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Mission: Impossible III
3poster
The theatrical poster for film
Universe Mission: Impossible
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Produced by Tom Cruise
Written by J.J. Abrams
Alex Kurtzman
Roberto Orci
Starring Tom Cruise
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Ving Rhames
Michelle Monaghan
Billy Crudup
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Keri Russell
Maggie Q
Laurence Fishburne
Simon Pegg
Music by Michael Giacchino
Production
company
Cruise/Wagner Productions
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Country United States
Language English
Budget $150,000,000
Gross revenue $397,850,012
Preceded by Mission: Impossible II
Followed by Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol


Ethan, three days ago agent Lindsey Farris was captured while on a surveillance operation. This is the man she was tracking. His name is Owen Davian. Details are eyes only but I can't tell you that Davian's a black-market trafficker. Extremely dangerous and a priority for us. At 1400 hours today, a recon satellite ID'd a caravan of vehicles with plates matching those known to have been used by Davian's operatives. They stopped in a derelict factory outside Berlin. It appears they have a hostage. We believe it is agent Farris. Normally we would disavow, but Lindsey may be the key to getting us closer to Davian and that's a risk we need to take. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find Lindsey and bring her home. I've already assembled the team. I have them standing by awaiting your word. This message, lets call her my excellent engagement gift to you, will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Ethan and thanks again.

–IMF mission briefing

Mission: Impossible III (marketed as M:I-3 and on Blu-ray as Mission: Impossible 3) is a 2006 American action spy film directed by J.J. Abrams and starring Tom Cruise, who also served as the film's producer. It is the third installment in the Mission: Impossible film series.

Retired IMF agent Ethan Hunt gets thrown back into the mix when his protégé Agent Lindsey Farris gets captured in Berlin by Owen Davian, a prominent dealer in the international black market. After his failure to save her, Ethan decides to go after Davian himself. But this causes the kidnapping of Ethan's wife Julia, forcing him to jump through hoops for Davian, as he tries to find her before Davian has her killed.

Fellow IMF agent Luther Stickell returns from the first two movies.

Plot[]

Ethan Hunt has retired from field work for the Impossible Missions Force and instead trains recruits while settling down with his fiancée, Julia Meade, a nurse who is unaware of Ethan's true job. Ethan is approached by fellow IMF agent John Musgrave about a mission to rescue one of Ethan's protégés, Lindsey Farris, who was captured while investigating arms dealer Owen Davian. Musgrave has already prepared a team for Ethan: Declan Gormley, Zhen Lei, and his old partner Luther Stickell, who are waiting in Berlin.

The team rescues Lindsey and collects two damaged laptop computers. As they flee via helicopter, Ethan discovers an explosive pellet implanted in Lindsey's head. Before he can disable it, it goes off and kills her. Back in the U.S., Ethan and Musgrave are reprimanded by IMF Director Theodore Brassel. Ethan learns that Lindsey mailed him a postcard before her capture and discovers a magnetic microdot under the stamp.

IMF technician Benji Dunn recovers enough data from the laptops to determine Davian will be in Vatican City to obtain a mysterious object called the "Rabbit's Foot". Ethan plans a mission to capture Davian without seeking official approval. Before leaving, he and Julia have an impromptu wedding at the hospital's chapel. The team successfully infiltrates Vatican City and captures Davian.

On the flight back to the U.S., Davian threatens to kill Ethan and his loved ones. Ethan then threatens to drop Davian out of the plane, during which Davian overhears Luther calling Ethan by his first name. After landing, Ethan learns that the microdot contains a video of Lindsey warning that she believes Brassel is working with Davian. The convoy taking Davian across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel is suddenly attacked, and Davian escapes. Fearing for Julia's safety, Ethan races to the hospital, only to find she has already been taken. Davian gives Ethan 48 hours to recover the Rabbit's Foot in exchange for Julia's life, but Ethan is soon captured by the IMF.

Musgrave takes part in Ethan's interrogation but discreetly mouths that the Rabbit's Foot is located in Shanghai, China, and provides Ethan with the means to escape. Ethan and his team raid the building where the Rabbit's Foot is secured, and inform Davian that they have the Rabbit's Foot. Ethan, delivering the Rabbit's Foot alone, is forced to take a tranquilizer. As he comes to, he realizes a micro-explosive is implanted in his head. The restrained Ethan sees Davian apparently holding Julia at gunpoint (the full scene opens the movie). Despite Ethan asserting that he brought the real Rabbit's Foot, Davian shoots Julia and leaves.

Musgrave arrives and explains that the woman killed by Davian was not Julia, but Davian's translator in a mask, executed for failing to protect Davian in Vatican City. The Julia-mask was used to force Ethan to confirm the authenticity of the Rabbit's Foot. The real Julia is alive and held as Davian's hostage. Musgrave reveals himself as the mole, having arranged for Davian to acquire the Rabbit's Foot to sell to a terrorist group so the IMF would have reason to launch a preemptive strike. Musgrave asks Ethan about the microdot Lindsey sent, wanting to know if Lindsay had compromised him. To convince Ethan to cooperate, Musgrave dials his phone for Ethan to hear Julia's voice to confirm she is alive. Ethan bites on Musgrave's hand and knocks him unconscious, freeing himself, and uses Musgrave's phone (with Benji's help) to track down the location of Musgrave's last call. Ethan finds Davian and pushes him into the path of a truck, but not before Davian triggers the countdown of the micro-explosive. Freeing Julia, Ethan instructs her to electrocute him, deactivate the explosive, and then revive him. He also instructs her in using a gun for her protection. While reviving Ethan, Julia fatally shoots Musgrave. She successfully revives Ethan, and he explains his true IMF career to her.

