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"MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III" (2006) (Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Mild Extreme *Moderate Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Minor Extreme None Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Minor Moderate Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Action/Adventure: A spy returns to active duty and joins other to stop an international weapons dealer who's killed his former trainee and kidnapped his fiancée. PLOT: Ethan Hunt (TOM CRUISE) was once of the best active duty IMF agents around, but he now works training other agents and looks forward to a life of domestic bliss with his hospital nurse fiancée, Julia (MICHELLE MONAGHAN). But when he gets word from IMF operations manager Musgrave (BILLY CRUDUP) that one of his former students, Lindsey Ferris (KERI RUSSELL), has gone missing while on the trail of international weapons dealer Owen Davian (PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN), Ethan returns to active duty. Reunited with computer expert Luther (VING RHAMES) and teamed with driver Declan (JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS) and the alluring Zhen (MAGGIE Q), Ethan sets out on a perilous rescue mission. But when things don't go as planned, Ethan and his crew get an earful from IMF director Brassel (LAURENCE FISHBURNE) who isn't pleased about their covert spy mission. Fortunately for them, they get intel that Davian will be at the Vatican. With the aide of tech guru Benji (SIMON PEGG) back at headquarters, Ethan and his crew set out to capture him and figure out what he wants with a nebulous object known only as the "rabbit's foot." But when Davian escapes their capture and ends up kidnapping Julia, Ethan suddenly faces a forty-eight hour countdown to meet the villain's demands, all while dealing with knowledge of a mole inside their agency. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? It's a good bet many will, especially among the teenage set. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For intense sequences of frenetic violence & menace, disturbing images & some sensuality. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: TOM CRUISE plays an IMF agent lured back into active duty upon learning that Lindsey has gone missing. Disturbed by what occurs, he sets out to find and stop Davian, and fights with and kills many bad people along the way. He also uses some profanity and lies to Julia about his profession (to protect his covert status as well as her life). PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN plays a ruthless but efficient villain who deals various sorts of weapons to terrorist groups. Once he learns Ethan is after him, he proceeds to make his life a living hell by kidnapping Julia. He uses some profanity, briefly smokes and is responsible for several deaths. VING RHAMES plays Ethan's long-time partner, a computer expert who questions his friend's decision to be involved with Julia simply due to the dangers of their profession. He uses some profanity. BILLY CRUDUP plays the team's operations manager who lures Ethan back into active duty. MICHELLE MONAGHAN plays Ethan's fiancé, a hospital nurse who becomes concerned about his suspicious behavior, actions and sudden trips he must take. JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS plays the team's driver. MAGGIE Q plays an alluring operative who assists Ethan on various missions and participates in various battles. LAURENCE FISHBURNE plays the IMF director who isn't pleased with Ethan and his crew's non-approved missions. KERI RUSSELL plays Ethan's former protégé who's now an agent missing in the field. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this action/adventure film that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 4 "s" words and a slang term for breasts, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is present, as is the beginning of a sexual encounter involving a newly married couple (we see kissing and partial disrobing, but no nudity). Another imagined or remembered montage shows snippets of making out and a partial panty shot, while other bits of non-explicit skin are briefly seen (men and women). Violence consists of many people being killed or wounded by various means (gunfire, explosions, etc.) along with bouts of rather brutal fighting. There's some resultant blood but not as much as one might expect, and those scenes and other perilous moments might be intense for some viewers. Some of the material (specifically the stunts) might be enticing for some kids to try to imitate, while various degrees of bad attitudes are present. Some tense family material occurs (a brief funeral scene, a husband and wife worrying about each other), as is some social drinking, and one character briefly smokes. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, a great deal of camera movement occurs in several scenes, including the opening one. