Mission Impossible: III

Alright, after a long hiatus from reviews I'm gonna catch up in one fell swoop (I hope) I decided to start with the first great action movie of summer 2006. The first Mission impossible was pretty good, if hard to follow, but exciting none the less. MI2 was crap, no other way to describe it and no excuse for it's contrived story, obnoxious romantic opposite and mind numbing script (Who could forget such classics as "Just stay ALIVE!" As far as Tom Cruise goes, he ought to be more embarrassed by that movie than by his whole couch jumping/cradle robbing antics of late. Thank God J.J. Abrams (of the once sensational Alias) was brought on board to direct this third installment, because it blows the other two away without losing all emotional resonance, and features one of the best screen villains in recent memory (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, of Capote, continues to demonstrate his strong talents as an actor in any role). The Plot isn't hard to follow, the action sequences are top notch (an expression I really don't like much) and Ethan's new romantic interest isn't a whiny over the top wannabe (Sorry Thandi Newton, you were much better in Crash, stick to the indie movies). I really liked MI:III and despite any cliches or stretches in reality, it kept me engaged which is something fewer and fewer summer movies do these days.

B+