MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III - HD DVD review

It has been six years, but Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt in the third installment of "Mission Impossible" with the second sequel, "Mission Impossible III." Featuring all new over-the-top stunts and impossible situations to escape from, the eagerly anticipated sequel grossed under $140 million at the box office and with his personal life creating more press than the film itself, "Mission Impossible III" is also Cruise's swan song at Paramount Pictures. Featuring only Cruise and Ving Rhames in returning roles, "Mission Impossible III" introduces a plethora of all new characters and has a strong supporting cast with Philip Seymour Hoffman as the film's primary bad guy, Billy Crudup ("Almost Famous"), Keri Russell ("Felicity"), Simon Pegg ("Shaun of the Dead"), Laurence Fishburne ("The Matrix") and other familiar faces.

"Mission Impossible III" finds Ethan Hunt enjoying retirement from the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) and settling down to marry his girlfriend Julia (Michelle Monaghan). However, when one of the agents trained by Hunt, Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell), is captured, Hunt is asked to do one more mission for the IMF. His involvement in the mission to rescue Farris places his directly in the wrath of the villainous arms dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Davian strikes Hunt where it hurts the most - he captures Hunt's wife and threatens to kill her if Hunt does not perform an impossible mission to retrieve a valuable weapon. Assisting Hunt on this impossible mission is his longtime friend Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Declan Gormley (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and Zhen Lei (Maggie Q). While the IMF believes Hunt needs to be captured and arrested and the pursuit is led by high-ranking Theodore Brassel (Laurence Fishburne), he finds some help with agency lab tech Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg).

There are a number of impressive stunt sequences and high tech gadgetry to rival the previous two films. The third film in the series finds Ethan Hunt involved in an insane helicopter chase where the choppers fly between the large blades of wind generators. The character must build a fulcrum and swing onto a heavily sloped building roof and then base-jump from a dangerously low altitude to escape his would be captors. These are just as "over-the-top" and unbelievable as any stunts from the previous films, but nicely fits into the thoroughbred of the franchise. The number of gadgets and weapons are used effectively throughout the film. Hunt finds magnetic mines, missiles, high powered guns, computer technology and other tools and weapons that assist him and his team on their "Mission Impossible." The good guys still have an incredible ability to avoid getting hit by gunfire and the amount of time it takes for the film's big action sequence to unfold goes against the grain of time and space, but "Mission Impossible" is about entertainment and the film does succeed in that regard.

Where the film falls short, aside from the believability of the impossible missions, is that any sense of danger or tension is lost as you watch "Mission Impossible III." Ethan Hunt has only a set amount of time to complete an impossible task to save his wife. However, it is expected that at the last possible moment, he will complete the task. It is an expected outcome and more time is spent trying to figure out how much time it took Ving to get down the stairs or the elevator of the skyscraper and not much time is spent worrying whether or not the task can be completed. The big scene in Shanghai, where Hunt and company devise the grand scheme removes much of the intrigue and suspense of how the action will unfold. You know Tom Cruise is going to swing from one building to the other, land on the roof, get the object and then base-jump to the sidewalk below. Exposition is given to explain how the impossible mission will be handled, and though it does not go exactly to plan, the curiosity of how everything will unfold is lost, unlike the big scene of the first film where Ethan Hunt broke into CIA headquarters at Langley.

Directed and co-written by "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams, "Mission Impossible III" is not a bad chapter in the Ethan Hunt universe. The film transcends the level of action and technology found in the James Bond series and where the latest film in that long-running franchise is trying to ground itself more in reality, the "Mission Impossible" series gets louder and more aggressive in its action with each film. There is not a lot of breathing room and "Mission Impossible III" does not feature many scenes where the audience is given a moment to catch their breath. Unfortunately, the film starts to become repetitious in its plot devices and you almost start to get a sense of "been there, done that" as the film races ahead. You see an IMF agent die when a small bomb goes off in their head and you see that an electrical jolt can save the day. When Ethan Hunt is placed in a situation to revisit this plot device, you already can figure out the outcome. There is no guessing or sense of thrill in the moment.

