BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: The stakes have never been higher. The action has never been hotter. This is Mission: Impossible… like you’ve never seen it before! Tom Cruise stars as Ethan Hunt in this pulse-pounding thrill ride directed by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias). Lured back into action by his agency superiors (Laurence Fishburne and Billy Crudup), Ethan faces his deadliest adversary yet – a sadistic weapons dealer named Owen Davian (Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman). With the support of his IMF team (Ving Rhames, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Maggie Q), Ethan leaps into spectacular adventure from Rome to Shanghai as he races to rescue a captured agent (Keri Russell) and stop Davian from eliminating his next target: Ethan’s wife, Julia (Michelle Monaghan).

FILM REVIEW: James Cameron made a film called “True Lies” in which a spy keeps his job a secret from his wife before she finds out, all set against the backdrop of apprehending a radical terrorist group. The film had a number of sensational action sequences, great one-liners and watchable characters. With the exception of the first characteristic, “Mission: Impossible III” is essentially “True Lies” all over again but with bland dialogue, no story and totally boring characters, even Tom Cruise. Even some of the action is lifted straight from the former film, with the prime example being the chase sequence on a long bridge over water. The unbelievable thing about watching this film is that the filmmakers must have been deluding themselves in to thinking they were making an entertaining, highly exciting and original action film. In the end, they made a copy of a remake (“True Lies” being a loose remake of a French film) without any flair or interest. To be fair, this film is better than the massive waste of time that was “Mission: Impossible 2” but it is still a waste of time.

The film starts off with a very promising prologue sequence that is actually a scene from the end of the film edited as a teaser. Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is facing down the barrel of bad guy Owen Davian’s (a chilling Philip Seymour Hoffman) gun. Hunt’s wife is tied up and gagged across the room, with Davian threatening to kill her if Hunt does not tell him where the “Rabbit’s Foot” is. The scene has an incredible tension to it, mostly generated by Hoffman’s very cold demeanour, and culminating in what appears to be Davian shooting dead Hunt’s wife before the familiar musical theme starts the movie up proper. The scene immediately conjures up questions of what the scene meant and how the film will take us there. Who is Davian? What is the Rabbit’s Foot? Did he kill Hunt’s wife? When will this happen in the film? How will Hunt beat Davian and have the obligatory happy ending? The sequence is also refreshing in that you do not usually see this type of intense scene in an action film and sets up the promise of a deadly game of cat and mouse between Cruise’s and Hoffman’s characters.

Unfortunately, everything goes down hill after this sensational start. So much of this film does not work well at all, largely thanks to a script that has no story, based on an idea that is directly lifted from another film, and manages to allow the ideas it copies from “True Lies” to be poorly executed and uncomfortably managed. Who cares about Hunt’s social and home life? It is incompatible with the life he is leading as a spy. This idea worked well in an action-comedy, but it is not believable at all in a film proporting to be serious. The dynamic between Cruise and Hoffman is never exploited because Hoffman is hardly in the film at all despite being led to believe that he would be Cruise’s nemesis. The action sequences are perfunctory in terms of drama, despite being well executed. However, the cardinal sin is committed when one of the major action sequences in the film turns out to be a copy of the bridge sequence from “True Lies”, only filmed with a handheld camera so it will give you a headache.

“Mission: Impossible III” is an unfortunate waste of time that tries to rely on tired formula to work instead of using some of its great ingredients to make something special. If the filmmakers had been more creative and actually made their own story instead of lifiting it from others, the film may have been a better experience.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: The film may not have been that good but the video transfer is nothing short of spectacular, right down to the inherent film grain, vibrant colours and crisp pictures. The audio transfer is even better; given the wall to wall action sequences in this film, the home theatre might make things move in your house by the time this film is done. Watch out for the sequence on the bridge when Tom Cruise is running away from an impending missile hit. Overall, an excellent transfer.

EXTRAS REVIEW: This single disc edition has a handful of extras that serve as a nice complement to the film, and in some ways are better to watch than the film itself. There is an audio commentary by JJ Abrams and Tom Cruise which highlights the respect and mutual comfort these two men share for themselves and the fun they had making the film which make it worth listening to. Both are clearly excited revisiting the journey they took to make the film. There is a 30-minute making of documentary which is likewise well crafted, and at a pace equal to the film itself, covering a lot of behind the scenes footage and great cast-crew interviews as well as technical explanations of how certain stunts were achieved. There are also some deleted scenes and a three minute MTV tribute to Tom Cruise. The extras package is small but very insightful and detailed given this is a single disc edition DVD.

BOTTOM LINE: Don't bother.