Mission: Impossible III

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Mission: Impossible III

Mission: Impossible III poster
Directed by J. J. Abrams
Produced by Tom Cruise
Paula Wagner
Written by Alex Kurtzman &
Roberto Orci &
J. J. Abrams
Starring Tom Cruise
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Ving Rhames
Michelle Monaghan
Billy Crudup
Laurence Fishburne
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
Maggie Q
Simon Pegg
Keri Russell
Music by Michael Giacchino
Cinematography Daniel Mindel
Editing by Maryann Brandon
Mary Jo Markey
Distributed by USA Theatrical and Worldwide DVD/Video
Paramount Pictures
Non-USA Theatrical
United International Pictures
Release date(s) May 5, 2006
Running time 126 mins
Country United States
Language English
Budget $150 million USD
Preceded by Mission: Impossible II
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Mission: Impossible III (abbreviated M:i:III) is the third film based on the television series Mission: Impossible. Tom Cruise reprises his role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt, and stars along with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Crudup, Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Maggie Q, Simon Pegg and Keri Russell.

The film is directed by Alias creator and Lost executive producer J. J. Abrams. It was first released on April 26, 2006 at the Tribeca Film Festival, and widely released in the United States on May 5, 2006. Surprisingly, the US release was later than 19 other countries around the world, which had already released the film on either May 3 or May 4. Filming began in Rome, Italy in July 2005. The film had been kept under extremely tight wraps, and very little was known of its plots or new featured characters during filming. Location filming took place in Berlin, Italy, Shanghai, Xitang, Virginia, and California.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has retired from being IMF team leader, wanting to have a quiet life with his fianceé Julia, a nurse (Michelle Monaghan).

The film begins in medias res with Julia and Hunt held captive and threatened by Owen Davian. The narrative then rolls back five days. During a party, Hunt is called in by IMF Operations Director Musgrave (Billy Crudup) for a mission. He refuses at first, but after viewing a video hidden in a disposable camera he finds out his mission is to extract his protege, IMF Agent Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell), who has been captured in Berlin by Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman). He agrees to participate in the mission and meets his team consisting of Declan (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), Zhen (Maggie Q), and his partner from the first two films, Luther Stickel (Ving Rhames). The team succeeds in extracting Agent Farris, but she dies 4 minutes later when a nitroglycerin capsule bomb, placed in her head by Davian, detonates. At Lindsey's funeral, Hunt receives a call from a mail forwarding service to say that Lindsey sent him a package from Berlin. Hunt collects what turns out to be a postcard containing a microdot underneath the stamp. Upon examination by Agent Luther Stickel, it's found to be blank. After much debate, they determine that it is magnetically encrypted, and Agent Stickel goes to work decoding it. However, it is also decided that they need to keep the existence of the microdot to themselves, and not involve even the IMF in the analysis.

Hunt then decides to go after Davian himself, targeting him at a meeting in Vatican City in two days' time, from information found on a destroyed laptop from Berlin. The mission is not cleared by Hunt's superiors, IMF Director Theodore Brassell (Laurence Fishburne) or IMF Operations Director Musgrave. Before leaving, Hunt tells Julia that he is going away on a business trip. She senses he is feeding her lies and questions the reality of their relationship, so to prove his love, Ethan marries her in the hospital where she works. In the Vatican City the team disguises Hunt as Owen Davian through the use of a realistic face mask and high definition pictures. Hunt is able to retrieve a briefcase given to Davian containing information about a dangerous and biohazardous material known as the "Rabbit's Foot" (a MacGuffin), and captures Davian in the process. As Davian is extradited to the United States, Hunt attempts to interrogate Davian about the details of the Rabbit's Foot. Davian is uncooperative, telling Hunt that whomever his girlfriend is he will find her, hurt her, make her bleed, make her call out Hunt's name, and, finally, kill him in front of her. To further incite Hunt's anger, Davian coolly explains that what he did to his blonde protege was fun. Driven to the brink of his sanity, Hunt throws open the hatch of the plane and dangles Davian by the cords holding him and his chair. Cutting the cords one by one, it is with great difficulty that Hunt stops himself from ripping the last cord, and pulls Davian back to safety. Still refusing to talk, Davian instead tells Hunt that the Rabbit's Foot and its potential buyers are the least of Hunt's worries.

