Radio Lady Reviews: 'Mission: Impossible 3' with Tom Cruise

[Radio_Lady]

Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise… Why do so many people want to slam him? Alternately, why are so many people eager to see his movies?

Read this thread for many DU opinions.

People slug him for divorcing Nicole Kidman, for taking up with Katie Holmes, for his religious preferences, for deigning to discuss psychiatry and the usefulness of psychotropic drugs, and for not being a good actor. Hey, whose damn business is all of that anyway? By Hollywood standards, why does he deserve special criticism for what is not unusual behavior for actors?

Yes, he’s an actor and moviemaker and he’s accused of being over-rated, not really handsome enough, etc., etc., etc. Yet by box-office figures and number of years of success, he is a standout. If we dismiss all of those actors who never qualify for those dubiously determined awards, we’d refuse to attend most films that are offered and many that are truly enjoyable entertainment… and that's what Tom gives us. So let’s get off Tom’s back.

Instead, let’s talk about his latest outing…”Mission: Impossible III” or simply 'M:I 3'. (Please be aware that there are about seven different ways to write this!) I’ll say at the outset that this is not my favorite Cruise movie, although I did enjoy the fantastic action sequences, special effects, and stunt work, much of which Tom Cruise did himself.

There’s no putting down the rapid fire, one after the other, super high action sequences that in themselves can carry you though the show. However, if your inclined to really understand the plot and what is happening or what the movie was all about, you’re likely to be somewhat disappointed. If you leave the theater more than a little puzzled about certain things, you're not alone. You can take solace in not being alone but that may not make you feel better. Questions come up about who were the bad guys and who were the good guys? One specific plot device was alluded to all through the movie -- but never explained. (It would be a spoiler if I told you, so I won't.) I came away feeling that I might like to go back and see 'M:I 3' again to see if it really holds together or not but I think I know the answer…NOT…so I probably won’t put myself through that. Maybe I'll call it 'Mission:Inscrutable 3.'

The locations used are quite remarkable. The crew shot in various locations in the United States (as opposed to Canada) as well as in Shanghai, China and locations in Italy. Some scenes purport to be filmed in the Vatican itself, but I can't confirm that exactly. I can't imagine the Pope being willing to grant that kind of access! As producer, Tom Cruise did seek permission to shoot in the glass-domed Parliament building in Germany, but was rejected. Director J. J. Abrams (TV director of 'Alias' and 'Lost') did a fine job with the film, but I will never get used to hand-held camera work. It really makes me nauseated.

In this film, Tom Cruise delivers a respectable performance as does the supporting cast. Philip Seymour Hoffman is definitely up to the challenge of becoming the main villain and is very menacing. So if you want to lose yourself in high action, great effects, and super stunt work, especially what Cruise himself contributes, and you are willing to suffer the "slings and arrows" of falling into this plot hole and then all those others -- go see 'M:I 3'.

Overall I rate this a C+ on Ellen's Entertainment Report Card.

Just a note here:

I usually try not to consider other reviews before I write mine. However, I did look at the overall numbers at “Rotten Tomatoes”. The “critics” are coming up with 85% favorable which is much better than my feelings about it. The “users” are coming up with only 54% favorable…2 stars out of 5, maybe. That’s much closer to my assessment. However, these figures change daily, so if you want the latest information, look here.
In any case, there’s enough to justify your going to see 'M:I 3' if you are a high action or Tom Cruise fan or both. See you at the movies!

Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: J.J. Abrams
Starring: Tom Cruise, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Monaghan, Simon Pegg, Maggie Q, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Keri Russell, Philip Seymour Hoffman
RunTime: approx. 120 mins.
Released By: Paramount Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of frenetic violence & menace, disturbing images & some sensuality
Official Website: http://www.missionimpossible.com/
Release Date: May 5, 2006

[Tyrone Slothrop]

1. Hmmmm...

I actually had high hopes for this movie considering that JJ Abrams was writing and directing; all three of his TV shows have really excelled on the story-telling side of things and both Alias and Lost strike a great balance between character development and action sequences.

Given his previous efforts, I imagined that the storyline/plot behind this movie would be pretty airtight -- but maybe it's hard for him to squeeze everything in in 120 minutes.

[Radio_Lady]

2. Are you planning to see the movie?

I always hope for "airtight storyline/plot" but it's pretty rare. A lot of people had their fingers on this production.

http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0317919/

Directed by
J.J. Abrams

Writing credits
Alex Kurtzman (written by) &
Roberto Orci (written by) &
J.J. Abrams (written by)

All the "trivia" is intriguing:

Trivia for
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Carrie-Anne Moss was offered a role after Tom Cruise was impressed with her work in Suspect Zero (2004), which Cruise produced. When Joe Carnahan left the project, and J.J. Abrams's took the reigns, her character was dropped from the film entirely.


