JJ Abrams was a great choice for the reappearance of the Mission: Impossible franchise, after its six-year absence; he has inherent 21st Century-styling which allowed him to drag the franchise kicking and screaming into the post-modern action film era. The director's natural knack for fast pace and well-constructed set pieces make Mission: Impossible III a massively fun entry into the franchise. The action sequences are a joy to behold - we all remember the scene where the missile hits the bridge, sending Hunt flying into a nearby stationary car. It's one of those fantastic little flourishes that we've seen more and more of as Abrams adds more feature-film notches to his belt. Not only is it a slick action ride, but it has a great emotional core, as Ethan Hunt's new marriage to Michelle Monaghan's character Julia feels authentic and lived-in. This time out, however, JJ really took the p*ss with the Mystery Box angle; the secretive... weapon(?) ...that our intrepid IMF team are after, named the Rabbit's Foot, is an obvious MacGuffin, a trope of the genre. However, MacGuffins are traditionally explained, at least a little. Try telling JJ that - he was content to not even bother explaining the plot device on which the whole film revolved around. It's cute, but a little lazy, and kind of a d*ck move.
Cinephile since 1993, aged 4, when he saw his very first film in the cinema - Jurassic Park - which is also evidence of damn fine parenting. World champion at Six Degrees of Separation. Lender of DVDs to cheap mates. Connoisseur of Marvel Comics and its Cinematic Universe.
