Mission: Impossible III
One of the best action films seen on the big screen for many a year.
With its immediate and shocking opening, 'M:I3' carries the stamp of 'Alias' and 'Lost' creator Abrams from the word go, and he clearly wants to shake things up. And happily, he is successful, taking a simple story and a crowded yet talented cast and producing one of the best action films seen on the big screen for many a year. And it is the action sequences that really make 'M:I3' worth the wait. From the Chesapeake bridge air-raid (which puts similar scenes in 'Spider-Man' and 'Fantastic Four' to shame) to the genuinely thrilling Shanghai tower-block base jumping (sounds silly, but it rocks), this is first-class popcorn entertainment. Additionally, the script is good, with a great sense of humour and some real emotion, and Hoffman, though not on screen enough, is brilliant as the really nasty bad guy. At the centre of it all, Cruise keeps up his day-job perfectly satisfactorily, and the result is a great start to the movie summer. [Paul Gallagher]