Editing Mission: Impossible III

[[File:DHS-_Mission_Impossible_III_movie_poster.jpg|thumb]]

'''Mission: Impossible III''' (marketed as '''''M:i:III''''', '''''M:I-3''''', or '''''Mission: Impossible 3''''') is a 2006 American action-spy film co-written and directed by [[J.J. Abrams]], his first film as a director, starring [[Tom Cruise]], who also served as a producer, in the role of IMF agent [[Ethan Hunt]]. The film was first released on April 26, 2006 at the Tribeca Film Festival and widely released in the United States on May 5, 2006. The film was a box office success, and it received mostly positive critical reviews.
The film is the third installment of the ''[[Mission: Impossible]]'' film series and was preceded by ''[[Mission: Impossible II]]'' (2000) and followed by ''[[Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol]]'' (2011) and ''[[Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation]]'' (2015).

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has retired from field work for the [[Impossible Missions Force]] (IMF) and trains new recruits. Ethan is sent back into action to track down the elusive arms dealer [[Owen Davian]] ([[Philip Seymour Hoffman]]).

==Plot==
[[Ethan Hunt]] ([[Tom Cruise]]) has retired from active field work for the [[Impossible Missions Force]] (IMF) and instead trains new recruits while settling down with his fiancée Julia Meade ([[Michelle Monaghan]]), a nurse at a local hospital who is unaware of Ethan's true job. Ethan is approached by fellow IMF agent John Musgrave ([[Billy Crudup]]) about a mission: To rescue one of Ethan's protégés, Lindsey Farris ([[Keri Russell]]), who was captured while investigating arms dealer Owen Davian ([[Philip Seymour Hoffman]]). Musgrave has already prepared a team for Ethan – Declan Gormley ([[Jonathan Rhys Meyers]]), Zhen Lei ([[Maggie Q]]), and his old partner [[Luther Stickell]] ([[Ving Rhames]]), who are waiting in [[Berlin]].

The team rescues Lindsey and collects two damaged laptop computers during their escape. As they flee on a helicopter, Ethan discovers an explosive pellet was implanted in Lindsey's head. Before he can disable it, it goes off and kills her. Back in the States, Ethan and Musgrave are reprimanded by IMF Director Theodore Brassel ([[Laurence Fishburne]]). Ethan learns that Lindsey mailed him a postcard before her capture and discovers a magnetic [[microdot]] under the stamp.

IMF technician Benji Dunn ([[Simon Pegg]]) recovers enough data from the laptops to determine that Davian will be in [[Vatican City]] to obtain [[MacGuffin|a mysterious object]] called the "Rabbit's Foot". Ethan plans the mission to capture Davian without seeking Brassel or Musgrave's 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 United States, 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 that she has already been taken. Davian calls Ethan to give him 48 hours to recover the Rabbit's Foot in exchange for Julia's life, but Ethan is soon captured by IMF.

Musgrave takes part in Ethan's interrogation but discreetly [[Lip reading|mouths]] that the Rabbit's Foot is located in [[Shanghai, China]], and provides Ethan with the means to escape IMF. 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 goes to deliver the Rabbit's Foot alone, and is forced to take a tranquilizer. After he comes to, a micro-explosive is implanted in his head. The restrained Ethan sees Davian apparently holding Julia at gunpoint (the full scene [[In medias res|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 head of security ([[Bahar Soomekh]]) 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 – and the real Julia is alive. Musgrave reveals himself as the mole, having arranged for Davian to acquire the Rabbit's Foot to sell to a terrorist group so IMF would have reason to launch a pre-emptive strike. Musgrave asks Ethan about the microdot Lindsey sent, wanting to know if Lindsay had compromised him at IMF. To convince Ethan to co-operate, 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 using 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, he 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. Julia successfully revives Ethan, and he explains his true IMF career to her as they leave.

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==
* [[Tom Cruise]] as [[Ethan Hunt]]
* [[Philip Seymour Hoffman]] as Owen Davian, the most infamous black market dealer
* [[Ving Rhames]] as [[Luther Stickell]], member of Ethan's team
* [[Billy Crudup]] as John Musgrave, IMF Operations Director
* [[Michelle Monaghan]] as Julia "Jules" Meade, Ethan's fiancée/wife
* [[Keri Russell]] as Lindsey Farris, IMF agent trained by Ethan
* [[Jonathan Rhys Meyers]] as Declan Gormley, member of Ethan's team
* [[Maggie Q]] as Zhen Lei, member of Ethan's team
* [[Simon Pegg]] as Benji Dunn, IMF Technician
* [[Eddie Marsan]] as Brownway, Davian's henchman
* [[Laurence Fishburne]] as Theodore Brassel, head of the IMF
* [[Bellamy Young]] as Rachael
* [[Jeff Chase]] as Davian's Bodyguard
* [[Bahar Soomekh]] as Davian's Translator
* [[George Cheung]] as Shanghai Game Player (uncredited)
* [[Ty Williams (actor)|Ty Williams]] as Thug (uncredited)
* [[Sasha Alexander]] as Melissa Meade
* [[Aaron Paul]] as Rick Meade

