Mission: Impossible III

**Mission: Impossible 3 gives the franchise something more than explosions and cool gadgets. It gives the series heart and family.** Mission: Impossible 3 carried the heavy burden of trying to ground the fantastical world of Mission Impossible with its insane stunts and extraordinary gadgets after the franchise took it all a little too far in MI2. JJ Abrams took the reins, simplified the plot to Ethan Hunt’s struggle to rescue his fiancée, and filled the cast with excellent talents like Michelle Monaghan, Phillip Seymore Hoffman, Keri Russell, Simon Pegg, and more. While the stunts and gadgets that define the franchise were still in the film, they were not the focus. Instead, MI3 concentrated on developing Hunt’s character and his struggle to protect his loved ones from his work. This movie frequently finds itself at the bottom of the Mission: Impossible rankings, but I think it’s one of the best in the series and gave the franchise the heart and direction it needed to become the box office behemoth it is today.

This is the first mission impossible that starts to explore some form of continuity between characters. It’s a welcome change from the revolving cast that features terrible one minors and allows you to start to build some continuity and familiarity with different characters. To me the big problem in the film is we know what the stakes are but we don’t know anything about the MacGuffin that we’re chasing. It would be better to have some sort of idea as to what we’re chasing so the audience can feel a little bit more invested. Not the best in the franchise, but a huge step up from the second film.