The cast does a pretty good job of trying to make "Mission Impossible III" seem plausible. Ving Rhames is simply a great screen presence and has been a great asset to the franchise. There is no questioning why Ving has been in all three films. He really deserves a "Mission Impossible" film all his own. Tom Cruise has Ethan Hunt down to a science and is on Cruise control (sorry for the pun) for the entire film and easily believable as the main character. Philip Seymour Hoffman does not look like a horrendous and dangerous villain, but his attitude and persona as Owen Davian works nicely and you can certainly look to the character as being a supervillain of sorts. I loved seeing Simon Pegg in the film and the rest of the cast used in the film were effective in their roles.

"Mission Impossible III" is a fun film. In the end, it does feel a little disappointing because it does not seem to push any new boundaries. Ethan Hunt manages to infiltrate a building and grab an impossible to obtain item, but you don't see the actual snagging of said item. Where the previous films showed the gadgetry and trickery needed to perform the impossible missions, the third film races forward to throw more action and stunt sequences at the audience. "Mission Impossible III" lacks the soul and intelligence of the first film. The espionage and inventiveness of the first film are long since gone and the third film simply feels like a loud continuation of the series. The first sequence where Hunt and Stickell and the others rush to rescue Lindsey Farris is the best sequence in the film, but it ends quickly and the only time spent where technology is pivotal to the mission is when Simon Pegg's character leads Ethan Hunt through the streets based upon a cell phone locator. If you liked the first two films, then "Mission Impossible III" will be more than enjoyable to you. However, it is just another "Mission Impossible" film and offers nothing new.

Video:
"Mission Impossible III" features a 1080p / VC-1 encoded 2.35:1 transfer that looks spectacular. Featuring a very high level of detail, clean transfer and bright and vivid colors, "Mission Impossible III" rivals most titles released on the format thus far and also marks the first time that much of the film's supplements have also been provided in High Definition. The "Mission Impossible" franchise has always been a franchise where exotic locations and beautiful cinematography assist in delivering a captivating experience. Directory of Photography Dan Mindel continues this tradition and though "Mission Impossible III" doesn't have the number of beautiful vistas and exotic locations that the previous films had, there are still a few moments of wonderful eye candy. Shanghai and its neon-laced buildings being lit in the evening sequences looks magnificent on HD-DVD. The Chesapeake Bay bridge and the blue water under the split span stand out as well and the scenes around Vatican City and the beautiful interiors of the Vatican are argument enough to skip over the standard definition release and purchase the HD-DVD disc. There are more interior shots in this film than the previous two films, but "Mission Impossible III" still is a very good looking movie.

Colors and level of detail are two of the more important measures for these high definition transfers on HD-DVD. "Mission Impossible III" is a highly detailed picture. The bricks around the Vatican walls are so detailed, it looks as if you could feel the texture. There is a lot of fast moving action sequences and the image quality of "Mission Impossible III" holds up nicely even when the camera and objects on the screen are moving along at fast speeds. Colors are plentiful and there are bright reds, blues, greens and yellows throughout the picture. Contrast is perfect. Black levels are very deep and nicely done. The opening sequence takes place under night skies and even in the darkest moments, picture quality and colors hold up nicely. I saw no posterization or other digital faults while watching the film and the source materials are also pristine and show no flaws whatsoever.

Unfortunately, I did not receive a standard definition disc for a comparative review, but I did receive the Blu-Ray edition. I can safely say, without even taking a peak at the DVD release, that "Mission Impossible on HD-DVD will easily surpass the standard definition release. This can be said comfortably because the level of detail and color reproduction is among the better of the HD-DVD releases and I've never seen and SD DVD that can even compare with this level of quality. The big question is how does the HD-DVD release and Blu-Ray title compare? I could not find any great noticeable differences between the two high definition formats and "Mission Impossible III" looks absolutely wonderful, though the Blu-Ray uses the heavily maligned MPEG 2 code and the HD-DVD uses the better received VC-1 codec. If I spent a ton of time and had two equal televisions running side-by-side, I may find some visual differences, but I tend to think they are too close in quality that the casual viewer would easily spot the variance between the two formats.

