Mission: Impossible III

I'd like to call this entry a 'return to form' for the series, but since I've found all three films so far to be quite different in tone to each other, I'm just not sure what this franchise's 'form' is.

This is definitely the best of the three though, featuring a much simpler - and therefore easier to follow - plot, and more depth to the characters.

Ethan Hunt is now engaged to a girl to whom he's apparently planning to spend the rest of his life lying. About his past, about his job, and about himself. Well, obviously I was rooting for that relationship to end straight away, for her sake. Has he even told her about the girl he was going out with in II?

The other stumbling-block I had here stemmed from the first movie. After the way they made the TV show's lead character Jim Phelps become a bad guy, it still follows that new lead Ethan Hunt may well do the same thing. Frankly, I just don't want to root for Hunt after that film.

Why sure, maybe I should consider this third movie in isolation from the other two, but my point is that my keenness on the whole series was disabled by that first one. This is the extent of the damage done by that ill-advised own-goal.

Okay, I'll take some deep breaths now… (gaaasp, exhale, gaaaasp, exhale, gaaaaasp…)

Mission: Impossible IV's due out next year. Yep, I'm up for that, but not enough to reward them by buying a ticket.