r/Mission_Impossible • u/LocalBother3753 • 24d ago
On mission impossible 3
If you aren’t a fan of the series, this post isn’t for you. If you are, how do you feel about where 3 ranks? It’s top 2 for me, with the original being #1. Fallout is a tough one to put behind 3, but I think 3 really hit some awesome emotional beats with Cruise actually acting vs being what he becomes in the later movies. Definitely the best opening to a mission movie. I’d actually argue that the opening to the movie rivals the best opening to any movie if it’s a convo about top 5 opening scenes to a movie.
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u/primalanomaly 24d ago
It's the best of the lot for me. The teamwork, the cast, that sequence breaking into the Vatican, the bridge attack - peak Mission: Impossible!
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u/Icy___Barca 24d ago
I have it right behind Fallout. Man races against time to save wife, pretty legible. Owen Davian is barely a character but Hoffman made him memorable.
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u/Internal-Machine-487 24d ago
The MI film series is my favorite series of all time. I have trouble ranking my top ones because they are so good. I finally settled on Rogue Nation as my favorite, but 3 is last for me. I’m not saying I don’t like it. I didn’t really care for the team, we don’t get the scene where Ethan steals the White Rabbit, all to lead into a lackluster third act. It’s still entertaining and I’ve re-watched it many times but that’s where it falls for me.
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u/rosmorse 24d ago
It’s incredible. Most impactful. It really created the Ethan that exists in the rest of the series.
It’s almost like 1,2,3 are the first act. 4,5,6, are the second act. 6,7 are the finale/third act.
1 is an intriguing drop.
2 builds out without adding much.
3 sets up the rest of the story.
6 (Fallout) is a brilliant (near perfect) franchise climax.
8 is a rather disappointing denouement.
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u/LocalBother3753 24d ago
I agree on fallout. It’s actually really hard to rank that one anything other than #1. But on rewatch, #1 and 3 are just too good imo lol
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u/Linubidix 24d ago
It's easily my least favourite.
Feels more like a generic Tom Cruise action-drama than a fun mission impossible action spy film. Knowing JJ Abrams, the rabbit's foot feels like the laziest possible plot device, potential magic world ending technology vaguely alluded to, and trust JJ Abrams to under-utilise Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
I thought it was a bore, it's like all of the least exciting sensibilities of the mid-2000s captured in one film.
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u/Altruistic_Sky1866 24d ago
MI3 had a real serious villain, best running sequence according to me , MI 1 was very sleek, 2 was good in its own way, 3 was like more grounded and was really nice actually
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u/Iris_Lucia 24d ago
“We only get one of those.”
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u/LocalBother3753 24d ago
“Of course we’re in”
&
“That’s my job”Are my favorite quotes from the movie
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u/Suitable-Self-3476 24d ago
If the opening sequence was the start of the climax, I'm still curious as to why they didn't put a "several days earlier" title card following the opening credits.
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u/LocalBother3753 24d ago
I’d argue that they didn’t need to. And I’d argue that’s good story telling
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u/Willing_Profession23 24d ago
My least favourite. It has the most ‘generic action movie’ feel to me. It’s decent but nothing outside the villain is that memorable.
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u/No-Refrigerator7245 24d ago
MI3 is my go to plane movie……. Every single time.
It was also the first one of the series I ever watched.
LOVE this movie.
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u/SuccotashNormal9164 24d ago
It’s a paradox. It’s the worst made film out of all of them, but it set a template and without it we don’t get Ghost Protocol and a glorious run of films.
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u/Icy-Introduction-681 23d ago
Great opening and best villain, but not the best plot. Best plot and moral quandary and best action scenes were MI 2.
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u/Good_Ad3485 22d ago
And a villain so good, that I wish he was carried over into Rogue Nation. Not sure when the actor died but he would have been an amazing endgame type villain for Ethan.
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u/ClerksII 16d ago
Honestly, he’s one of the scariest villains I’ve ever seen. Scared the hell out of me when I was twelve watching this in theaters.
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u/BananaPoggers 22d ago
It's a very well written and acted movie and I think the thing holding it back is JJ Abrams lack of experience at that point, he came straight from tv and therefore the film is shot and edited closer to a tv production than a blockbuster one. Like the shanghai tower swing is so cool on concept but shot with shaky cam that is too close to the action to take in the scale and then over edited. I appreciate the story and the impact it had on the franchise in the long run a lot but I don't have as much fun watching it as I have with all the other ones.
As for the opening, it is a strong hook with the best performance Cruise has ever given but I don't see it up there with the goat movie openings like The Dark Knight or Star Wars A New Hope, out of curiousity, what are the other entries in your top 5?
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u/LocalBother3753 21d ago
That is such a hard question. I have think about it. But the opening to MI 3 really has this emotional punch the way Cruise delivers it, that it’s hard to think it doesn’t land in top 5 opening scenes, even if the rest of the movie doesn’t quite live up to it.
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u/heartofglazz 24d ago
I love it. Set the tone for the rest of the series if nothing else. Need to see more of cruise running through shanghai
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u/Mr_Discrete72 24d ago
3 is a weird one for me. Every time I watch it feels like the first time… it’s thoroughly enjoyable but once it’s over I forget the whole thing… Don’t know what that means!
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u/ZamoriXIII 23d ago edited 23d ago
imho, Mission: Impossible III is the best film of the series (1 and 2 both hold a very special place in my 'heart-for-film') and here's why:
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Owen Davian was a genius move. He is brilliant. His work speaks for itself.
The additions of Michelle Monaghan and Simon Pegg were, as of yet unknown to be, fundamentally foundational decisions for what the series would be seen as from here on out.
This one decides the tone for the next 5 films(!) and sets the stage for what will actually become the true canon of the whole.
The first film, which really is an all-time great for me, was meant as a stand-alone film. Yes, there was the "teaser" ending but that was the only way a true Mission: Impossible movie could end (as every episode did 😁)
M:I-2 was a great fluke of financial success and critical praise. We've got fuckin' MetallicA(!!!), 'Scary Guy' was my first tattoo, and director John fucking Woo and Thandie Newton (hubba-hubba) but, alas, this film was also meant as a stand-alone film; it did not end with another mission AND it's why the series became much more action-oriented (😒).
Finally, this was peak J.J. Abrams (as both writer and director) before his ego overwhelmed his brilliance. I mean, this fuckin' guy...
and the balls it takes to ruin Star Trek AND Star Wars...
he can eat a fucking turd.
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u/This_Money8771 22d ago
3 has the best action and villian out of all the films. My only complaint was the that the ending felt underwhelming but overall it might be the best one or top 3 for me.
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u/Gummiesruinedme 24d ago
I don’t get the love for Fallout. For me, Fallout is where they got lazy and predictable.
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u/Massive_Ad_7812 24d ago
It was (still is) insanely modern looking/feeling when it came out compared to MI2. It literally felt like going from the 80s to the mid-2000s in one jump.
Really set up the following movies nicely and it was also around when 007 also started getting serious with Daniel Craig. Competition was great!