Kelly Brook was at one point slated to appear.


David Fincher was first slated to direct the film but dropped out to produce Lords of Dogtown (2005), which he also dropped out of directing. The basic storyline of the version he was working on dealt with black market trade of body parts in Africa.


While the producers signed on J.J. Abrams as director in August 2004 after Joe Carnahan's departure, the film was abruptly delayed for at least a year due to Tom Cruise's commitment to the abruptly green-lit War of the Worlds (2005). The production was delayed until Summer 2005, causing the film to be released in 2006. Abrams was hired after Cruise saw episodes of the Abrams series "Alias" (2001) on DVD and was impressed.


Kenneth Branagh was cast as the villain, but because of shooting-delays he had to drop out to begin work on As You Like It (2006).


Studio filming took place at sound stages at the Paramount studio's lot, which for the previous 18 years had been used solely for episodes of Star Trek.


At one point, Ricky Gervais was cast in the film as an ally to Ethan Hunt. But due to various production and casting changes, Gervais had to pull out of the film and was replaced by Simon Pegg.


Scarlett Johansson was cast in the film early on but pulled out of the project and her role eventually went to Keri Russell.


In early May 2004, it was reported that Tom Cruise (in his role as a producer) had requested of the German government that filming be allowed in the 40-metre glass dome of the German Parliament building, the Bundestag. He had earlier visited the Foster & Partners-designed building and been very impressed. His request was denied, however, by Parliament President Wolfgang Thierse. "The building is not available as a film location and we refuse point blank every request to use it as such," a spokesman said.


The film's former director Joe Carnahan was offered the position of director after Tom Cruise was impressed by his work on Narc (2002), which Cruise also executive produced. Carnahan stepped down from the position of director because of creative differences only a month before filming was originally due to begin in August of 2004. His departure delayed the film by a year, while a new director was being sought after. In this time, Cruise went on to film War of the Worlds (2005) which had its originally intended 2006 release fast-tracked by a whole year.


Thandie Newton was offered the chance to reprise the role of Nyah Nordoff Hall, but turned it down to concentrate on spending time with her family. Her role in the story was later changed to a new character named Leah Quint (played by Carrie-Anne Moss) but when J.J. Abrams took over directing the project, the character was totally scrapped from the story.

[kay1864]

3. Speaking of Scarlett

Scarlett Johansson was cast in the film early on but pulled out of the project and her role eventually went to Keri Russell.

As someone (me?) posted in the Lounge awhile back:

The “Lost in Translation” star was expected to co-star with Cruise in “Mission: Impossible III” but was dropped because of “scheduling conflicts.” But it seems that there may have been other conflicts as well.

Cruise invited Johansson to a Scientology center where he showed her literature about joining his controversial church, according to a report. “After two hours of proselytizing,” according to RadarMagazine.com, “Cruise opened a door to reveal a second room full of upper-level Scientologists who had been waiting to dine with the pair, at which point the cool-headed ingénue politely excused herself.”

[Radio_Lady]

4. That's pretty fascinating. Good for her! I don't like proselytizing by

any religious group! Thanks for posting.

[kay1864]

6. Agreed!

Especially those damn Unitarians. They are always knocking on my door on Saturday mornings. :rofl:

[Radio_Lady]

8. Wait a minute... not the Unitarians! We're preparing for a potluck dinner

on Saturday mornings -- usually with other Unitarians.

I don't think we give a "fig" if you believe our way or not!

This is cute: Unitarian humor online!

How many Unitarians does it take to change a light bulb?

We choose not to make a statement either in favour of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey, you have found that light bulbs work for you, that is fine. You are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your personal relationship with your light bulb. Present it next month at our annual Light Bulb Sunday Service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions, including incandescent, fluorescent, 3-way, long-life, and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence

MORE AT LINK ----> http://www.firstunitariantoronto.org/uu_humour.htm

[kay1864]

10. Oh I know. I was being silly.

I'm a UU myself! (a bit lapsed though--if there is such a thing for UU's!)

My two UU jokes:

Why do Unitarians sing the hymns so badly?
They're reading ahead to see if they agree with the words.

Did you hear about the Unitarian family who moved in down the street?
Someone burned a question mark on their front lawn.

