MI:3

[MacGuffin]

J.J. Abrams Finds the Big Screen

"Alias" began with Jennifer Garner's head in a toilet; "Lost" opened on a crash-strewn beach; and "Mission: Impossible III" starts with Philip Seymour Hoffman demanding from a captive Tom Cruise the location of "the rabbit's foot."

J.J. Abrams, the creative force behind all three, clearly has a fondness for starting in the middle of things.

"In this movie especially, I felt that audiences know the mechanics of the genre so well, to start the movie in a place where you think it's going to go, it dispels any preconceived notions," says Abrams. "It engages you as a puzzle."

That, of course, isn't surprising, coming from the man who has captivated (and frustrated) millions by creating the backstory-loaded mystery "Lost."

But that's why Abrams was brought in to helm the newest "Mission: Impossible" to infuse a stalled franchise with some new life.

With a budget of more than $150 million, "Mission: Impossible III" has been reported as the most expensive directorial debut in Hollywood history.

The son of TV producer Gerald W. Abrams, J.J. (short for Jeffrey Jacob) was raised on studio backlots and has known since he was 8 that this was his dream.

"I loved magic when I was a little kid and I remember going on the Universal Studios tour with my grandfather and realizing it was just a magic trick. It was all just an elaborate magic trick," he says. "I became incredibly comfortable and familiar with that world, so it never felt like anything but second nature to be on a set. Even as a little kid, all I ever wanted to do was be one of those guys on any level."

Making explosions with firecrackers and experimenting with rudimentary effects like making his sister disappear, Abrams constantly played with his Super 8 camera as a boy.

Later, while attending Sarah Lawrence College, he sold his first script: the 1990 comedy, "Taking Care of Business." Soon he sold another screenplay, the Harrison Ford drama "Regarding Henry," and later (with others) wrote the 1998 blockbuster "Armageddon."

Abrams then created TV shows, for which he's best known: first "Felicity," then "Alias," and most recently "Lost." But it was "Alias" that caught Cruise's attention. After watching the first season of the spy series on DVD, Cruise believed Abrams was the man who could save "M:I3," which had been stuck in development for years.

Directors David Fincher ("Fight Club") and Joe Carnahan ("Narc") were both attached at one point. Then, a script was written by Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption").

Cruise and Steven Spielberg had earlier spoken to Abrams about writing "War of the Worlds," but Abrams was busy with the pilot of "Lost." When he approached him to direct "M:I3," Abrams said Darabont's dark, political script wasn't for him.

"It just, for whatever reason, felt less like a `Mission: Impossible' movie than another sort of heavily mission-based film," says Abrams, who wanted to bring "M:I" back to the TV series' teamwork ethos. "I just knew it wasn't a version I was best to deliver."

To Abrams' surprise, Cruise put his faith in him to write his own version.

Writing in Time magazine for its issue on the "world's most influential people," Cruise said of Abrams: "He was born to impinge on and invade pop culture."

Though Abrams now had enough industry sway to direct any number of projects, "M:I3," he says, was perfect for him.

"Had I started on a film that was a tenth of the budget, it would have been to work up to a movie like this," he says. "This was literally like someone saying and it was Tom who gave me this opportunity `Do you want to make the kind of movie you always wanted to make?'"

Abrams and his writing partners from "Alias" (Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci) built their own story, which has some parallels to "Alias."

"M:I3" is also much more of an ensemble than the film's Cruise-centered publicity has suggested. The cast includes Hoffman, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Laurence Fishburne, Billy Crudup, Keri Russell (who starred on "Felicity") and Ving Rhames.

Rhames, the lone holdover besides Cruise from the earlier films, thinks the ensemble feel harkens back to the original TV show, and was impressed by what Abrams brought to "M:I."

"He reminds me almost of a young Quentin Tarantino," says Rhames, who co-starred in Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction." "They both have a youthful energy for film."

Abrams, who next will write and produce the 11th "Star Trek" feature film, has a wife and three kids and is approaching his 40th birthday, but he appears younger. Energetic and fast-talking, he could easily be carded at a bar.

"It does feel like, right now, there is no difference for me than when I was a little kid," he says. "It's almost exactly the same to the point where, when I was making this movie, I was struck by how similar it felt to being 12 or 14 and making movies."

"Instead of 8 millimeter, it's 35 millimeter. Instead of a little 1/60th-scale car, it's a car," he says, smiling gleefully. "But the reality of what the process is, it's that magic trick again."