Sound:
The "Mission Impossible" theme is a very familiar little number. Fans of the franchise would not bee too please if those first couple bars did not jump from the speakers with an audible veracity that did not rival the great visuals. Fortunately, the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 multi-channel soundtrack is very impressive. French and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks are also provided, as are subtitles in all three languages. "Mission Impossible III" features a very enveloping and aggressive soundtrack that engages the audience throughout the film's 125 minute running time. Gunfire, explosions, theme songs and the musical score all sound brilliant and powerful. The level of detail in the soundtrack is so deep, that each keystroke by Luther Stickell is easily noticeable. Ambient effects and environmental noises are carried throughout the rear surrounds throughout the picture, as well as the directional gunfire. This is a soundtrack that is full of detail, full of sound and the louder you turn it up, the more enjoyable it is.

All six channels are used effectively by the Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack. Imaging across the three front channels is very good. Directional effects easily move from either side to the other, nicely catching the attention of the center channel along the way. Effects can be heard moving from front to back or back to front. The rears are used heavily throughout the picture and there were more than a couple times when sound was coming from every imaginable direction. The .1 LFE channel is heavily used throughout "Mission Impossible III" and bass is deep and powerful during the film's action sequences and also accentuates the musical score by Michael Giacchino. Dialogue is clean and as crystal clear throughout the picture, regardless of the level of sound emanating due to the action sequences. The 5.1 multi-channel mix for "Mission Impossible III" is lively and truly adds to the experience of watching the picture on HD-DVD.

Extras:
"Mission Impossible III" marks a few firsts for HD-DVD. This is the first big major release to find itself arriving on store shelves simultaneously in all three formats. The DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray releases of "Mission Impossible III" assaults retail outlets all on the same day. Another first for this release is this is the very first 2-disc set for an HD-DVD title. Much of the argument during this format war has been on the storage space available. "Mission Impossible III" finds two 30GB HD-DVD platters in the DVD case, and the Blu-Ray is also a 2-disc release. This will be a good gauge as to how welcoming the public is to a multiple disc set on formats where the great amount of available space was one of the primary selling points. If 2-disc sets are accepted without any moaning and groaning, then the argument as to how Blu-Ray can contain much more data on a single disc becomes lesser of an argument, as studios will have no problems releasing multi-disc sets on the high definition format.

There is one major difference between the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray releases for "Mission Impossible III." This difference is the Enhanced Commentary by Tom Cruise and Director J.J. Abrams as they discuss their experience making M:I:III. The Blu-Ray release contains only the standard audio commentary track that is also included on the HD-DVD title. Abrams and Cruise impressed me in how well they did creating this commentary track. If you have the enhanced commentary option turned on, the two appear on-screen in a picture-in-picture that moves between the bottom corners on the screen. They also pause the film and take over the entire screen to add additional dialogue that makes the enhanced commentary run a great deal longer than the film itself. Unfortunately, I did not look at the clock when the commentary began and can't tell you how much more material these additional sequences add to the running time, but it is significant. The standard audio commentary is an edited version of the video commentary that is cleaned up to remove the references to pausing the picture and such. The enhanced version is easily the better of the two offerings.

The rest of the supplements are found on the second disc. I will mark which supplements are presented in HD alongside the running time of each in parenthesis. Go Behind the Camera With the Making of the Mission (28:36 / HD) is your typical, run-of-the-mill talking-heads styled EPK feature. Fortunately, Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams both offer up a significant amount of time to taking part in this feature and provide much of their own thoughts on the making of the film. I was surprised to learn that this was J.J. Abrams first effort as a director on a big budget film. "Making of the Mission" provides a few picture-in-picture moments that are reminiscent of the full-length enhanced commentary found on the first disc.

