Mission: Impossible III is the third entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise that premiered back in 2006. Directed by J.J. Abrams, the film stars Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, Maggie Q, and Laurence Fishburne. Retired from active duty, and training recruits for the Impossible Mission Force, agent Ethan Hunt faces the toughest foe of his career: Owen Davian, an international broker of arms and information, who’s as cunning as he is ruthless. Davian emerges to threaten Hunt and all that he holds dear – including the woman Hunt loves.

I remember seeing this when I was still in elementary school with my brother. To this day, I still have thoroughly enjoyed it, but I remember the film getting criticism back in the day that I never quite understood. While the film has flaws that I think haven’t aged the best, this is still a solid entry that helped push the franchise in the right direction after the second entry.

Starting off with a scene that happens much later in the film, this opening scene is the best way to introduce you to this new threat. I typically don’t like when movies do this as it makes everything that leads up to it predictable. That is not the case here. It not only makes everything beforehand predictable, it presents a serious threat through the franchise’s best villain, played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

When the film cuts back to the beginning of the story, I love how we see Ethan Hunt settling down with someone while being able to still stay involved with IMF. Missing from the second entry, this one brings you back to what makes Hunt so interesting: connection and family. The first one sort of goes over that. To bring that back in this entry helps Hunt feel relatable, and it’s even easier to connect with it with the addition of Michelle Monaghan as his love interest. The two clearly have undeniable chemistry that feels authentic.

Under J.J. Abrams direction, he is able to craft exciting action set pieces that are bigger and better than ever. Just as Hunt deals with one conflict, another gets added to it. The story is not as cliche as you might think based on the prior entry. Anyone’s life is for the taking. To have someone so close to Hunt get killed off so soon really sets the stakes for what’s to come. With a 2-hour runtime, it’s incredibly impressive just how well fast paced the film is that adds a lot of story, all while never keeping anything boring.

On the other hand, my biggest criticism is also with J.J. Abrams’ direction. Credited as a co-writer, the film can take on more than it can chew at times. The dialogue can be too campy at times and there can even be callbacks to earlier films that make no sense as to why they happen in this one. My biggest issue with the film is how they treat the Rabbit’s Foot. They make it into such a big deal, but they never explain what it really is. How are we supposed to care if we don’t know what it really is? This is something Abrams does time and time again where he likes to throw in a lot of mystery, but never knows how to follow through with it to give it proper closure.

One of my other grievances with the film is how they treat the supporting characters who round out Hunt’s team. This is a talented cast between Jonathan Rhys-Meyers & Maggie Q. While the team does get better and more consistent with the later films, I am still annoyed how there are crew members like them that are never seen or mentioned again. It’s hard to care when they don’t serve much of a purpose. There’s even a ridiculous scene where the two have a random conversation while Hunt is in action. While you would think it’s meant to give them more characterization, I think it was an attempt to not have to show another action sequence, whether that be budgetary or time constraints.

The film ends up delivering one of my favorite third acts of the franchise. It’s unlike anything else the franchise has done. It’s exciting, but it’s not trying to be big and grand. It’s meant to help drive the story and characters forward. It also looks completely practical. While I am not crazy about the sun flares Abrams is known for throughout, the camera work, especially in this third act is completely thought out. The third act also gives Monaghan a moment to show why she’s more than just a love interest. It’s a very underrated third act in the franchise. While I am a little tired of the love interest trope at this point, it is done quite well here.

Overall, Mission: Impossible III endures through its flaws to deliver something that feels coherent and is able to drive the franchise forward in a better direction. I still find it to be one of the more unpredictable stories with a phenomenal, villain performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman. I used to think it was the best out of the three when I was young and only the three existed. I am grateful the franchise has managed to come out with more that only get better. If this was the true finale, I wouldn’t be too upset.

VERDICT: 3.5/5 (Pretty Good)