[pumba]

*spoilers


During the big climactic fight at the end, I love how Cruise magically regains his strength and beats the shit out of PSH. Classic.

I wish Billy Crudup played russel from stillwater in this movie. dope.

[modage]

agree with ghosty.  this is a pretty great ride.  its so non-stop i wish jj had a little more time to flesh out bits of the story.  if it had been a tv show it could've been like a 6 episode arc, so to cram that much info into 2 hours is tight.  but if you think you will like this, you will.  if you're not interested, the movie isn't going to change your mind. 

[Redlum]

spoilers...

The whole vatican sequence was true mission impossible. This film really carved out a mission impossible identity.

Favourite bits: "humpty dumpty sat on a wall", Phil Hoffmns shoe and the opening title sequence.

[grand theft sparrow]

worked
cruise crazy not bleeding into his work
fishburne's invisible man gag (which I and a friend of mine were the only two to get in a packed theatre)
psh
felicity with a gun (I am in love with Keri Russell now)
opening sequence

failed
the third act's story (execution was well done)
similarities to true lies
michelle monaghan (though she has mcadams potential)

winner
simon fucking pegg

[SiliasRuby]

Great stuff all around. It was everything I expected and more but certain sequences left me rolling my eyes at how sentimental it was.

[polkablues]

More satisfying than a Snickers bar.  This is exactly how blockbuster action movies should be done.

If I were pressed to pick out a favorite moment, it would probably be the big reveal: "It's complicated."  Such a JJ Abrams moment.  And of course, when Tom tossed the gun to Felicity, I thought I was drowning in cool.

I love movies that I can enjoy without reservation.  They're rare these days, but this is one of them.

[cron]

pretty enjoyable, billy cudrup and philip seymour (as the most one-dimentional villain of all time) were really cool to see, especially billy, that vintage face of his fits the movie. but the ending was horrendous. horrendous. this is the first thing i see by jj abrams, it wasn't bad, i particulary liked the quick shot of the Transportation thing pamphlets when *spoiler* ethan's escaping the IMF, did anyone else caught that.

[SiliasRuby]

i particulary liked the quick shot of the Transportation thing pamphlets when *spoiler* ethan's escaping the IMF, did anyone else caught that.

I did. That was cute. But ya I was surprised by how much crudup fit, although I can't shake the image of him from almost famous.

[matt35mm]

Did anyone notice a special thanks to The Hanso Foundation in the end credits?

I liked this well enough.  It gave me pretty much exactly what I expected/wanted.  It was basically a good episode of Alias with Tom Cruise plugged in, down to the twists and macguffins, but not quite the stuff of the great Alias episodes, which were some of the most mindblowing things I've ever seen.  But I liked seeing what Abrams could do with a big budget a lot.  It was a lot of fun to watch.

This also had the most effectively brutal PG-13 death that I've ever seen.  Even for those who see it coming, it's just so gruesome.  I also agree that the gun toss was pure kickass.

The river village part they shot in China--I've been there.  It was so strange to see, but really neat to recognize those small bridges and the alleys and such.  It's just sort of the last place I expected to ever see in a big movie.

[last days of gerry the elephant]

I was expecting MI3 to either match or out perform Running Scared's adrenaline, I'd say it came close. I definitely enjoyed it, and getting to see it for free was a bonus. I really enjoyed how it was shot too, even at calm moments, it had a fast pace to it.

[Jeremy Blackman]

PSH's performance in this film beats Capote any day. Seriously. SPOILER Remember the scene where he's flying away in the helicopter and looking down at Ethan? Perfect. That gave me chills. END SPOILER With each new PSH movie, I wonder how he can possibly create an entirely new character, and yet... here's another one... completely distinct and unlike any character he's done before.

Yes, this is how action films should be made... except for some horrifying bits of dialogue and except SPOILERS the end, of course. What's the deal? No cliffhanger?  And there were definitely some head-shaking moments involving Michelle Monaghan, especially near the end when she's confused and asking Ethan what's going on.

[©brad]

this movie rocked. gb is right-- it's totally refreshing to see an action movie that's not drenched in CGI.

jb- that part gave me chills, too, as did the entire opening sequence.

[Kal]

Only 48 MILLION for the weekend... way below MI2 and studio estimates... not good for Tommy

[©brad]

Only 48 MILLION for the weekend... way below MI2 and studio estimates... not good for Tommy

48 million is still good. and sunday isn't over yet.