Mission Impossible - 79%

The mission is back for the 3rd round and man was it a ride. Looking back at all the 3 mission impossible flicks, they all have very different looks, feel and style. And it is definitely very much due to the decision to use 3 different directors for all 3 movies. And thus, we have mission impossible that kinda appeal to different people on different levels. The first one appealed to me as an amazing thriller where it is a battle of wits of sorts. The second MI was decidedly a style over substance flick, which in its own way held its own appeal. The 3rd one this time round, feels very much like a battle of emotions. Ethan Hunt this time, is the most battered emotionally and physically. We have him giving into his emotions and acting outside his usually cool and very focused actions. And this is what I like over the last 2 missions. However, looking at how he changes his girlfriends in the MI series like how he changes directors, I am not so sure how he's going to wriggle himself out of a marriage for a 4th outing.

But well, the story, though secondary to much of the action in the flick, goes like this. Mr Hunt is getting married, and he is being recalled back for one more last mission. Then things go wrong, and as he tries to fix the wrong, his fiancee gets abducted. Messy ..... And hey, what better way to pull at the heart strings then to see a man desperate to save his loving, beautiful and sexy nursey wife?

So how're the actions this round? MI series (or at least 1 and 2) always feature some stunts which edge on the impossible - we've had the 2 inches above the floor stunt, the blade edge 1/4 inch from the eye stunt, the hanging by the cliff mountain climbing stunt etc. This time though, it seems like the director wanted to make it more plausible by making the stunts and Ethan perform a little less "impossible". So we actually get more "big stunts" and none of those little "impossible" ones. Honestly speaking, I prefer the little impossible ones, cos they are what make Mission Impossible special. This time, it just feels like a regular thriller.

But that said, it is a good emotionally driven thriller. I just wished there was more of Philip Seymour Hoffman. There were like only ... 2 scenes of him talking? C'mon, he deserves more screentime! Even as a villain. And further on that point, many of the other characters were really not that developed too. The rest of the team members, like the computer guy and Maggie Q. And even Ethan's boss who wasn't really explored though he was integral to the plot of the story.And one last question: What was Maggie Q there in the movie for? To blow up the car?

Ok next up, Da vinci Code. Quite excited ... no not cos I have read the book ... not becos of the controversy ... but I am just a HUGE HUGE fan of Tom Hanks and Audrey Tatou.