Mission Impossible 3 Review: I’ll Die Unless You Kill Me

When I saw the Mission Impossible films as a kid there were only three at the time, and even though I have probably watched the first one more the 3rd was the film I enjoyed the most. I felt that this was the one with the most fun action scenes and the most emotional stakes up to this point in the series. Couple that with the most intimidating villain the series has had, and this made for a film that I think has gotten even better on rewatches.

Watching this film now, having seen all six Mission Impossibles, it now occurs to me how much this entry in the franchise became the blueprint for the rest of the series. Many of the stylistic choices and the fast pace that this movie maintains becomes a staple of the franchise moving forward. Watching back it really feels like this movie and how it updated the franchise paved the way for the films that followed to become as successful as they did. The combination of the action, the emotion, the tension, and of course Tom Cruise really reinvigorates the series. They take elements of the first two that worked and then added a specific style that you will still see in the most recent entries.   

Before I talk about why I really love this movie, let me start first with what I think helped this movie resonate with the young me. Now I love older movies and think many of them are just as good if not better than many of the modern films that I watch, but I can usually still tell a film is older without looking at the release date. Whether it is the way the film looks, the way it is filmed, or how they do the action scenes, I can usually estimate when the film was released.

In the case of Mission Impossible 3, there had been other spy films with more modern filmmaking elements such as the Jason Bourne films or Casino Royale and I think that this film along with those films updated the action film in a way that even though this film came out in 2006 I could believe it was released this year. I can’t actually know which films inspired this one or why this movie feels so modern but I do think that’s why as a kid I liked it the most, it felt like the movies I saw in theatres at that time.  

Now to get back to the positives of the film I am actually going to start with the villain. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, as Owen Davian, is excellent as the film’s villain. He portrays a very menacing weapons dealer who is intimidating due to his lack of care. He has no history with Ethan Hunt, and he couldn’t care less about the IMF. He just wants to complete his deal and get his money. 

He is terrifying because it feels like Ethan is out of his league when they first meet. He can’t be threatened or bought or reasoned with. Ethan tried to get the best of Davian and because of that, Davian wants to punish Ethan for it. Another character who is great is Luther (Ving Rhames) who is actually the only character besides Ethan to be in all six. He is Ethan’s best friend, who consistently is able to talk Ethan down when he goes overboard, yet he always has his back.

He is one of the best characters in the series, and I love his relationship with Ethan. Benji (Simon Pegg) gets a shoutout, as this was his introduction, and I love his development as a character that we see throughout the rest of the series. He remains one of the most fun characters in the series, who has many heartfelt and comedic moments, so it was nice to see his starting point.

Giving Ethan Hunt a wife and a normal life was an amazing idea for this story. Having Ethan be in retirement from the field was a great way to progress the character. Julia ( Michelle Monaghan) is an interesting character, who actually seemed like someone that Ethan could settle down with. It also adds to the emotional weight of the film with Ethan having someone he cares about in danger and having to face the fact that his lies are unraveling. This creates that tension that I believe is integral to this series, so that we, the audience, feel that the mission might not actually be accomplished in this one. The action in this film is once again spectacular with multiple cool and exciting set pieces that are fun to watch. 

The rescue at the beginning of the film shows off the more grounded and realistic take on the action in this movie. 

The kidnapping at the Vatican and the bridge scene are both quite intense in different ways. I did also enjoy seeing how some of the gadgets actually work in the film, particularly behind the scenes of the masks, and how they are actually fabricated with the voice mimicking as well. My only real complaint is that the climax of the film was a bit too small scale with it all actually wrapping up quickly because we saw some of the third act in the cold open. 

Overall, I thought Mission Impossible 3 took what worked in the first two films and found ways to add to them or improve them. This is the film that set this series in motion to become one of the most renowned action franchises in Hollywood. With elaborate action set pieces, engaging characters, clear stakes, and heist elements, this really became the blueprint for where these movies would go moving forward. I really like this movie and this is one I would easily revisit again.