Mission Impossible 3 - Preview
Preview by Jack Foley
THE making of Mission Impossible 3 proved nearly as improbable as the name of the film itself!
Three directors have been associated with the project, while actors of the calibre of Kenneth Branagh and Scarlett Johansson have dropped out.
The film was originally intended for a May 2004 release, when David (Fight Club) Fincher was to have directed.
But having been burned once by the pressure of a sequel (namely Alien 3), Fincher was reluctant to undergo another ordeal and left, insisting that if he couldn’t do it properly, then he wouldn’t do it at all.
With Fincher gone (and fans left to lament the ultimate what if?), the makers of the franchise – and Tom Cruise, its star – turned to emerging director Joe Carnahan to bring about the impossible, having been impressed with his work on Narc.
Carnahan’s version was to have taken the franchise into a darker, more violent direction that projected post 9/11 fears.
But weeks before it was due to start filming, the director left citing unspecified creative differences.
With a May 2005 release date unlikely, Cruise also temporarily bailed on the project to unite with Steven Spielberg for War of the Worlds.
In the process, he enlisted promising TV director JJ Abrams (better known as the brains behind Alias and Lost) to pick up the pieces.
Abrams admits to being totally surprised at being asked to direct such a blockbusting franchise but was no way intimidated.
He immediately insisted that he start from scratch and discarded the blueprint laid down by Carnahan and co, describing it as ‘too big and serious’ for Mission Impossible.
Out, too, went Johansson, Carrie Anne-Moss and Branagh, replaced instead by Michelle Monaghan, Laurence Fishburne and, crucially, soon-to-be Oscar winner, Philip Seymour Hoffman.
The result looks like being a film that’s every bit as spectacular as its predecessors, while shedding a little more light on the personal story of Cruise’s daredevil agent, Ethan Hunt.
Says Abrams in an interview with Total Film: “I wanted to do a story about a man who was a spy but who would come home and we’d see how that affected him as a person. How does a man live his life undercover?”
What’s more, Hunt will be faced with an adversary worthy of his skills in the form of Hoffman, clearly revelling in the opportunity to play things lighter after his work in Capote.
Adds Abrams: “This is the first time Ethan Hunt has come up against an adversary this scary, this clever and this mysterious. Philip is just amazing.”
The result has impressed Cruise, who is reportedly delighted with the finished version. Heck, he even convinced Kanye West to record a version of the Mission Impossible theme song.
So when the film opens on May 5, expect to be impressed. The omens are good given that the trailer really does look spectacular. Who’d bet against Mission Impossible 3 being as enjoyable as ever.