Mission Impossible: III – Revisited

Mission Impossible: III (2006)

Basic Stats

Release Date: May 05, 2006
Budget: $150 Million

Box Office Results

Opening Weekend:47.7 Million
Domestic:$134 Million
Global:$394 Million

Cast and Director

Director: JJ Abrams

Writers: Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci

Cast

Tom Cruise
Michelle Monaghan
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Ving Rhames
Maggie Q
John Rhys Myers
Billy Crudup
Lawrence Fishburn
Simon Pegg

Overview

M:I:III had a few stops and starts. A number of directors were considered and then backed out. At one point, the production got as far as casting some of the characters and beginning to shoot in Berlin. At that time Carrie Ann Moss, Scarlett Johansson, and Kenneth Branagh were all on board.

After more script issues led to production ceasing, Cruise brought in JJ Abrams following an all-night binge of Alias. JJ and his long time writing team of Orci and Kurtzman re-wrote the script and released the original cast.

M:I:III had the smoothest production of any movie in the series and was able to stay on budget and finish on time, largely due to JJ’s experience working with the tighter budgets and timelines that come with TV production.

M:I:III ended up with the smallest box office take of any film in the series. This after the financial success of M:I II, made people begin to wonder about Cruise’s future at the box office. Since its release though, the script has been flipped. M:I II is widely considered the weakest, and 3 is thought of as the movie that put the franchise back on a firm foundation.

Plot Summary

M:I:III opens to find Ethan Hunt out of the field, in the role of teacher, and about to get married. He gets recruited back into active duty following the capture of one of his students. As Hunt and his team begin tracking sadistic arms dealer Owen Davian around the globe, the mission becomes far more personal with the capture of Hunt’s new wife. With time running out, the team must capture the enigmatic “Rabbit’s Foot” for Davian before it’s too late.

Observations

This is the only entrant in the series to feature any kind of personal or home life for Ethan Hunt. This was an intentional choice on Abrams part to show a different side of Ethan Hunt.
This is was also the first in the series to show IMF headquarters in a regard, which in this movie, is beneath the DMV in Washington D.C.
As is often the case in Mission Impossible movies, the biggest action sequence in the movie is not the finale. In this case the “Impossible Mission” is the Vatican break in with the capture of Davian.
Much has been made of the similarities between this movie and Abrams show: Alias. M:I:III shared a director, writers, actors, and broadly similar themes and plot points. For his part, Abrams didn’t shy away from it, often saying he got to do many things in this movie he didn’t have time or budget to do in Alias.
M:I:III is darker than most of the other movies and doesn’t have any of the humor that would come to characterize the later series.

Strengths and Weaknesses

STRENGTHS

M:I:III ratchets the intensity straight to 11 with very tense cold open that sets the stage for the finale
Brought in a more emotional, human element to Hunt’s character with more personal stakes
Specifically showed you the mask and voice-over making process, which was a direct response to how it was handled in 2
Phillip Seymour Hoffman was excellent as a psychopathic, sadistic villain. He’s a very strong focal point villain, something the series has often lacked
Laurence Fishburn’s booming rants were well delivered and really fun
Stablized the franchise and set the table to the awesomeness that was to come in later movies.

WEAKNESSES

The main object of desire, “The Rabbit’s Foot” is left completely unexplained, and is ultimately meaningless to the movie
Speaking of the rabbit’s foot, they never bothered to show how Ethan stole it. Further emphasizing it’s meaninglessness
The team never feels connected to each other. Aside from Ethan and Luther, there is no camaraderie between them
Very little dialogue or development for Maggie Q or John Rhys Myers
While giving Ethan a wife created emotional stakes, it left the series with the dilemma of what to do with her going forward; something it would take two more movies to fully resolve
In general, elements felt somewhat generic:
- The bridge scene felt similar to True Lies
- The Shanghai street scene was similar to Rush Hour 2

Memorable Scenes

Shanghai Swing

In a series known for its aerial acrobatics and death-defying stunts, this scenes most fits the bill. It provided the best visuals of the series with Ethan flying in mid-air amongst the lit up skyscrapers. It was cool and visually spectacular.

Vatican Break-in and Capture

If the Shanghai swing exemplifies the aerial aspect of the franchise, the Vatican break-in and capture of Davian exemplifies the team element. The entire team must coordinate precise movements and timing to pull off the complicated capture.

Ethan and Julia Rooftop

Possibly the most heart-felt scene in the movie, Ethan has to tell Julia he’s leaving again. This scene is so well acted and full of tension because so much passes between them in facial expression and tone. Ethan wanting not to lie to her but knowing he can’t tell her the truth. Julia know’s something more is going on, wanting to ask but afraid of what it will mean.

Facts and Tidbits

Maggie Q learned to drive for this movie
The Berlin warehouse near the beginning was actually the same warehouse used in the pilot of Alias
The bridge shootout scene was filmed on a mock up bridge that was entirely on land. Water was added in post-production
Ethan’s house was modeled to look exactly like JJ Abrams actual house
The rooftop guards in the Shanghai swing scene were actually members of Jackie Chan’s stunt team
Promotion gone wrong: One of the promo for the movie was to rig mailboxes with a device that played M:I theme when you opened it. Several of the mailboxes ended up being blown up by the bomb squad after customers mistook the devices for bombs.

Discussion video

Listen to Rob Dunham and Ryan Dunlevy discuss all our thoughts on Mission Impossible III.