Mission Impossible 3 (2006)

Director: J.J. Abrams

Starring: Tom Cruise, Michelle Monaghan, Simon Pegg, Philip Seymour Hoffman

IMF agent Ethan Hunt comes into conflict with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer who threatens his life and his fiancée in response.

When a mission to recover captured agent Ferris fails, this is only just the beginning of a series of events, setting in motion a domino-effect for Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). The film is fast-paced and action packed, and there are gadgets galore.

Unfortunately, the incidents and events are not always plausible. Uhm, wait, let me rephrase that: they are not at all plausible. There are more coincidences and conveniences here than in a James Bond movie. So many improbabilities…..Wait, Hollywood, you don’t expect me to swallow everything you spoon feed me, do you? I mean, do you honestly expect me to believe Ethan and his team can just waltz into the Vatican, know their way around, and take control??? Give me a moment while I puke at the mere thought of this being possible. And the scene of Ethan replacing Owen (Philip Seymour Hoffman)…. laughable!! Oh, Owen is the antagonist, by the way – a character well portrayed by Hoffman.

Yeah, the action was great, but in the end it boils down to believability (within the context of the film, off course). This being a spy thriller, it simply wasn’t believable – or even all that exciting. What I did like about Ethan Hunt, though, is that he has more real emotions than pre-Daniel Craig James Bond . He is depicted as human with genuine feelings, and not a super hero. Alas, I’m so not a ‘Mission Impossible’ fan. I didn’t enjoy the first two, and – although an improvement on the previous films – this was not my cup of tea either.

‘Mission Impossible 3’ earned nearly $400 million on a $150 million budget. It received 21 award nominations, winning 7.

Would I watch it again? No.