While transporting Davian across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in a convoy including an International armored vehicle, a Range Rover, and three Lincoln Navigators, Luther hands Hunt a laptop computer and plays the video message from Lindsey (from the microdot just decoded by Luther) stating that Davian received a call from Brassell's office, suggesting that Lindsey was set up while in Berlin by the Impossible Missions Force Director, himself: Director Brassell (Laurence Fishburne). Around this time, an Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (apparently a Scaled Composites Model 396) appears and bombards the bridge using guided missiles. The bridge is heavily damaged, and most of the convoy's vehicles are crippled or destroyed. Several agents are critically injured or killed, very quickly. Soon after, a helicopter transporting masked commandos tasked to mount a rescue operation to free Davian appears. Hunt is able to shoot down the drone with a G36K, but runs out of ammunition when attempting to take down Davian's helicopter. After the incident, Hunt discovers that his wife has been kidnapped, and receives a phone call from Davian, threatening to kill Julia in precisely forty-eight hours unless Hunt retrieves the "Rabbit's Foot" from a facility in Shanghai. Hunt is immediately surrounded by a team of IMF agents who have been ordered to take him into custody; after a brief altercation, Hunt is detained.

While secured to an interrogation table at IMF, Brassell and Musgrave enter to chastise Hunt. After Brassell finishes and leaves, Musgrave mouths to Hunt that he knows that Davian has Julia (Hunt is a lip-reader), and gives him a blade with which to free himself. During transport to a holding cell, Hunt breaks free using the smuggled blade and ambushes his three escorts. He uses a stolen radio to mimic Brassell's voice and provide conflicting orders to the pursuing security team and slips out of the building in the confusion. After making his escape, Hunt flies to Shanghai where he meets his team.

In Shanghai, Hunt jumps off a skyscraper and swings like a pendulum in order to access the rooftop of a nearby skyscraper where the Rabbit's Foot is guarded. He manages to successfully retrieve the Rabbit's Foot with five seconds to spare. Upon arrival to deliver the Rabbit's Foot, Hunt is drugged and captured while knocked unconscious. Upon awakening, a nitroglycerin capsule, similar to the one that killed Agent Farris, is inserted into his head. The story comes full circle as we return to the room shown at the beginning: Julia is gagged and bound to a chair, Ethan is bound also, and Davian begins threatening her life as he begins counting to ten. Although Hunt insists that he delivered the Rabbit's Foot, Davian insists on being given the real Rabbit's Foot. Davian shoots Julia in the leg after becoming irritated with Hunt's desperate pleas that he is telling the truth. Once reaching ten, Davian shoots Julia in the head and leaves the room, leaving Ethan shocked and alone. Immediately after, Agent Musgrave enters and explain the situation to a stunned and grieving Hunt. Davian will sell the Rabbit's Foot to Middle Eastern enemies of America, who will provoke a massive retaliation when they use it in the near future. America will then move in with its military presence and clean up, with billions of dollars worth of contracts. Musgrave reveals that they couldn't be sure that Hunt hadn't double-crossed them at the handover, so they threatened Julia's life in front of Hunt. Musgrave rips off part of Julia's mouth to reveal...Davian's former head of security / translator, who was wearing a realistic mask resembling Julia's face. To prove Julia's still alive, Ethan asks to hear her voice. Musgrave places the phone close to Ethan's face, and Hunt escapes by biting Musgrave's hand, knocking him down, picking the lock on his handcuffs with one Musgrave's pens, tracing Julia's location using Musgrave's phone. Instrumental in this is the assistance of an IMF laboratory technician, who believes in Hunt, refusing to turn him in (as Hunt has been placed on the INTERPOL most wanted list).