==Production==

===Development===
{{quote box|quote="I think the problem with third movies is the people who are financing them are experts on how they should be made and what they should be. At that point, when you own a franchise like that, you want to get rid of any extraneous opinions."|source=—David Fincher, on contributing to a film series<ref name="MTVN">{{cite web|last=Horowitz|first=Josh|title=David Fincher Discusses Reunion With Brad Pitt, Possible 'Fight Club' Musical|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1579041/david-fincher-wants-make-fight-club-musical.jhtml|publisher=[[MTV News]]|accessdate=February 5, 2013|date=January 7, 2008}}</ref>|width=35%|}}

In 2002, director [[David Fincher]] was slated to direct the next installment of the ''Mission: Impossible'' film series for a summer of 2004 release date.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fincher in frame for Mission: Impossible 3|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2002/apr/12/news.tomcruise|publisher=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=February 5, 2013|date=April 12, 2002}}</ref> Fincher, however, dropped out in favor of another film,<ref name="Scar">{{Cite news|title=Scarlett Aborts "Mission"|date=May 9, 2005|publisher=E! Online|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/49821/scarlett-aborts-mission}}</ref> later citing creative differences over the direction of the series.<ref name="MTVN" /> Replacing Fincher was director [[Joe Carnahan]], who worked on developing the film for 15 months.<ref>{{cite web|last=Davis|first=Erik|title=Watch: Joe Carnahan on Hollywood A-Holes, Ugly Budgets and Filming Himself Quitting 'Mission: Impossible III'|url=http://www.movies.com/movie-news/watch-joe-carnahan-on-hollywood-a-holes-ugly-budgets-filming-himself-quitting-39mission-impossible-iii39/11155?wssac=164&wssaffid=news&_r=true|publisher=[[Movies.com]]|accessdate=February 5, 2013|date=February 4, 2013}}</ref> Under his involvement, the film was to feature "[[Kenneth Branagh]] playing a guy who's based on [[Timothy McVeigh]]," as well as [[Carrie-Anne Moss]] and [[Scarlett Johansson]] in other roles.<ref>{{cite web|title=Joe Carnahan: "My 'Mission: Impossible' Was Better"|url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/Carnahan_My_Mission_Impossible_Was_Better/3677347|publisher=[[Hollywood.com]]|accessdate=February 5, 2013|date=April 4, 2007}}</ref> [[Thandie Newton]] was offered to reprise her role as Nyah Nordoff-Hall from ''Mission: Impossible II''; she declined, however.

After a dispute over the film's tone, Carnahan quit in July 2004.<ref name="Scar" /> [[Tom Cruise]] then called [[J.J. Abrams]], offering the directorial role for the film after having binge-watched the first two seasons of ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]''.<ref name="DVD">{{cite AV media |people= |year=2006|title=The Making of the Mission|medium=DVD|time= |publisher=[[Paramount Home Entertainment]]}}</ref> Abrams ultimately signed on, with production delayed a year due to his contractual obligations with ''Alias'' and ''[[Lost (TV series)|Lost]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Foreman|first=Liza|title=Cruise halts ‘Mission 3’ for Spielberg film|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5686726/site/todayshow/ns/today-entertainment/t/cruise-halts-mission-spielberg-film/#.URFeEuid6Hk|publisher=[[NBC News]]|accessdate=February 5, 2013|date=August 12, 2004}}</ref> During this time, Branagh, Moss, and Johansson departed from the project because of the many delays in production.<ref name="Scar" /><ref name="War">{{cite web|last=Susman|first=Gary|title=War of the Wallets|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20471622_1069951,00.html|publisher=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|accessdate=February 5, 2013|date=June 8, 2005}}</ref> On June 8, 2005, [[Paramount Pictures]] gave the film the [[green-light]] after a new cast of actors was hired and the film's budget was redeveloped, with Cruise taking a major pay cut.<ref name="War" />

