| . |
. |
| Starring: Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy
Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, Maggie Q, Laurence
Fishburne Directed by: J.J. Abrams |
Theatrical Release: 2006
DVD Release: 2006
Released by: Paramount Dolby
Digital 5.1
Widescreen |
I’m fond of Brian De Palma’s Mission:
Impossible. While many believe it has a confusing plot, I think that it is intriguing
and classically executed and that it holds up to repeated viewing. In contrast, Hong Kong
action maestro John Woo’s adrenaline-charged interpretation isn’t as
sophisticated, and it sinks under a silly finale.
| Mission Impossible Works in
HD  Though Anthony
Di Marco has pointed out the dramatic flaws in the latest installment in the Mission:
Impossible franchise, the HD DVD sheds greater light on its strengths: the
daredevil stunts and action sequences. These are very sharply reproduced and quite
effective. Instead of doing a dramatic critique, you’re going to be sitting there
gleefully exclaiming, "My home-theater system can do that?" With my fear
of heights, the heist involving tall buildings in Chang Hai made my pulse noticeably
increase, but every scene is as sharply etched. The soundtrack is state of the art, as
well. It’s thunderous and lease breaking, but also very transparent and subtle in
quieter passages. The tracks are Dolby Digital Plus, sampled higher than regular Dolby
Digital, but after hearing them, one can’t help but wonder if Dolby TrueHD would have
kicked ass better. In both the Blu-ray (releases simultaneously) and HD DVD editions,
there are two discs. The second disc contains most of the extras and it is a welcome sign
of HD progress that a great percentage of the extras are in HD! The commentary makes use
of the picture-in-picture effect possible with HD so you can have the Cruise-Abrams
discussion with or without picture. Sometimes they’ll stop the action to show off a
particular scene or present themselves fullscreen to talk about it. This feature is only
available on the HD DVD. The Blu-ray doesn’t have it.
Mission: Impossible III is available as a separate
release or as part of a box called Ultimate Mission Collection, which includes the
first two movies in spiffy new HD transfers. They both look quite good and the first one
has a solid, transparent soundtrack. In the second one, the sound is too congested for my
taste. M: I has no commentary, but M: I II has a surprisingly relaxed and
witty commentary from director John Woo. There are extras on both M: I and M: I
II, though they are not as extensive as those on M: I III. Nor are they mostly
in HD, though the still-frame galleries and trailers are. Lovers of action will enjoy
these films in their home theater and are likely to give them higher ratings on HD than on
SD. My own would be: M: I (3.5); M: I II (3); and M: I III (3.5). Now
that Paramount has its feet wet with HD DVD and Blu-ray action series boxes, how
about a Jack Ryan trilogy: The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear
and Present Danger?
...Rad Bennett
radb@hometheatersound.com |
|
|
If you believe the gossip, Tom Cruise was equally
disappointed with both prequels. If you believe Mr. Cruise’s over-the-top hyperbole,
then Mission: Impossible III and its director are the greatest yet. Allegedly Mr.
Cruise handpicked J.J. Abrams to direct M: I III after the he caught a rerun of the
cult television show, Alias. Alias and ABC’s Lost demonstrate
Mr. Abram’s talent. Both shows feature intelligent, complicated plots that are
several notches above most shows on network television. Lost does suffer from a
plot that teeters between reality and the supernatural. Only time will reveal whether Lost’s
depth amounts to a trick of the light or is the work of a master storyteller. For M: I
III it amounts to a trick.
M: I III plays the usual spy caper game, which this
time culminates in a disappointing finale. The opening ten minutes grab you by revealing a
pivotal point in the plot and then flashing back (or forward?) into the main story. The
problem is that this approach works only once. The first time I saw M: I III in
the theater it grabbed hold of me by accelerating the tension. Abrams gives his audience
little time to catch a breath. Brief bits of story are sandwiched between action scenes
that endeavor to trump each other. Sequences in Italy and on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge
(with a nod to James Cameron’s spy film True Lies) are well produced and
executed. What doesn’t work is the romance between Tom Cruise and Michelle Monaghan.
The relationship is too convenient and "cute" to be taken seriously and
compromises the underlying tension of the finale. An action film like Die Hard, or
even True Lies, delivers a better payoff because the relationships don’t feel
manufactured.
The DVD presentation is very good. The image fluctuates
between slightly overly saturated colors against inky blacks (like those during the rescue
mission in Germany) to sharp-as-a-tack images during the "Impossible Vatican
Mission." The Dolby Digital soundtrack delivers excellent dynamic range, surrounds
provide effects, and the LFE .1 concussive low frequencies.
As for the extras: thank God J.J. Abrams doesn’t take
himself as seriously as Tom Cruise does. Cruise lays it on thick enough nearly to sink
most of M: I III’s extras. I have nothing against Cruise’s showing
affection toward his director -- as long as it comes off as genuine. At times Abrams looks
uncomfortable with the accolades, as in "MovieFone Unscripted." Cruise is a
little easier to take during the excellent commentary. Abrams and Cruise do well balancing
praise for the cast with some interesting insight into the filmmaking process. Abrams
sounds like a kid in a candy store as he explains how cool it is to edit together scenes
from different locations and make it look seamless to an audience.
In the collection of them we see, the deleted scenes are
ones well left on the cutting-room floor. The balance of the features is good if a little
light on content. I would have liked to hear more about Michael Giacchino’s score or
additional anecdotes about the Special FX unit. The one big flaw with this comprehensive
set of extras is two "Tribute Montages" chronicling Tom Cruise’s career.
That Cruise executive produced M: I III, yet included these montages, reveals the
level of his narcissism. But he outdoes himself by hinting that Abrams has him to thank
for the opportunity to direct his first feature film. Cruise should know that Abrams’
earlier films are impressive enough to speak for themselves and that Brian DePalma’s
contribution to the franchise was the highpoint of this tired series. |
