction plans, Hunt tracks him down and, following the plot of the first MI movie, must also also uncover a mole working inside the operation before they go after his new wife, Julia (Michelle Monaghan). Saving the woman he loves and the world? All in a day’s work for Ethan Hunt.
Directed by J.J. Abrams, the creator of Lost and Alias, this movie has some awesome stunts and action scenes, even if they are a little goofy at times. One scene is straight out of a Roadrunner cartoon. It helps if you check your brains at the door; otherwise, you’ll spend the entire two hours marveling at the ridiculous actions and motives of the characters.
What sets this movie apart from the first two is that this one delves into the interpersonal relationships among the IMF agents. Sure, it’s first and foremost an action flick, but it’s also a story about love and friendship. And if you think you have trouble balancing work and home life, try being a secret agent for a day.
This movie is sure to be the first blockbuster out of the gate this summer. It harks back to the best aspects of the original TV series -- a well-connected team of agents, a bold and heroic leader, some kick-butt stunts (done, as usual, by Cruise himself), and a twisty-turny plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
PRESCHOOLERS (ages 2-5): This movie is waaaayyyy too intense for preschoolers, so don't even think about taking them! For some preschool-friendly adventure, pop in a DVD of The Backyardigans, Nick Jr.’s animated series about five high-spirited preschoolers who rely on their vivid imaginations for fun. In “Secret Mission” (on The Snow Fort DVD), Pablo, Tyrone, and Uniqua turn secret agent to negotiate booby traps in a treasure museum, all to the beat of the tango and limbo.
GRADE-SCHOOLERS (ages 6 - 10): It’s always iffy trying to figure out whether a grade-schooler is ready for a movie like this. But the PG-13 rating says it all: intense sequences of frenetic violence and menace, disturbing images, and some sensuality. Not the best fare for grade-schoolers, even on the older side. Better suited for this age group are the Spy Kids, Agent Cody Banks movies or The Incredibles.
TWEEN/TEEN (ages 11+): For older kids who love action thrillers, this one delivers ten times over -- lots of wild stunts, high-tech gadgets, and explosions of every shape and size. And, of course, blood, sweat and tears galore. It also boasts a hip new version of the Mission Impossible theme we’re all so familiar with, this time by hip-hop mogul Kanye West.
Jane Louise Boursaw is a freelance journalist specializing in the movie and television industries.
In this third installment of the TV show-turned-movie franchise, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) comes out of his comfy, safe job of training agents and goes back into the field to save a captured agent (Keri Russell). Backing Hunt is the crack team of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF): computer expert Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), transportation expert Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), and the versatile and glamorous Zhen (Maggie Q). Laurence Fishburne plays Agency director John Brassel, and Billy Crudup plays Hunt’s new boss, John Musgrave.
The bad guy -- and he’s really bad -- is Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a sadistic monster who sells high-end weapons to terrorists on the black market. In a daring plot to thwart Davian’s world-destruction plans, Hunt tracks him down and, following the plot of the first MI movie, must also also uncover a mole working inside the operation before they go after his new wife, Julia (Michelle Monaghan). Saving the woman he loves and the world? All in a day’s work for Ethan Hunt.
Directed by J.J. Abrams, the creator of Lost and Alias, this movie has some awesome stunts and action scenes, even if they are a little goofy at times. One scene is straight out of a Roadrunner cartoon. It helps if you check your brains at the door; otherwise, you’ll spend the entire two hours marveling at the ridiculous actions and motives of the characters.
What sets this movie apart from the first two is that this one delves into the interpersonal relationships among the IMF agents. Sure, it’s first and foremost an action flick, but it’s also a story about love and friendship. And if you think you have trouble balancing work and home life, try being a secret agent for a day.
This movie is sure to be the first blockbuster out of the gate this summer. It harks back to the best aspects of the original TV series -- a well-connected team of agents, a bold and heroic leader, some kick-butt stunts (done, as usual, by Cruise himself), and a twisty-turny plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
PRESCHOOLERS (ages 2-5): This movie is waaaayyyy too intense for preschoolers, so don't even think about taking them! For some preschool-friendly adventure, pop in a DVD of The Backyardigans, Nick Jr.’s animated series about five high-spirited preschoolers who rely on their vivid imaginations for fun. In “Secret Mission” (on The Snow Fort DVD), Pablo, Tyrone, and Uniqua turn secret agent to negotiate booby traps in a treasure museum, all to the beat of the tango and limbo.
GRADE-SCHOOLERS (ages 6 - 10): It’s always iffy trying to figure out whether a grade-schooler is ready for a movie like this. But the PG-13 rating says it all: intense sequences of frenetic violence and menace, disturbing images, and some sensuality. Not the best fare for grade-schoolers, even on the older side. Better suited for this age group are the Spy Kids, Agent Cody Banks movies or The Incredibles.
TWEEN/TEEN (ages 11+): For older kids who love action thrillers, this one delivers ten times over -- lots of wild stunts, high-tech gadgets, and explosions of every shape and size. And, of course, blood, sweat and tears galore. It also boasts a hip new version of the Mission Impossible theme we’re all so familiar with, this time by hip-hop mogul Kanye West.
Jane Louise Boursaw is a freelance journalist specializing in the movie and television industries.