===Filming===
Principal photography began in [[Rome, Italy]] on July 18, 2005 and ended in October. Location filming took place in [[People's Republic of China|China]] ([[Shanghai]] and [[Xitang]]), [[Germany]] ([[Berlin]]), [[Italy]] (Rome and [[Caserta]]), the [[United States]] ([[California]] and [[Virginia]]), and [[Vatican City]]. The night scenes involving the skyscrapers were filmed in Shanghai, while some of the Shanghai filming was also done in Los Angeles.<ref name="DVD" />

===Music===
{{Main|Mission: Impossible III (album)}}

The film's musical score was composed by [[Michael Giacchino]]. He is the third composer to take on the series, following [[Danny Elfman]] and [[Hans Zimmer]]. The score album was released on May 9, 2006 by [[Varèse Sarabande Records]]. Unlike the previous installments, no soundtrack album featuring the film's contemporary music was released. Despite this, the film features a song by [[Kanye West]] entitled "Impossible" that also features [[Twista]] and [[Keyshia Cole]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Kanye West's Mission Impossible|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/02/08/kanye-wests-mission-impossible|publisher=[[IGN]]|accessdate=February 5, 2013|date=February 8, 2006}}</ref>

==Distribution==

===Marketing===
To promote the film, Paramount rigged 4,500 randomly selected ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' vending boxes with digital audio players which would play the theme song when the door was opened. The audio players did not always stay concealed, and in many cases came loose and fell on top of the stack of newspapers in plain view, with the result that they were widely mistaken for bombs. Police bomb squads detonated a number of the vending boxes and even temporarily shut down a veterans hospital in response to the apparent "threat". Despite these problems, Paramount and the ''Los Angeles Times'' opted to leave the audio players in the boxes until two days after the movie's opening.<ref>{{Cite news
| date= May 5, 2006
| title= Mission Illogical: Movie Promotion Puts Lives 'at Risk'
| url= http://www.readjunk.com/news/movie/mission-illogical-movie-promotion-puts-lives-at-risk/}}</ref>

==="Trapped in the Closet" controversy===
{{Main|Trapped in the Closet (South Park)}}
A blog entry of Hollywoodinterrupted.com in March 2006 alleged that Viacom (parent of Paramount and Comedy Central) canceled the rebroadcast of the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "[[Trapped in the Closet (South Park)|Trapped in the Closet]]" due to threats by Cruise to refuse to participate in the ''Mission: Impossible III'' publicity circle.<ref>{{Cite news
 | first = Mark | last = Ebner
 | title = Scientologist Tom Cruise Blackmails Viacom into Pulling the "Trapped in the Closet" Episode of South Park
 | publisher = Hollywood, Interrupted
 | date = March 16, 2006
 | url = http://www.hollywoodinterrupted.com/archives/scientologist_tom_cruise_blackmails_viacom.phtml
 | accessdate =
}}
</ref><ref name="eentertainment">{{Cite news|last= Ryan |first= Joel |title= "The Closet," the Controversy--and Cruise |publisher= [[E! Online]] |date= 13 March 2006 |url= http://www.eonline.com/news//article/index.jsp?uuid=9495664b-650c-4ae8-8a37-5dbf15296d80&entry=index |accessdate= 2007-06-16}} {{Dead link|date=July 2010}}</ref> These assertions were soon also reported by [[E! News]] and ''[[American Morning]]''.<ref name="eentertainment" /><ref>{{Cite news
 | first = Soledad | last = O'Brien
 |author2=John Roberts
 | title = Storms Blanket Midwest; Insurgents Launch Full-Scale Attack on Iraqi Police
 | work = [[American Morning]]
 | date = March 21, 2006
 | url = http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0603/21/ltm.01.html
 | accessdate = 2007-10-21
}}</ref>
[[Fox News Channel|Fox News]] attributed threats from Tom Cruise, stating, "to back out of his ''Mission: Impossible III'' promotional duties if Viacom didn't pull a repeat of the episode", as evidence of "bad blood" between Cruise and Viacom.<ref>{{Cite news
 | first = Roger | last = Friedman
 | title = Cruise Ambushed by 'Broke' Studio?
 | publisher = [[Fox News Channel]]
 | date = August 23, 2006
 | url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,209943,00.html
 | accessdate =
}}</ref>
''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported that ''South Park'' fans "struck back", in March 2006, and threatened to boycott ''Mission: Impossible III'' until Comedy Central put "Trapped in the Closet" back on its schedule.<ref>{{Cite news
 | last = de Moraes
 | first = Lisa
 | title = 'South Park' Responds: Chef's Goose Is Cooked
 | work = [[The Washington Post]]
 | page = C07
 | publisher =
 | date = March 23, 2006
 | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/22/AR2006032202256.html
 | accessdate =
}}</ref>
Melissa McNamara of [[CBS News]] later questioned whether this boycott hurt the ''Mission: Impossible III'' box office debut.<ref>{{Cite news
 | last = McNamara
 | first = Melissa
 | title = Did Bloggers Doom 'M:i:III'?
 | publisher = [[CBS News]]
 | date = May 10, 2006
 | url = http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/09/blogophile/main1600758.shtml
 | accessdate = 2007-10-21
}}</ref>
Even political blogger Andrew Sullivan encouraged a boycott of the movie, based on claims that Cruise allegedly forced Comedy Central to censor a ''South Park'' episode about Scientologists. "Make sure you don't go see Paramount's ''Mission: Impossible III'', Cruise's upcoming movie," Sullivan wrote. "I know you weren't going to see it anyway. But now any money you spend on this movie is a blow against freedom of speech. Boycott it. Tell your friends to boycott it."<ref>http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2006/03/cruise_control.html</ref>