Hunt runs for nearly a mile (in less than four minutes) through Shanghai(into a town called xitang which is about 300 miles away) and finally finds Julia, but before they can escape, Davian discovers them and activates the bomb in Ethan's head. Davian begins to savagely beat Ethan around the room, then taunts, telling that he's going to kill Julia in front of Hunt. Before Davian is able to pick up a gun, Hunt manages to fight back, despite the searing pain in his head, and pushes him outside in the middle of traffic. Ethan pushes Davian up, who is on top of him, and sends him into a truck, killing Davian, but passing over Ethan, leaving him unharmed. Hunt improvises a make-shift defibrillator to deactivate the bomb in his head and explains to Julia how to use and reload his Beretta 92F before asking her to "pull the switch". Julia activates it, destroying the detonator circuitry but also stopping Hunt's heart. Before Julia can resuscitate him, she defends herself from some of Davian's men, inadvertently killing Musgrave (whom she didn't know at the time). She frantically tries to resuscitate Hunt, and begins pounding on his chest when he doesn't respond, which shocks him back to life. After recovering the Rabbit's Foot, Hunt explains to her that he works for an agency called the Impossible Missions Force.

Back at IMF headquarters, Brassell tells Hunt that his actions have attracted the favorable attention of the White House, who have offered him a special position. Hunt declines, expressing his preference to enjoy his honeymoon with Julia. In passing, Hunt asks Brassell what the Rabbit's Foot is, exactly, but Brassell says he'll only tell if Ethan promises to stay with IMF. Promising to send Brassell a postcard, he smiles and runs off with Julia, his smiling and applauding team behind them.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Production history

  • Actress Thandie Newton was originally approached to reprise her role as Nyah Hall, but the actress declined the role so that she could: "spend more time with her family."
  • Dean Greogaris and Frank Darabont both worked on the screenplay during the early stages of the film.
  • Production of the movie was halted in late 2004 so that Cruise could work on War of the Worlds.
  • Cruise allegedly made a mock trailer for his friends of the stunts he wanted to perform in the movie.
  • Cruise also asked for permission to film in the Reichstag building in Berlin but was denied access.
  • At the specific request of Tom Cruise, Kanye West reworked the Mission: Impossible theme in the same vein that Limp Bizkit did for Mission: Impossible II; Kanye's version appears towards the end of the film's credits. In addition, West produced and rapped on a track called "Impossible" (featuring Twista, Keyshia Cole and BJ Thomas) that was to originally appear on the film soundtrack, instead the track will appear on Kanye's new album: Graduation
  • To promote the film, Paramount rigged 4,500 randomly selected Los Angeles Times vending boxes with digital audio players which would play the theme song when the door was opened. The audio players did not always stay concealed, however, and in many cases came loose and fell on top of the stack of newspapers in plain view, with the result that they were widely mistaken for bombs. Police bomb squads detonated a number of the vending boxes and even temporarily shut down a veterans' hospital in response to the apparent "threat". Despite these problems, Paramount and The LA Times opted to leave the audio players in the boxes until two days after the movie's opening.[citation needed]

[edit] Reaction

Original teaser poster of the film.
Enlarge
Original teaser poster of the film.

Mission: Impossible III scored mostly positive reviews among critics, and is presently the highest rated Mission Impossible film at the Internet Movie Database, where it is rated 6.8/10. Currently, it sits at a 71% approval rating at rottentomatoes.com, the best rating of the trilogy. On Ebert and Roeper, Richard Roeper gave it a 'thumbs up', while Roger Ebert gave it a marginal 'thumbs down'. [7].

Opening in 4,054 theaters all across the United States (the 4th largest opening ever), the film easily topped the box-office in its opening weekend. It made $16.6 million on its opening day. It made $47.7 million in its opening weekend, a solid opening yet well below industry expectations and almost $10 million lower than the franchise's previous installment. On its second weekend, the sequel remained number 1 with $25 million (ahead of Poseidon's $22.2 million). The movie remained in the Top 10 at the box office for the first 6 weeks of its release. Mission: Impossible III' ended its domestic run with $133.5 million.