Back in the U.S., Brassel congratulates Ethan as he leaves for his honeymoon with Julia. Ethan is unsure if he will return to the IMF. Brassel promises that he will tell Ethan what the Rabbit's Foot is if Ethan will promise to return. Ethan smiles and walks off with Julia.

Cast[]

Music[]

  1. Mission: Impossible Theme
  2. Factory Rescue
  3. Evacuation
  4. Helluvacopter Chase
  5. Special Agent Lindsey Farris
  6. Ethan and Julia
  7. Humpty Dumpty Sat On A Wall
  8. Masking Agent
  9. Voice Capture
  10. See You In the Sewer
  11. Davian's Brought In
  12. Bridge Battle
  13. Davian Gets The Girl
  14. IMF Escape
  15. Disguising The Limit
  16. Shang Way High
  17. The Chutist
  18. Hunting For Jules
  19. World's Worst Last 4 Minutes To Live
  20. Reparations
  21. Schifrin and Variations

Reception[]

Box Office[]

Opening in 4,054 theaters all across the United States, the fourth-largest opening ever up to that point, the film topped the box office in its opening weekend. It made US$16.6 million on its opening day and $47.7 million in its opening weekend, a solid opening yet almost $10 million lower than the franchise's previous films. The film remained at number one with $25 million during its second weekend, ahead of Poseidon's gross of $22.2 million. The film remained in the Top 10 at the box office for the remainder of its first six weeks. It ended its initial domestic run on July 20, 2006, taking in a total of $134 million. It was the second movie in 2006 to pass the $100 million mark in the box office, following Ice Age: The Meltdown.[citation needed] The film's domestic gross was significantly lower than that of Mission: Impossible 2, and remains the lowest of the series as of 2022.

The film grossed $70 million outside the U.S. during its first five days (in some Asian countries, it opened two days before its North American release date). It was easily the box-office champion in many countries. Its international box-office gross reached $264.4 million for a combined worldwide gross of $398.5 million, the lowest of the series as of 2022.

In the Netherlands, the film debuted at No. 1 in the week of May 4–10, grossing a total of €532,384. The following week, the film remained in the top position. In its third, the film dropped to No. 2 and fell to No. 4 to the following week. Next, it maintained the No. 4 position to drop to No. 6 (in the week of June 6 – 14). In total, the film has grossed over €2,141,162.

Critics[]

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Mission: Impossible III holds an approval rating of 71% based on 225 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Fast-paced, with eye-popping stunts and special effects, the latest Mission: Impossible installment delivers everything an action fan could ask for. A thrilling summer popcorn flick." . The site's Audience Score sits at 69% with 250,000 verified ratings. Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, an improvement on the first two installments.

On the television show Ebert & Roeper, Richard Roeper gave Mission: Impossible III a "thumbs up," while Roger Ebert gave it a marginal "thumbs down." In Ebert's print review, he gave the film a score of two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying, "Either you want to see mindless action and computer-generated sequences executed with breakneck speed and technical precision, or you do not. I am getting to the point where I don't much care." He felt "surprised that the plot hangs together more than in the other two films."

Keith Phipps of The Onion's A.V. Club said the film is "business as usual, but it's the best kind of business as usual, and it finds everyone working in top form." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called Mission: Impossible III "a gratifyingly clever, booby-trapped thriller that has enough fun and imagination and dash to more than justify its existence." Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle said that "it's all poppycock, of course, but it's done with such vim and vigor and both narrative and visual flair that you care not a jot." James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film a score of two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying that it "provides lots of action, but too little excitement."

Ian Nathan of Empire said that Mission: Impossible III has "an inspired middle-hour pumped by some solid action" but added that "we now live in a post-Bourne, recalibrated-Bond universe, where Ethan Hunt looks a bit lost." Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said that "Hoffman enlivens Mission: Impossible III" but criticized the film's "maudlin romance" and "Abrams's inability to adapt his small-screen talent to a larger canvas." Rob Nelson of the Dallas Observer said that "Abrams's movie is too oppressive, too enamored of its brutality to deliver anything like real thrills; its deeply unpleasant tone nearly makes you long even for [Mission: Impossible 2 director John] Woo's cartoon absurdities."

Claudia Puig of USA Today said that "Mission: Impossible III delivers" despite "a sense that the franchise is played out and its star over-exposed." Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide described the film as "breezy, undemanding, and a carefully balanced blend of the familiar and the not-quite-what-you-expected." Lawrence Toppman of The Charlotte Observer said that Mission: Impossible III is "plenty of fun" despite being "overwrought and overplotted."

Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat said that "you may be mildly entertained, but damned if you'll remember any of it five minutes later." Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com said that "Cruise is the single bright, blinking emblem of the failure of Mission: Impossible III." William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer remarked that "the latest [Mission: Impossible film] is just this side of insultingly stupid." Shawn Levy of The Oregonian said that Mission: Impossible III "feels like one of the more forgettable James Bond films—saddled, moreover, with a star who's sliding into self-parody."

Trivia[]

  • This film marks the first appearance of Benji Dunn, who would go on to become a regular character in the franchise from this point onwards.

Gallery[]

Opening Title Sequence[]

Trailer[]

Posters[]

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