When asked in [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[Primetime (TV series)|Primetime]]'' about his involvement with stopping the episode rebroadcast on Comedy Central, Cruise stated "First of all, could you ever imagine sitting down with anyone? I would never sit down with someone and question them on their beliefs. Here's the thing: I'm really not even going to dignify this. I honestly didn't really even know about it. I'm working, making my movie, I've got my family. I'm busy. I don't spend my days going, 'What are people saying about me?'"<ref>{{Cite news|url= http://www.hollywood.com/news/Cruise_No_Oprah_Regrets/3491532 |title= Cruise: 'No Oprah Regrets' |publisher= hollywood.com |date= 2006-04-16 |accessdate= 2007-06-16}}</ref>
A representative of Cruise had also denied any involvement of Cruise with the issue, specifically responding to allegations of Cruise's reputed corporate power play.<ref>{{Cite news|url= http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006020708,00.html |title= Cruise axe for South Park |work= The Sun |date= 2006-03-17 |accessdate= 2006-11-04 |location=London |first=Sara |last=Nathan}}{{dead link|date=June 2012}}</ref>

==Reception==

===Box office===
{{Anchor|Box office}}

Opening in 4,054 theaters all across the United States,<ref name="MissionImpossible">{{mojo title|id=mi3|title=Mission: Impossible III}} {{Retrieved|accessdate=2010-01-01}}</ref> the fourth largest opening ever up to that point,<ref>{{cite web | title = Movies With the Widest Openings at the Box Office | publisher =  Box Office Mojo | url = http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/widest.htm?page=WIDEST&sort=date&order=DESC&p=.htm | accessdate = 2012-09-25}}</ref> the film topped the box-office in its opening weekend. It made $16.6 million on its opening day and [[United States dollar|$]]47.7 million in its opening weekend,<ref name="MissionImpossible" /> a solid opening yet almost $10 million lower than the franchise's previous installment.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mission: Impossible Movies Opening Weekends|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?view=openings&id=missionimpossible.htm&p=.htm|publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]|accessdate=February 4, 2013}}</ref> The film remained at number one with $25 million during its second weekend, ahead of ''[[Poseidon (film)|Poseidon]]''{{'s}} gross of $22.2 million.<ref name="MissionImpossible" /> The movie remained in the Top 10 at the box office for the remainder of its first six weeks of release.<ref name="MissionImpossible" /> ''Mission: Impossible III'' ended its initial domestic run on July 20, 2006, taking in a total of $134 million.<ref name="MissionImpossible" /> It was the second movie in 2006 to pass the $100,000,000 mark in the box office, following ''[[Ice Age: The Meltdown]]''.{{citation needed|date=June 2012}} The $134 million domestic run was significantly lower than that of ''Mission Impossible II'',<ref name="MissionImpossible" /> as well as box office analysts' expectations.{{Who|date=March 2009}}{{citation needed|date=June 2012}}

Outside of the USA, the sequel grossed $70 million for the first five days (in some Asian countries, ''Mission: Impossible III'' opened two days ahead of its North American release date) and was easily the box-office champion in many countries.<ref name="MissionImpossible" /> As of February 11, 2007, ''M:I-III'''s international box office gross has reached $263.8 million, for a combined worldwide gross of $397.9 million, the lowest so far of the series.<ref name="MissionImpossible" />

In the Netherlands, the film debuted in the week of May 4–10 at {{abbr|No.|Number}} 1, grossing a total of [[Euro|€]] 532,384 in that week. The following week, the film remained on the top position. In its third week, the film dropped to {{abbr|No.|Number}} 2 and the following week, fell to {{abbr|No.|Number}} 4. Next it maintained the {{abbr|No.|Number}} 4 position to drop to {{abbr|No.|Number}} 6 (in the week of June 6 - June 14). In total, the film has grossed over € 2,141,162.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317919/business|title=Business Data for Mission: Impossible III|publisher=Internet Movie Database|accessdate=2007-02-04}}</ref>

