THERE'S a point where the bold becomes the stupid," Luther (Ving Rhames) tells Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) halfway through Mission: Impossible III.
The big fella is advising his diminutive boss not to be so daft (as he contemplates bungee-jumping off a Shanghai skyscraper under-fire from baddy Owen Davien's heavies) but he could be summing up his own film.
But since when did stupid ever mean un-enjoyable?
And since when did Tom ever listen to anyone when there are important things like death-defying heroics and audience-wowing stunts to perform?
Mission: Impossible III is full of them and it's all the better for it.
Despite a far-fetched plot which, embarrassingly, left me slightly confused at the end (Hollywood blockbusters are obviously too intellectual for me - I'd best stick to Wallace and Grommit), Cruise's third outing as leader of the 'Impossible Missions Force' is actually the best.
Ignore the snobby remarks in the broadsheets about tired old Hollywood schlock, ignore the fact that as the film progresses you forget to care what exactly the 'Rabbit's Foot' is that Cruise and Davien (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) are battling for, and just enjoy two hours of explosions, gun fights and cheesy one-liners.
M-I:III doesn't pretend to be anything else and, officially retired, Hunt has a hunger for action that rivals Cruise's (alleged) appetite for placenta.
After a protg he trained is captured by sadistic arms dealer Davien, Hunt is tempted back into the IMF fold from his new life in suburbia with beautiful young doctor wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan).
Using the oldest trick in the book - "Darling, I've got to go away for a few days to a conference" - he slips off to team up with old buddy Luther and new team-mates Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and Zhen (Maggie Q).
Chaos ensues as the trio jet about the world in pursuit of Davien and their captive pal, who, gruesomely has had a microscopic explosive implanted in her head.
One particular scene sees Hunt breaking into the Vatican City dressed as a priest to kidnap Davien who, quite naturally is taking a break from seeking world domination and is there for a wine and canaps party.
Lots of ludicrous rubber-masked impersonating fun follows but then there's the twist.
Tipped off by Hunt's own rogue bosses, Davien is rescued and having then kidnapped Julia, spends the rest of the film getting Hunt to do his bidding. Suffice to say the wee man, looking as impeccably buff as ever, is not amused and gives chase before a grand finale in a Chinese market, where the Rabbit's Foot is, presumably along with lots of other animal body part-based potions.
Directed by JJ 'Lost, Alias' Abrams, M-I:III is a big, brash, stupid film that is as instantly forgettable as it is enjoyable.
But your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to find as fun a film as this at the cinema this weekend. Unlike Hunt and his team, I think you'll struggle.
Impossibly stupid, incredibly enjoyable.
Nick Lakeman.
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