A handful of slightly smaller and more focused vignettes follow the longer, main feature. Inside the IMF (21:14) is one of the few standard definition supplements and looks dull compared to the high definition mastered bonus materials. This feature looks at how the third film in the franchise involves the Impossible Mission Force and actually looks into the IMF headquarters. Time is also spent here looking at the cast and efforts put in by the supporting members of the film. More Ving is always good. Mission Action: Inside the Action Unit (25:39 / HD) looks at the special effects of the film. J.J. Abrams discusses John Woo and the opening sequence of the second film and how that affected his decisions for the third film and using Tom Cruise for stunts. Visualizing the Mission (10:36 / HD) looks at storyboarding and other techniques on laying out action sequences and how the "Pre-Vis" system greatly assists the filmmakers in creating the highly involved action sequences. The final supplement on the first page of the menu is Mission: Metamorphosis (8:08 / HD) looks at the making of the digital masks in the picture and solely looks at the chameleon technology of the masks and how J.J. Abrams wanted to make their inclusion fresh.

The second page of supplements on the second disc finishes off the featurettes and dives into delete scenes and promotional materials. Scoring the Mission (4:56 / HD) looks at those involved in the films score and how they helped bring the familiar theme song back for a third time. Michael Giacchino is involved with this feature. Moviefone Unscripted: Tom Cruise / J.J. Abrams (8:03) has become a common feature on DVDs these days. These sequences find two people involved in a film interviewing each other with questions from the general public. The two laugh and enjoy this segment, but at only eight minutes, it seems a bit short. Launching the Mission (14:02) is broken down into segments for New York, Rome, Paris, London and Japan. A 'Play All' option is included and this looks at the fervor surrounding Tom Cruise and others as they attend the premieres around the world. They pushed the notion that Cruise attended four premieres hard throughout the length of this featurette. Five Deleted Scenes (5:21 / HD) - "Ethan Fight at Top of Stairs," "Zhen Fight in Computer Room," "Musgrave Cemetery Conversation," "Lindsey Graduates," and "Vatican Entry Extended." Though shown in High Definition, they are of very rough quality. One scene adds to Keri Russell's performance and all five scenes were entertaining and would have been decent additions to the final film, but they are far from necessary. Four Theatrical Trailers (5:30 / HD) are included. Two domestic trailers and the teaser trailer and the Japanese trailer. Paramount has been releasing their trailers in HD, no difference here.

The third and final page of the menu lists only three features, but it took some length of time getting through these bits of supplemental material. Six TV Spots (3:12) are included - "Go Live," "It's Over," "Execute," "Madness," "New Escape," and "Conspiracy Regular." These are not mastered in High Definition, but fun, none-the-less. The Interactive Photo Gallery found literally dozens and upon dozens of scenes from the film and the making of the production in glorious high-definition. It took a good amount of time to get through them and I didn't keep track, but there are a lot of them. They look very nice. Finally, the Excellence in Film (9:14) details Tom Cruise winning the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award. Oddly, Kubrick thought Cruise and Kidman ruined his last film. I wonder if he would approve. There are some nice scenes of older Tom Cruise films and it isn't a bad little short, but has little to do with "Mission Impossible III." It does contain a portion of the Monkees classic song "The Porpoise Song (Theme from Head)." I really appreciated that, though I doubt many others will even know who is singing the song.

Counting the enhanced commentary, there are hours upon hours of supplemental materials. It took me a day longer than I had planned to get through all of the materials. I must say that most of the features contain very good information on the making of the film and Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams did a great job of providing material for this HD-DVD release. The features are exhaustive, but detailed and certainly adds value to this release. For being the first 2-disc HD-DVD release, this is perhaps the best all-around title when you take into account the value added material contained.

Closing Comments:
I enjoyed "Mission Impossible III," but found it repetitious and fairly unimaginative. Granted, there are certain elements that need to be included in any "Mission Impossible" film, and J.J. Abrams and Tom Cruise tried to expand on the character of Ethan Hunt, but I don't feel they achieved what they had intended to do. There is a lot of good action scenes and explosive stunts in "Mission Impossible III." This is certainly a fun popcorn film to sit down and enjoy. Regardless of what you may think of Tom Cruise and his perceived public image, the man is a great action actor and always worth the price of admission. The HD-DVD release is stunning in its visuals and its audio. The picture quality ranks among the better HD-DVD releases and the sound is equally powerful. What is really impressive is the great number of supplements contained on the two platters in the thin Elite Red case. "Mission Impossible III" is really the first special edition to fully make use of high definition. After seeing this title, I'm all for multi-disc sets in the new generation.