===Critical response===
{{Anchor|Critics}}
''Mission: Impossible III'' received positive reviews from critics. The film holds a 70% "Fresh" rating at [[Rotten Tomatoes]], with an average of 6.6, based on 218 reviews, the second best rating of the four films.<ref>{{cite web
| url= http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mission_impossible_3/
| title= Mission: Impossible III
| publisher = [[Rotten Tomatoes]]
| accessdate= 2007-02-04 }}</ref>
It holds a similar rating on [[Metacritic]], with an average score of 66/100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on a normalized average of 38 reviews.<ref name=meta>[http://www.metacritic.com/movie/mission-impossible-iii Mission: Impossible III], [[Metacritic]].</ref>

On the television show ''[[At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper|Ebert & Roeper]]'', [[Richard Roeper]] gave ''Mission: Impossible III'' a "thumbs up", while [[Roger Ebert]] gave it a marginal "thumbs down".<ref>{{cite web|url= http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/060508.html |title= Ebert & Roeper, Reviews for the Weekend of May 6–7, 2006 |accessdate= 2007-02-04}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 4, 2006|author=Roger Ebert|authorlink=Roger Ebert|title=Mission: Impossible III review|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060504/REVIEWS/60419008|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]}}</ref>

Keith Phipps of ''[[The Onion]]''{{'s}} ''[[The A.V. Club|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."<ref>[http://www.avclub.com/content/node/48128 Mission: Impossible III review], Keith Phipps, ''[[The A.V. Club]]'', May 3, 2006</ref> [[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."<ref>[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1190458,00.html Mission: Impossible III review], [[Owen Gleiberman]], ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''.</ref> 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."<ref>[http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Calendar/Film?Film=oid%3A363004 Mission: Impossible III review], Marc Savlov, ''[[The Austin Chronicle]]''.</ref> [[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."<ref>[http://www.reelviews.net/movies/m/mission3.html Mission: Impossible III review], [[James Berardinelli]], ReelViews.</ref>

Ian Nathan of ''[[Empire (magazine)|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-[[The Bourne Identity (2002 film)|Bourne]], recalibrated-[[James Bond|Bond]] universe, where Ethan Hunt looks a bit lost."<ref>[http://www.empireonline.com/incinemas/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=9847 Mission: Impossible III review], Ian Nathan, ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]''.</ref> [[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."<ref>[http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/05/05/movies/05impo.html Mission: Impossible III review], Manohla Dargis, ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref> 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 II'' director John] Woo's cartoon absurdities."<ref>[http://www.dallasobserver.com/Issues/2006-05-04/film/film4.html Mission: Impossible III review], Rob Nelson, ''[[Dallas Observer]]''.</ref>

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."<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2006-05-03-mi3_x.htm Mission: Impossible III review], Claudia Puig, ''[[USA Today]]''.</ref> [[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."<ref>[http://online.tvguide.com/newsearch/detail.aspx?id=46815&sourcetype=m&progseriesparentid=0&tvobjectid=0&keyword=&more=ucmoviereview Mission: Impossible III review], Maitland McDonagh, ''[[TV Guide]]''</ref> Lawrence Toppman of ''[[The Charlotte Observer]]'' said that ''Mission: Impossible III'' is "plenty of fun" despite being "overwrought and overplotted."<ref>[http://ae.charlotte.com/entertainment/ui/charlotte/movie.html?id=577348&reviewId=20722&startDate=NEXT7 Mission: Impossible III review], Lawrence Toppman, ''[[The Charlotte Observer]]''.</ref>

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."<ref>[http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=8966 Mission: Impossible III review], Pete Vonder Haar, Film Threat</ref> Stephanie Zacharek of [[Salon.com]] said that "Cruise is the single bright, blinking emblem of the failure of ''Mission: Impossible III''."<ref>[http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2006/05/04/m_i3/index.html Mission: Impossible III review], Stephanie Zacharek, Salon</ref> William Arnold of the ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]'' remarked that "the latest [''Mission: Impossible'' film] is just this side of insultingly stupid."<ref>[http://www.seattlepi.com/movies/268894_mission04q.html Mission: Impossible III review], William Arnold, ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]''.</ref> 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."<ref>[http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/11466915083900.xml&coll=7 Mission: Impossible III review], Shawn Levy, ''[[The Oregonian]]''.</ref>
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