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Julia retrieves a beer from a fridge for Ethan at a party where others drink (and many hold such beverages during a toast). Miscellaneous people drink at a reception where Davian grabs a beverage off a tray. Later, Zhen purposefully spills wine on Davian's shirt. BLOOD/GORE We see a few bloody scrapes on Ethan's face. Ethan finds Lindsey bound and slightly bloody. A body bag is unzipped and we see a dead agent inside (and her eyes are open with one looking bad). We then see a surgeon doing an autopsy on her head (but the camera angle -- showing him behind her at the other end of the shot -- blocks any explicit view) and he pulls out the small device that killed her. We briefly see slightly bloody results on a person's leg after they've been shot there. Zhen is hit in the shoulder by a shot (we see a little blood there). Ethan has a few bloody scrapes on his face. We see a little bit of blood on a person's shirt as they're shot. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Davian and those who work for him obviously have extreme bad attitudes for their criminal behavior. Ethan lies to Julia about his vocation and why he must depart (but does so in order to protect his secret agent identity and her safety). It's possible some viewers might not like Ethan dressed as a priest at the Vatican (while undercover and trying to nab Davian). Musgrave lies to Brassel about having knowledge of a mission. We learn that a superior agent is in cahoots with Davian (although that is then transferred over to another agent). FRIGHTENING SCENES The following may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material, but less to those who don't fall into those categories. We see that Davian has Ethan and Julia bound in separate chairs (and Julia has tape over her mouth). Davian threatens to kill her if Ethan doesn't tell him where the "rabbit's foot" is and holds a gun to Julia's head as he starts to count (and even fires a shot into or by her leg). We then hear a shot (presumably to her head), but we only hear it and then the opening credits begin. This scene is later visited. Ethan and his team prepare to rescue Lindsey. Ethan sets up various remote controlled machine guns and then sneaks into a building where he plants various explosives. He then activates them, with resultant explosions, one of which knocks a man aside. At the same time, Luther fires the machine guns that strafe the building and cause a lot of property damage. Ethan then shoots a man dead using a machine gun. After Ethan rescues Lindsey, various men open fire on them, with both then shooting back, hitting various assailants (no blood). More gunfire is exchanged, ending with Ethan shooting one last man who then falls through a window and out to the street several stories below. When they exit the building (and end up hanging onto the roof of a truck), Ethan sets off another explosive that causes a massive explosion. Ethan jabs an adrenaline filled syringe into Lindsey's chest (to help her), but we don't see the actual impact. As Ethan and his team attempt to leave with the recently rescued Lindsey, the latter experiences excruciating pain in her head, all as they see an attack helicopter coming at them in their chopper. They set off an explosive that blows up their getaway truck and the attack chopper flies through the resultant fireball. It then fires several missiles at them (one hits a huge wind farm turbine, sending a huge blade crashing down and it nearly hits some nearby farm animals). During this, Ethan tries to charge up a defibrillator to save Lindsey's life (from the nitroglycerine explosive in her head), all while their chopper (with Zhen hanging from the side) tries to elude the attack chopper. They eventually fly up through the spinning blades of a turbine, avoiding them, but the blades hit the pursuing chopper that then explodes). A body bag is unzipped and we see a dead agent inside (and her eyes are open with one looking bad). We then see a surgeon doing an autopsy on her head (but the camera angle -- showing him behind her at the other end of the shot -- blocks any explicit view) and he pulls out the small device that killed her. One of Davian's huge bodyguards goes into a bathroom to see if Davian is okay, but it's really Ethan in a perfect disguise standing at the sink. As Declan holds an unconscious Davian behind the door, Ethan must stall for 30 seconds until Luther finishes the vocal computerization of Davian's voice for Ethan to use (and thus the bodyguard nearly catches all of them in the act). Despite having been captured, Davian says he'll find whomever Ethan loves, will hurt her and will then kill him in front of her. To try to get Davian to talk while transporting him on a large plane, Ethan slides the bench Davian is tied to and then flips it over above a floor cargo door. He then opens that door in flight and starts cutting the straps holding Davian to that bench, trying to