I'll check out those jokes, thanks! :hi:

(Hey, just realized--I'm a DU UU! LOL)

[Radio_Lady]

15. I'm a DU UU 2! Go to the West Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in

Oregon. We call ourselves WHUUF (like the dog's bark!) Great people and great socializing!

[kay1864]

17. OMG, best UU acronym ever!

If we get to Portland, we will, thanks!

[Radio_Lady]

21. Why, thank you for the compliment, Kay!

[grace0418]

7. Yay for Scarlett! I love her and she seems like

a strong, independent woman.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

14. I hadn't really decided yet

As I said, I'm a pretty big Abrams fan -- but not a great MI or Cruise fan. As such, I was mainly excited to see what JJ would do with his first major picture outing.

I rarely go to see films on opening weekend/week anyway, so I had decided to wait until some reviews and word of mouth were out to determine whether I should spend my $10.50 on it or not.

Yours was the first review I've read so far.

(And I had no idea the film had bounced around so many directors' laps before landing in JJ's. That is typically not a good sign for a movie.)

[Radio_Lady]

18. I've posted it early because we're headed on vacation and I had

to fulfill my requirement to post a review on Friday. (I'm a couple of days early.)

However, there are quite a few user reviews around, (fully five pages at the link below!) considering the opening date is 5-05-06. The movie must have been screened a bunch of times here and there.

http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0317919/usercomments

And, as one DUer pointed out, there are now "viral marketing agencies" that place reviews around the Internet to make it seems as if the movie is better than it really is. I ran into that with the movie, "The Village."

Thanks for your post!

[Radio_Lady]

33. Eric Snider, one of our better film reviewers in Portland, takes a look...

Movie Review -- "Mission: Impossible III"
Review by Eric D. Snider
Grade: B
Rating: PG-13
Released: Friday, May 5, 2006

People have begun to notice lately that movies are in decline while TV shows are becoming more impressive in their scope and size -- more like what movies are supposed to be, in other words. Nowhere is this more evident than in "Mission: Impossible III," a sleek, preposterous adventure directed by "Lost" and "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams that is essentially no better than what Abrams showcases every week on "Alias," or what his colleagues at "24" manage over the course of a season.

Yes, "This movie is as good as a TV show!" is now a perfectly valid compliment, and "M:I-3" earns it. Abrams' first foray to the big screen has several thrilling action sequences, some witty dialogue, and one or two ... OK, not "surprises," exactly (if you watch much TV, you'll spot them early), but pleasant "twists," anyway. The major question is why you would pay $10 to watch two hours of what you already get for free on TV, but that's not my department.

It's been six years since we last saw Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), secret agent for the Impossible Missions Force, and his personal life has changed dramatically. He's in love! True, googly-eyed, couch-jumping love. His betrothed is Julia (Michelle Monaghan), a nurse who is unaware of Ethan's super-secret private life. She thinks he works for the Virginia Department of Transportation, when really he's a gay Scientologist. Er, secret-agent, I mean.

On the night of their engagement party, Ethan is summoned back into action by his handler, Musgrave (Billy Crudup). His mission, should he choose to accept it, is to rescue fellow agent Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell) from the clutches of black-market weapons dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman). That task quickly evolves into the larger job of pursuing Davian and preventing him from putting an apocalyptic weapon nicknamed the Rabbit's Foot into the wrong (i.e., non-American) hands.

MORE at link --->

http://www.ericdsnider.com/movies/mission-impossible-iii

[Common Sense Party]

34. See it. You'll like it. Some very 'Alias' moments. Frenetic pace.

A bit too jumpy at times. My wife could not catch her breath during most of the movie.

When all is said and done, nobody's life or worldview is going to be changed by seeing this, but it is exciting, well-crafted action.

I'd give it a B or B+.

[kay1864]

5. BTW, I totally agree with you about Tom Cruise

So what if he's weird? What do I care? All I care about is if I enjoy a movie or not.

Now if Actor X is repugnant (like O'Reilly-repugnant), I might avoid his/her movies, but if they want to pursue something loony like Scientology, it's their own business.

Reminds me of all the people that were dissing Waterworld (and later, T2 and Titanic) for going way over budget. What business is that of ours? The MSM made a huge deal about "budget worries" like it was a sin or something. Hey, it's Hollywood, whaddya expect?

[Radio_Lady]

11. Thanks, Kay. Here's an interesting web page that shows the

"bankability" of a star.

This is Tom Cruise's page:

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=tomcruise.htm

The page adds up the money brought in by all the movies in which Tom Cruise had a starring role. (Leaving out the five in which he had bit parts.) Then it adds together the averages for each movie and comes up with a total.

