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Published Thursday, May 04, 2006 by seanlmccarthy | E-mail this post

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSSIBLY FAMILIAR

Yes, really. That's one thing to take away from the third installment of the movie adaptation of the former TV franchise. Having J.J. Abrams on board as director certainly made the M:I franchise look more comfortable to viewers who already have watched plenty of Alias. I first wanted to say that M:I:III plays out like a two-hour, big-screen, big-budget episode of Alias. Actually, though, it's even more true that Abrams' TV show has been an effort to duplicate Mission: Impossible.

That doesn't completely excuse all of the other unconscious or conscious copying of previous movies. Or does it? Films drop hints or nod in admiration to preceding flicks all of the time, and audiences and critics don't seem to mind that.

If you go see M:I:III, perhaps it'll be more interesting if you bring this shortcut checklist with you...bomb in the head, a la last week's Alias? Check. Shot of adrenaline to the heart, a la Pulp Fiction? Check. Tom Cruise riding by airplanes on his hog, a la Top Gun? Check. OK. I won't ruin the rest for you, but keep an eye out for scenes or plotlines you may have seen played out earlier in True Lies, Born On The Fourth Of July, Minority Report, Entrapment, 24 and Lost.

Not that I hated the film. It was neat to see how the whole rubber face switcheroo actually works. But c'mon...you can't get a cell phone signal in the middle of Shanghai? Surprise!