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Like the character he plays in the Mission: Impossible franchise, Tom Cruise has worn a variety of different masks over the years—Tom the Teen Heartthrob, Tom the Box-Office King, even Tom the Oscar Nominee. In recent years, though, most people—and by people we mean the paparazzi—have preferred to keep poor ol' Tom confined to just one personality: Tom Cruise the Psycho-Crazy Guy You've Probably Read About in the Tabloids.

That designation might finally be taking its toll. Early box office reports indicate that the third Mission: Impossible film doesn't have nearly the legs that its two predecessors had. You certainly can't say they're not trying, though—M:I3 boasts not only the return of Cruise as secret agent Ethan Hunt, but it's also got a hot new director—J.J. Abrams, of TV's Lost and Alias fame—and a newly-Oscared character actor playing the diabolical villain—Philip Seymour Hoffman. The movie also features franchise stalwart Ving Rhames and newcomers Billy Crudup and Keri Russell.

This time around, Hunt isn't just another anonymous action hero; he's got a home and a fiancé e now—an actual life. He's no longer a field agent, but a trainer of new agents. That doesn't stop the Impossible Mission Force from enlisting his help for an especially tricky case, however, and it isn't long before Hunt is back in action, hot on the trail of weapons dealer Owen Davian (Hoffman). Explosions and gunfights ensue.

Abrams has said that his goal with the film was to breathe new life into the series by fleshing out the characters, but Christian film critics are split on how successful he is.

Todd Hertz (Christianity Today Movies) writes, "Because M:I3 trumps up the film's heart and fun with interesting characters, genuinely funny comic relief (Alias fans will enjoy a Marshall-like tech guy), and characters to care about, it can also afford to raise the tension level. And does it ever. The first three minutes of the film are a shocking and intense shot of adrenaline—and it never really lets up. The film is fast moving, relentless, gripping, dramatic. At times, there's almost a horror-like tension and grittiness. There is an energy here that was largely missing from the previous M:I movies. It crackles and simmers during crisp dialogue scenes, thanks to skilled note-perfect acting of Cruise, Hoffman, Billy Crudup, and Laurence Fishburne. Some of the talking scenes are more thrilling and taut than lesser films' action sequences."

Bob Hoose (Plugged In) praises the film for striking "an almost flawless balance. The world created is a glittering gem exploding around us, but we believe. The villain is an evil blight we know nothing about, but we don't care, we know pestilence when we see it. The hero is impossibly determined, but we love him for it." Hoose is not so thrilled with the film's high level of violence, however, asking "just how many torture scenes and cold-blooded killings are acceptable in healthy entertainment—100, a dozen, five, one?"

Meanwhile, Steven Greydanus (Decent Films) calls the film "competent, disposable entertainment. There's nothing here that really grabs you like the first film's CIA break-in, but it doesn't leave a sour taste like Woo's M:I‑II. Even so, in the post-007 world of Jason Bourne, that may not be enough. The IMF has perhaps outlived its usefulness."

Christian Hammaker (Crosswalk) has mixed feelings: "Mission: Impossible 3 director J.J. Abrams, in interviews promoting the latest entry in the Mission Impossible franchise, has said that he wanted the third film's stunts to serve the storyline, rather than the other way around. By that criterion, M:I3 must be considered a failure. But if M:I3, like its two predecessors, is evaluated primarily as a stunt-driven spectacle where plot is largely incidental, the film fills the bill for exciting summer entertainment."

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May (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50