scare him into talking. Luther must then talk Ethan down from cutting the last strap. He does, with Ethan then flipping the bench back over, causing Davian to land hard on the floor while still attached to it. A vehicle suddenly explodes and flips up into the air on a bridge, with missiles fired from a jet then hitting other vehicles. That causes various vehicles to crash into each other, including one that then slides over to a new hole in the bridge. Ethan and Luther end up hanging upside down in theirs and must get out as they see a chopper (with machine gun carrying men) approach. Those men then fire at Ethan (and others) as he runs for cover on the bridge. Ethan and Zhen separately fire handguns back at the chopper, while the driver of a truck is shot by the bad guys and one person is hit in the leg. Ethan then tries to retrieve a gun case from a vehicle as the jet swings around and fires a missile at him. He gets out just in time, although the resultant explosion knocks him into another vehicle (he hits it quite hard). He then assembles a large machine gun as the jet swings around again, but Ethan riddles it with machine gun fire and the jet crashes and explodes. Ethan then runs and tries to jump over a gaping hole in the bridge, but lands short and dangles from the hole, all as others continue to rescue Davian. Ethan finally climbs out, grabs his machine gun and fires at the escaping chopper, but he runs out of ammo. Davian calls Ethan, telling him he has 48 hours to retrieve the "rabbit's foot" or else Julia will die. Ethan cautiously enters an apartment and looks around. When he hears someone at the door, he grabs a kitchen knife and blocks the person's entrance, but it turns out to be Luther. To get from one high-rise to another, Ethan runs and jumps from the roof of the first. The cable attached to him then goes taught, sending him swinging a long way over to the other building. Once above it, he releases the cable and lands hard on the sloped roof, down which he starts to slide. He shoots two guards en route and stops just at the edge (high above the street). Unable to get to the roof to escape, Ethan blasts out through a closed window, shattering it and deploying his parachute (which might not stop him in time). As he quickly falls toward the street, someone from up above fires a machine gun at him. Ethan then ends up crashing through a large window into an office before the wind catches his chute and yanks him back out. He then ends up stopping just feet above the street, but that causes a large truck to jackknife and barely avoid hitting him. He then scrambles through heavy traffic trying to retrieve an important canister. Davian appears to have shot Julia in the head (from the above scene), but (SPOILER ALERT) we later learn it was someone else made up to look like her. Davian activates a device in Ethan's head, causing the latter a great deal of pain. He then proceeds to kick and punch Ethan repeatedly (in a rather brutal fashion), including grabbing him by his hair and knocking him around. While still in pain and needing to stop Davian from killing Julia, Ethan fights back, hitting Davian with his fist and elbows, and he drives him back through various structures as they fight. Time is running out for Ethan regarding the explosive device planted in his head. Needing to deactivate it, he then rips out a large electric cable and has a reluctant Julia switch it on, thus causing a massive jolt that shocks Ethan unconscious. Julia then frantically tries to revive him with CPR, but first must shoot two villains who come after her (after one shoots at her). GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Machine guns/Missiles/Various explosives: Used to threaten, wound or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "You're not gonna be able to do sh*t," "I bullsh*t you not," "If this all goes t*ts up," "Where the hell /is it/am I supposed to look?" "What the hell /do you see in her/is this/is your name/is going on?" "That look in your eye is a pain in my ass," "They're freaking out," "They're pissed" and "Shut up." All of the stunts, fighting and more may be enticing for some kids to imitate. A miscellaneous man appears to have a tattoo on his arm. Ethan swerves and drives fast through traffic (trying to get to Julia to make sure she's okay). JUMP SCENES A sudden explosion on a bridge might startle some viewers. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of action-oriented, dramatic and suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 4 "s" words, 1 slang term for breasts ("t*ts"), 15 hells, 3 damns, 3 S.O.B.s, 2 asses, 2 uses each of "G-damn," "Oh God" and "Swear to God" and 1 use of "God." SEX/NUDITY We see some miscellaneous cleavage at a party. Ethan suddenly wakes up in bed, shirtless, next to Julia. She then snuggles up to him and we see her bare shoulders/back while the rest of her is under the covers. Julia shows some cleavage. Luther wonders if Ethan and Lindsey had a thing between them. After Ethan says he regarded her as his little sister, Luther questions, "And you never slept with your little sister, right?" (Ethan says he did not) After eloping, Ethan and Julia passionately make out in some stock room, eventually ending up against a wall where they remove each other's shirts (we briefly and partially see her in her bra). They then drop down out of the camera shot and sex is implied. Various classical style statues show bare butts (briefly seen). We briefly see Declan shirtless as he changes clothes. The camera shows a lot of Zhen's long legs as she gets out of a sports car in a high-slit, somewhat revealing dress. After a decoy bit where Zhen spilled wine on the real Davian's shirt, Ethan is seen in a perfect Davian disguise and Zhen approaches him (in front of others and to continue the ruse). Through a translation, she says she has a dry cleaner at her hotel, with him suggestively replying what they'd be doing back at her hotel room while he'd be shirtless and waiting for the dry cleaning. She then suggestively says they'd think of something and the two then leave together (but again, it's really Ethan and it's all just a ruse). Ethan imagines or remembers making out with Julia (briefly seen in short snippets including a brief and partial view of her in her panties). Julia shows a little cleavage while trying to resuscitate Ethan. SMOKING Davian smokes once. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We hear that Julia and her sister's parent is dead and there's talk that both of Ethan's parents are dead. We briefly see family members at a funeral. Julia is concerned about Ethan's secretiveness (after they're engaged and he tells her she'll just have to trust him -- regarding his actions). Ethan worries about Julia after Davian kidnaps her, and he later thinks the villain has shot her dead. Time is running out for Ethan regarding the explosive device planted in his head. Needing to deactivate it, he then rips out a large electric cable and has a reluctant Julia switch it on, thus causing a massive jolt that shocks Ethan unconscious. Julia then frantically tries to revive him with CPR but must deal with men who want her dead (and thus delay her helping her husband). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Secret agents. Criminals dealing in international weapons sales and supplies. Eloping. Benji refers to the device Davian is after as the "Anti-God" (for its destructiveness). Luther tells Ethan that normal relationships are not viable for people in their line of work. Luther's comment that there's a point where bold become stupid. VIOLENCE We hear the violent sound of an explosive charge being implanted in Ethan's head. We see that Davian has Ethan and Julia bound in separate chairs (and Julia has tape over her mouth). Davian threatens to kill her if Ethan doesn't tell him where the "rabbit's foot" is and holds a gun to Julia's head as he starts to count (and even fires a shot into or by her leg). We then hear a shot (presumably to her head), but we only hear it and then the opening credits begin. This scene is later visited. Ethan and his team prepare to rescue Lindsey. Ethan sets up various remote controlled machine guns and then sneaks into a building where he plants various explosives. He then activates them, with resultant explosions, one of which knocks a man aside. At the same time, Luther fires the machine guns that strafe the building and cause a lot of property damage. Ethan then shoots a man dead using a machine gun. After Ethan rescues Lindsey, various men open fire on them, with both then shooting back, hitting various assailants (no blood). More gunfire is exchanged, ending with Ethan shooting one last man who then falls through a window and out to the street several stories below. When they exit the building (and end up hanging onto the roof of a truck), Ethan sets off another explosive that causes a massive explosion. Ethan jabs an adrenaline filled syringe into Lindsey's chest (to help her), but we don't see the actual impact. Zhen runs and dives through a window just as an explosive goes off in a room behind her. As Ethan and his team attempt to leave with the recently rescued Lindsey, the latter experiences excruciating pain in her head, all as they see an attack helicopter coming at them in their chopper. They set off an explosive that blows up their getaway truck and the attack chopper flies through the resultant fireball. It then fires several missiles at them (one hits a huge wind farm turbine, sending a huge blade crashing down and it nearly hits some nearby farm animals). During this, Ethan tries to charge up a defibrillator to save Lindsey's life (from the nitroglycerine explosive in her head), all while their chopper (with Zhen hanging from the side) tries to elude the attack chopper. They eventually fly up through the spinning blades of a turbine, avoiding them, but the blades hit the pursuing chopper that then explodes). An explosive charge inside a