Tom CRUISE

Lifetime Gross Total (25 movies): $2,537,613,685
Average: $101,504,547
Opening Gross Average (20 movies): $23,074,575 (Wide Releases Only)

This guy is a money spigot for Hollywood and they know it. He'll make hay while the sun shines and we'll see if he grows into a character actor as he ages.

[grace0418]

9. My problem with Tom Cruise...

as an actor has little to do with the fact that I think he's a idiot in real life. I just don't think he's very good. I've enjoyed a few films of his (Magnolia and Minority Report) but I think his ego has taken over his acting ability. He takes me out of a movie because I don't feel like he inhabits his roles, I think his roles mold around HIM like an ill-fitting costume. I see TOM CRUISE PLAYING __________.

[Arugula Latte]

22. Me too. Exactly.

It's distracting. I'm thinking: "Here is Tom Cruise really cranking it up ... Ooooh, look -- he's Emoting!" :eyes:

[grace0418]

23. LOL. Tom Cruise emoting is really more than I can

handle most of the time!

[patcox2]

12. As an Operating Thetan, level VII, Cruise has superhuman powers.

According to Scientology, he can levitate objects and control other people's minds. I am not making this up. Watch him in his interactions with interviewers, or even with hecklers, he actually believes he has these powers and tries to use them. He has this bizarre intense stare he puts on and I swear he thinks he is controlling us with it.

So that would explain his popularity.

It has made him a better actor; he does have a wierd intensity which comes from the fact he is a weird guy who believes he has magical powers.

[kay1864]

16. Then why doesn't he use his powers to increase his height?

:rofl:

Seriously, where did you learn he was a level VII?

(now there's a thought--Scientology: the Video Game! "What level are you at dude?" "I'm at level VII, I'm like a Jedi with mind-control powers")

[Radio_Lady]

24. Portland Tribune reviewer Pat Holmes give Tom a run for his money...

Third time’s the charm for Cruise vehicle

The Big Movie: ‘Mission: Impossible III’ (PG-13)

Tom Cruise, your latest mission — which you already have decided to accept — is to overcome a year’s worth of dubious publicity surrounding your personal antics and get huge numbers of people to see your new movie.

And it turns out, mission possible. This weary nation may have entered a Cruise overload red zone, but it’s still worth toughing out a trip to the multiplex for the most successful “Mission” yet.

While the previous two films were directed by flamboyant stylists on the decline (Brian De Palma and John Woo), this one was handed to relative up-and-comer J.J. Abrams, best known for his hit TV series “Lost” and “Alias.” And Abrams hits the ground running with a streamlined and supercharged vehicle that powers right past the Cruise question.

In a role that’s more momentum than motivation, the star doesn’t have any time to get in his own way, or even to remind those who don’t much like him of why they don’t.

Now wait, you ask, hasn’t this been touted as the entry that humanizes Cruise’s character, Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt, and explores his “inner life”?

Well, OK, he does get married to the girlfriend (Michelle Monaghan) who thinks he works in traffic control, but the domestic stuff is only there so the wife can get nabbed by the bad guy (Philip Seymour Hoffman, mean as a snake) and give everything the old “this time it’s personal” touch.

And this, in turn, gets us past the barely there plotting, which has to do with the search for a gizmo known as “the Rabbit’s Foot,” and which Alfred Hitchcock used to call a “MacGuffin.”

MORE AT LINK --->

http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=35141

[Rob H.]

13. As crazy as this sounds...

I'm more interested in how Simon Pegg was, rather than whether Cruise did a decent (or not) job. Shaun of the Dead was one of my favorite movies of 2004.

[Radio_Lady]

19. Simon Pegg? He was wonderful! He had most of the comic lines!

We loved "Shaun of the Dead" also -- saw it in a hotel and laughed our heads off!

http://www.us.imdb.com/name/nm0670408/

[Rob H.]

20. Excellent! Glad to hear it

I really have to hand it to the guy. He goes from starring on British TV to doing a moderate-budget zombie comedy to starring in a big-budget action movie. Nice going, Simon. :D

Probably not enough to make me want to see the movie, but still. :P

[ComerPerro]

25. Just as it was once "cool" to love Cruise, its now "cool" to hate him

[Radio_Lady]

26. What other actor has this happened to, ComerPerro?

One person I can remember is Eddie Fisher, when he left Debbie Reynolds to marry Elizabeth Taylor. But then he was a singer, not an actor.