Outside of the USA, the sequel grossed $70 million for the first five days (in some Asian countries, Mission: Impossible III opened two days ahead of its North American release date) and was easily the box-office champion in many countries. As of November 26, M:I-III's international box office gross has reached $262.7 million, for a combined worldwide gross of $396.2 million.

In the Netherlands, the film debuted in the week of May 4-10 at #1, grossing a total of € 638.792 in that week. The following week, the film remained on the top position. In its third week, the film dropped to #2 and the following week, fell to #4. Next it maintained the #4 position to drop to #6 (in the week of June 6 - June 14). In total, the film has grossed over € 2.079.825.[1]

In terms of story, many fans of the original series were very happy to see a more team-oriented film. Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance also garnered much acclaim. Some fans noted similarities to JJ Abrams' spy show Alias.

Positive:

Passing:

  • Chicago Sun Times [6]

[edit] DVD, HD-DVD & Blu-ray

Paramount Home Entertainment released the film on DVD, HD-DVD & Blu-ray formats on Monday October 30th, 2006.[7] This is unusual in home video releases, as most films are released on Tuesdays. In addition, Wal-Mart stores released the DVD at 6:00 PM local time Sunday October 29th.

[edit] Trivia

  • The Virginia Regional Hospital, the hospital where Ethan Hunt's wife works, is actually located in Arcadia, California and the real name of the hospital is Methodist Hospital.
  • When Brassel describes Owen Davian as an invisible man, he sidebars by telling Musgrave, "That's Wells, not Ellison, in case you want to be cute again." By this, Brassel (who is played by Laurence Fishburne) means that Davian seems to be physically invisible wherever he goes, à la Wells' The Invisible Man, rather than socially unacknowledged like the black protagonist of Ellison's Invisible Man.
  • In the week of May 19-21, the film made $103,535,579 at the box office, making it the second movie in 2006 to pass the $100,000,000 mark in the box office. (The first was Ice Age: The Meltdown).
  • In The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert refers to the movie, not by the common "M-I-III", but by the phonic "Miiii."
  • The sequence that takes place inside Vatican City shows various women, including agent Zhen, wearing short, sleeveless dresses. However, in reality, the Vatican has very strict dress codes that prohibit clothes that show the legs above the knees and the arms past the elbows.
  • Ethan Hunt uses one of his passports with the Czech name Pavel Sobotka (which he probably still has from his mission in Prague in the first Mission Impossible) to fly to Shanghai. He says two sentences in Czech: "V Číně jsem ještě nebyl. Je to tam hezké?" (I haven't been to China. Is it nice there?) while his passport is being checked.
  • The scenic rural Chinese village depicted near the end of the film, where Ethan Hunt runs in search of Julia and where they stroll afterwards, is not located in Shanghai as characters in the film claimed, but is in fact the ancient town of Xitang in Zhejiang Province, located approximately 90 km (56 mi) away. The night scenes involving the skyscrapers, however, were filmed in Shanghai. The rest of the Shanghai filming were done in Los Angeles.
  • In the scene where agent Hunt leaps out of the building after stealing the Rabbit's Foot, he is on the east side of the Huangpu River that runs through central Shanghai. He ends up landing on the west side of the river, near the Yanan Highway, about 2 kilometers away from the building from which he jumped. [citation needed]
  • The film's closing credits thank the Hanso Foundation, a fictional corporation that plays a key role in director J.J. Abrams' series Lost.
  • During the film there is another reference to Lost, When Ethan is captured, the music played is the same as the one used in Lost when the character Ethan is caught

[edit] References

  1. ^ Boxoffice NL
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ [3]
  5. ^ [4]
  6. ^ [5]
  7. ^ MI3 to hit DVD October 30
  1. ↑  Betty Boop. "Scarlett Aborts "Mission"", E!, May 9, 2005.

[edit] External links


Mission: Impossible series
Television: Mission: Impossible
Films: Mission: Impossible | II | III
Video games: Mission: Impossible (NES) | Mission: Impossible (N64) | Operation Surma
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