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| Movie Review: MI:3 Alternate Title: Stuff Blows Up
Story: Sit back and watch Tom
Cruise (oops, I mean Ethan Hunt) emote as hard as he can, stare
with what seems like x-ray vision at his enemy, run faster than a cheetah,
shoot straighter than an arrow, leap from tall buildings, rescue, escape
and generally travel the world for 48 hours without eating or sleeping.
What a guy! All kidding aside, I thought this third MI was
the best of the lot. It almost seemed as if the film had a sense of
humor about itself. Very competently directed and co-written by TV's
J.J. Abrams (Felicity, Alias & Lost) it
has an episodic flavor, which is not a bad thing for something very
predictable and familiar franchise. It doesn't matter what the story is about. There
is no need to scratch your head over the plot holes (and there are many).
It is one of those pre-summer films that gives you exactly what you
expect and I was entertained. Acting: If you can separate Tom Cruise's
wacky real life behavior from his screen persona (I can) he is fine
at what he does best. And I gotta tell you, this guy is in great shape.
No wonder he can leap on and off Oprah's couch like that. The supporting
cast includes a returning Ving Rhames, who seemed to
be having no trouble enjoying himself. New to the MI team are one of
my fav's Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Maggie Q.
The villain is played deliciously by the always fabulous Philip
Seymour Hoffman. The very competent love interest (yes, she
looks like Katie Homes) is Michelle Monaghan. Laurence
Fishburne seemed delighted to be in this big film and Billy
Crudup was out of place.
Predilection: I like summer blockbusters.
Food: No time to eat while saving the world
Blatant Product Placement: 7 Eleven, Ben & Jerry's,
Slushee's and DHL
Soundtrack: The same as usual
Opening Titles: The opening scene is a teaser.
Visual Art: Too many things blow up to remember Theater Audience: A handful of loyal franchisees
like me.
Drift Factor: There is no time to drift with all of
the action but you could easily drift and still understand what's going
on.
Predictability Level: High
Tissue Usage: 0
Oscar Worthy: No
Soap Box: If the Vatican is worried about next week's
release of The Da Vinci Code they should probably be worried about how
easily the MI team got into Vatican City.
Big Screen or Rental: If you like the genre, the
big screen in the place to be.
Length: One explosion over the two hour Lobo rule. LOBO HOWLS: 7
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