Mission Impossible III

I saw Mission Impossible III today. It's Tom Cruise's first film since all the hoopla last year around the release of War of the Worlds. I never did get around to seeing War of the Worlds, mostly due to the negative word of mouth about it.

Let me start off by saying that it was a decent flick. It was entertaining enough, but I wish it had been a little more entertaining. Cruise, along with his production partner Paula Wagner, hired Alias and Lost creator, J.J. Abrams to direct this latest entry in to the series. Philip Seymour Hoffman has the fun task of playing the bad guy.

I won't give anything away. But for me there are movies I have to own, movies I don't care to own, and then movies that I don't care to see or never want to see again. This movie falls in to the category of a movie I don't care to own. It's worth a viewing at the cineplex or a rental, but it's not a movie that will get better with repeat viewings.

The movie lacked a sense of urgency when Cruise's character Ethan Hunt gets in to a bind. I never felt as though he wasn't going to accomplish the task at hand. The big reveal at the end was not really a big surprise either. I just wish the movie had more kinesthetic energy behind it. Don't get me wrong. There was energy behind the telling of this, but I just never felt as though I was pulled in for the ride.

If you're going to make a popcorn flick, such as this, you really have to bring the audience along for the ride. And I felt as though Abrams was going through the motions of an action film. At least it was nice to see Keri Russell and Ving Rhames.