person's head goes off, killing them (we just hear a snapping sound and then see the dead-eye look of the victim). Ethan has memories of sparring with Lindsey using long sticks of some sort. While disguised as him, Ethan grabs Davian, hits and then pins him to the floor. He then holds a gun to his head to make him read various phrases off a card (to capture his vocal patterns). An explosion destroys an empty sports car. To try to get Davian to talk while transporting him on a large plane, Ethan slides the bench Davian is tied to and then flips it over above a floor cargo door. He then opens that door in flight and starts cutting the straps holding Davian to that bench, trying to scare him into talking. Luther must then talk Ethan down from cutting the last strap. He does, with Ethan then flipping the bench back over, causing Davian to land hard on the floor while still attached to it. A vehicle suddenly explodes and flips up into the air on a bridge, with missiles fired from a jet then hitting other vehicles. That causes various vehicles to crash into each other, including one that then slides over to a new hole in the bridge. Ethan and Luther end up hanging upside down in theirs and must get out as they see a chopper (with machine gun carrying men) approach. Those men then fire at Ethan (and others) as he runs for cover on the bridge. Ethan and Zhen separately fire handguns back at the chopper, while the driver of a truck is shot by the bad guys and one person is hit in the leg. Ethan then tries to retrieve a gun case from a vehicle as the jet swings around and fires a missile at him. He gets out just in time, although the resultant explosion knocks him into another vehicle (he hits it quite hard). He then assembles a large machine gun as the jet swings around again, but Ethan riddles it with machine gun fire and the jet crashes and explodes. Moments later, he grabs his machine gun and fires at an escaping chopper, but he runs out of ammo. A bad guy puts something on Julia's arm that renders her unconscious. Ethan tries to run from other agents, avoiding one taser-type shot, but the second hits and incapacitates him. Ethan hits and kicks three guards in an elevator while escaping from them off a gurney. To get from one high-rise to another, Ethan runs and jumps from the roof of the first. The cable attached to him then goes taught, sending him swinging a long way over to the other building. Once above it, he releases the cable and lands hard on the sloped roof, down which he starts to slide. He shoots two guards en route and stops just at the edge (high above the street). Unable to get to the roof to escape, Ethan blasts out through a closed window, shattering it and deploying his parachute (which might not stop him in time). As he quickly falls toward the street, someone from up above fires a machine gun at him. Ethan then ends up crashing through a large window into an office before the wind catches his chute and yanks him back out. He then ends up stopping just feet above the street, but that causes a large truck to jackknife and barely avoid hitting him. He then scrambles through heavy traffic trying to retrieve an important canister. Some vehicles crash into others during a chase. Some villains shoot at Ethan and his team (with machine guns) in a vehicle as they speed away. Zhen fires back, but she's hit in the shoulder by a shot (we see a little blood there). Ethan then leans out from their moving vehicle and is parallel to the road as he shoots out the tires of the pursuing car, causing it to crash into another vehicle at high and destructive speed. Davian appears to have shot Julia in the head (from the above scene), but (SPOILER ALERT) we later learn it was someone else made up to look like her. Ethan bites into his captor's arm and then manages to knock him out while escaping from being bound to a chair. Ethan hits one man several times and uses his gun to shoot a second man dead. Davian activates a device in Ethan's head, causing the latter a great deal of pain. He then proceeds to kick and punch Ethan repeatedly (in a rather brutal fashion), including grabbing him by his hair and knocking him around. While still in pain and needing to stop Davian from killing Julia, Ethan fights back, hitting Davian with his fist and elbows, and he drives him back through various structures as they fight. A person is hit (and presumably killed) when a truck strikes them (we see a shoe come off) and Ethan barely avoids being struck as well (the truck passes over him). Time is running out for Ethan regarding the explosive device planted in his head. Needing to deactivate it, he then rips out a large electric cable and has a reluctant Julia switch it on, thus causing a massive jolt that shocks Ethan unconscious. Julia then frantically tries to revive him with CPR, but first must shoot two villains who come after her (after one shoots at her). Reviewed May 2, 2006 / Posted May 5, 2006

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