We went to see “Mission Impossible 3” on Saturday night. My sister had asked us to go with her and her husband on Friday night, but we had the DVC discussion night. So on Saturday we hopped over to the Liberty Tree Mall (whose name always reminds me of “Back to the Future”) where we supped at Panera Bread and then headed over to the theater.
Funny anecdote: I picked a row that had a broken seat in the middle, thus ensuring I’d have an arm rest I wouldn’t have to fight over. The theater had put a black plastic trash bag over it to indicate its brokenness. A 20-something girl came in after us, and asked if I was saving the seat. “Yes,” I said, “I usually bring an orange traffic cone to mark saved seats, but the theater wouldn’t let me tonight, so I decided to use a trash bag.” I let her hang for a second and then smiled to let her off the hook. She laughed.
The movie itself was good, better than the previous outings perhaps. Tom Cruise was not as annoying as usual, and director J.J. Abrams is excellent at sustaining suspense as well as jolting you from your seat. The action starts with the first moment of the movie and doesn’t stop after that.
Shall I get the quibbles out of the way? Yes, there were some obvious plot holes, which my guess is the result of editing, not writing. What happens to the revelation made by the Keri Russell character to Tom Cruise’s character? It gets forgotten. The bondage gag is a convenient device to keep Cruise from speaking at a time when speaking would have ruined the coming twist. Of course, the Vatican as highly secured nation-state was funny, too, as well as the depiction of the overly opulent bathroom in the Vatican Museums. Obviously, someone hasn’t been to the Vatican.
Other than that, the movie has the requisite number of car chases and explosions and—most important for a Mission Impossible movie—elaborately constructed con jobs to pull off some impossible job. A fun bit of diversion worthy of a night at the movies.
By the way, fans of “Lost”, the TV show created by J.J. Abrams, should stick around to the end of the credits for an Easter Egg in the acknowledgments section. Real fans should get it immediately.
Nice, hitting on a 20yr old in front of your expectant wife.
Did Mel like the movie. So far, your is the ONLY postitive review I’ve seen.
But then again, we’ve all seen the list of your favorite movies!
L is for Love!
I’ll admit I’d be a terrible professional movie critic. I’m way too easy to please.
Oh, and nobody calls her Mel. Certainly not me.
My sincerest apologies for taking liberties with the name of the lovely Mrs. Bettinelli.