What would Sydney Bristow do?
When “Felicity” debuted on WB in 1998, JJ Abrams created such a vivid portrait of a burgeoning woman (with more than a little help from the actress inhabiting her, Keri Russell) that a haircut causes major viewer and press controversy. Three seasons later, he converted a peppy actress best known for “Dude, Where’s My Car?” into a super spy in “Alias.” Then last season, he shoved all us couch potatoes to the edge of our seat with the perplexing, mesmerizing “Lost.” So when Abrams announced he would be helming “Mission Impossible 3,” there was elation that the uninspired series would get a lift. Unfortunately, all that hype goes nowhere, because even Abrams could not leap where Brian DePalma and John Woo had already stumbled.
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has walked away from The Agency. He found a darling nurse (Michelle Monahan, “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”) to become his bride and though he’s lied to her about his past, they have a perfect relationship. Hunt’s former handler (Billy Crudup, “Almost Famous”) brings him back in to extract a lost agent (“Felicity” herself, Russell). The assignment goes awry and Hunt finds himself on the hit list of Agency head (Lawrence Fishburne). Despite being removed from the mission, Hunt continues to…well…hunt for the man responsible for all the chaos, an arms dealer (this year’s Oscar winner, Phillip Seymour Hoffman). The tour of duty takes them around the world to one of the most contained fortresses, Vatican City.
What has made Abrams a wunderkind is how he creates such diverse and complete universes. “Alias” may be an extension of “Felicity” (the kernel of the “Alias” premise came from the thought of Felicity becoming a spy for the summer), but both the tone and situations are polar opposites. “Lost” arrived and Abrams once again displayed a penchant for producing vivid characterizations and a society that continues to fascinate audiences. However “MI3” feels like “Alias Redux.” The location changes, the babbling technical guru, the “trust no one” plot points, all feel familiar to anyone who has invested five seasons in “Alias.” Even the film’s opening, of showing our hero in peril then rewinding after the opening credits to the past, was utilized in the original “Alias” pilot. Most frustratingly, two plot points are not only stolen from an “Alias” script, but the episode AIRED a week before the film opened. You expect JJ Abrams to defy gravity all the time; God knows he has consistently for the last nine years. But this film’s direction and script by Abrams and two other “Alias” executive producers (Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci) appears to be resting on his laurels.
“MI3” has other problems that even non-“Alias” fans will recognize, most glaringly the lack of a multifaceted villain. “Alias” always features such compelling villains. Here the film has an Oscar winner yet his role has been written so nondescript that he could just as much been found bothering “Walker, Texas Ranger.” It’s difficult to care about our heroes when we’re bored by our villains.
There are several components worth lauding. Michael Giacchino’s score captures the intensity of the action scenes and the lushness of the locales. Two-time Oscar winner Colleen Atwood stitches together some magnificent costumes, particularly a red number so slinky it looks like a crimson snake crawling up the shapely body ready to strike.
When “Alias” star Jennifer Garner got pregnant, the show went on hiatus until she could return. Abrams smartly knew the show could not survive with her, its core. Now with “Mission Impossible 3,” we know what the result would have been without her. Grade: C+ |
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