Product Details

• Actors: Tom Cruise, Michelle Monaghan, Ving Rhames, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Billy Crudup
• Directors: J.J. Abrams
• Writers: J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Bruce Geller, Roberto Orci
• Producers: Arthur Anderson, Bill Borden, Buting Yang
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English, German, Italian
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: October 30, 2006
• Run Time: 126 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (261 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000HRMAPE
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,911 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #12 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Action Stars > Tom Cruise
  #90 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Espionage

• For more information about "Mission Impossible III (Widescreen Edition)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 3 in The Mission: Impossible Feature Films Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

At the time of its release, Mission: Impossible III's box office was plagued by the publicity backlash against couch-jumping star Tom Cruise. It's too bad, because this third installment of the spy thriller franchise deserved a better reception than it got. First-time feature director J.J. Abrams (bigwig TV director/producer of Lost, Alias, & Felicity) proves more than able-bodied in creating a Mission: Impossible that's leaner and less over-stylized than John Woo's sequel and less confusing than Brian De Palma's original. Plot is still a throwaway here (Cruise's Ethan Hunt rescues his kidnapped former trainee and works to steal a device that... well, we don't really know what it does, but it's something about mass destruction that costs $850 million), but the action sequences, particularly one where Ethan faces down a helicopter on a bridge and gets flung hard against the side of a car, are particularly impressive since Cruise, at 44, is still doing most of his own stunts and shows no hint of the weathered look that's struck his action-star peers. (Though no Mission: Impossible stunt will ever be quite as simultaneously nail-biting and funny as the first film's wire-dangling break-in of CIA headquarters.)

Mission: Impossible III boasts a pedigreed cast, particularly Oscar® winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) as baddie arms dealer Owen Davian. Hoffman plays Owen all teeth-clenched and cool, especially when threatening to kill Ethan in front of his lovely new wife (Michelle Monaghan) who has no idea of his spy life. But in his first action-film lead role, Hoffman's almost too calm and collected to really make a memorable villain, especially when the rest of the cast--Ving Rhames (the only other cast member to return for all three films), Asian film star Maggie Q, and an underused Jonathan Rhys-Meyers--are a highlight as Ethan's IMF team. Mission: Impossible is still fun popcorn spy fare, and if Cruise chooses to end the franchise here, at least he goes out on a high note. --Ellen A. Kim

Product Description

Tom Cruise returns as Special Agent Ethan Hunt, who faces the mission of his life in "Mission: Impossible III." Director J. J. Abrams ("Lost"," "Alias") brings his unique blend of action and drama to the billion-dollar franchise.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mission Accomplished, May 15, 2006

By	Scott Rivers (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Thanks to director J.J. Abrams, "Mission: Impossible III" surpasses the missed opportunities of filmmakers Brian De Palma and John Woo by returning to the core elements of the classic TV series. In the memorable villain department, Philip Seymour Hoffman kicks it up a notch and gives IMF agent Tom Cruise a run for his money. The pace rarely lags as Abrams stages several stunt-filled setpieces while surrounding Cruise with a solid acting ensemble. Unfortunately, the film's perfunctory climax squanders a potentially exciting showdown between Cruise and Hoffman - an obvious sign of budgetary shortcuts. Despite this lapse, the third time is definitely the charm for the "Mission: Impossible" franchise.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars ok movie, January 11, 2007

By	aschoon "AndieC" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mission Impossible III (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (DVD)

This movie did not live up to the hype. I thought Kerri Russel would have a bigger role. MI:1 and MI:2 were much better.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not great, January 10, 2007

By	C. Moore - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mission Impossible III (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (DVD)

As series go, MI lacks the tension and interest of the Bourne trilogy, but it's entertaining, none the less. The plot is not as strong as the first, the twists aren't without slightly heavy-handed foreshadowing, but it's better than the second in the series, hands down. Though I love gadgets, I'd like to see them with a viable, not over-the-top 'vengeance is mine' mania. MI-III just pushes that envelope too much for me. Forgetting Cruise's recent unfortunate publicity issues, he seems to pass through each scene with the same grim mini-smile and determined stare, which made it hard to feel as if I were watching Ethan Hunt and not Tom Cruise gritting his teeth for another action sequence. And like the motorcycle pas de deux in the second installment, some of the action sequences just stepped a major stride outside of believable, and into the realm of, well, the impossible. But then, I like to see my action heroes do things that seem very, very difficult, but not out of the realm of humanly possible. Maybe that's just me. Beat them up, but don't turn them into superheroes. After all, what's fun about Superman if there's no kryptonite?