[Radio_Lady]

27. LibraLiz1973 chimes in with her review -- recap here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=post&forum=105&topic_id=5117965&mesg_id=5117965

[NewJeffCT]

28. I saw the movie yesterday

I enjoyed it as a good action movie, though I also had a few questions at the end about what happened. As I stated in my thread, I thought it was much better than Cruise's "War of the Worlds" from last summer, as well as the big early summer action movie "Kingdom of Heaven" and even "Revenge of the Sith"
(if you don't like Cruise's acting, you must be appalled with Hayden Christenson!) The cast all did a good job in their roles.

I agree that Hoffman was an excellent villain and I agree on some of it being inscrutable.

As somebody that has visited Shanghai not too long ago, they really emphasized the fact that "hey, we realy filmed in Shanghai!", though I don't remember seeing the famous Jing Mao tower, though they did show that TV tower quite a bit. The Jing Mao tower looks like a bigger, more modern version of the Empire State Building, while the TV tower looks like it has a bubble in the middle.

BTW - Rotten Tomatoes was at 72% for critics & 71% for users early this Saturday morning.

[Radio_Lady]

30. Thanks for your post. I've never been to Shanghai, but we have

a Chinese woman in our neighborhood who spent a good part of her life there. She's married to a man from Lebanon -- they met each other in Nebraska, where a lot of young people from other countries go to school. Their only child, now age 4, speaks to Mom in Mandarin and Dad in Arabic. Of course, their common language is English. Pretty interesting!

I guess they have a lot of air pollution in Shanghai, unfortunately. When this couple went to Shanghai a few years ago, the woman told me she would not want to get pregnant there because the fetus might have a very high chance of being deformed! Wow! I wonder if that is true?

The crew also filmed in a small fishing village hundreds of years old that was not to far from Shanghai -- the "long" running scene and I think the ending of the film. I have a whole book of production notes from this film which they give to reviewers. The backstory on this film is pretty interesting.

Do you ever look at www.metacritic.com ? I don't like to read sites that have "white on black" type -- it hurts my eyes! Metacritic.com is not as well known as www.rottentomatoes.com and www.imdb.com, but still quite helpful, too -- the editors have whipped up a numerical compilation of votes from reviewers and critics.

Saturday night figures:

66% (Generally Favorable Reviews) for critics; and 7.6 (out of 10) for moviegoers.

http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/missionimpossible3

In peace,

Radio_Lady -- Show host and film reviewer in Portland, OR

[NewJeffCT]

37. I was thinking that when I saw the movie

We went to one of those water towns a few hours outside of Shanghai... the city itself, I don't think has those sorts of canals. I'll have to look up what town it was.

One thing that was unrealistic was them not being able to get a cellphone signal in Shanghai, which may be the most cell friendly city in the world.

[Radio_Lady]

40. Here's the production info on the fishing village: Xitang in China

"Xitang is an ancient fishing village about a two-hour drive outside Shanghai. It is estimated to be around 1,000 years old and boasts a 700-year-old restaurant**. Explains J.J. Abrams, "We wanted to use the ancient town as a backdrop for an emotional endpiece."



At the 700-year-old restaurant, you are unlikely to hear, "Do you want fries with that?"

[Radio_Lady]

41. On line PHOTOS of Xitang!

[Radio_Lady]

42. Another visitor posted these photos!

http://www.bearspage.info/h/tra/ch/xt.html

[NewJeffCT]

43. Thanks

the fishing village I visited on the tour was Tongli.

[Broken_Hero]

29. did

they show the Superman Returns trailer, during the previews? And if they did, what is your take on the trailer?

[Radio_Lady]

31. No, I haven't seen the Superman Returns (2006) trailer.

That film is scheduled for a June 30, 2006 release. The Warner Brothers trailer will probably be screened during late May or early June for the reviewers. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[Radio_Lady]

32. UPDATE: Just saw the trailer -- looks SPECTACULAR! I can't wait.

Superman Returns 2006 trailer links available here:

http://rss.warnerbros.com/supermanreturns/

[Radio_Lady]

35. Entertainment Update: 'M:I3' Earnings Disappoint on 1st Weekend

'M:I3' Earnings Disappoint on 1st Weekend
By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer
9:00 PM PT May 7, 2006

LOS ANGELES - Fewer people chose to accept Tom Cruise's latest mission, a possible sign that the odd behavior of Hollywood's biggest star may have taken a toll on his box-office charm.

Paramount's "Mission: Impossible III" debuted with $48.025 million, a solid opening yet well below industry expectations and almost $10 million lower than the franchise's previous installment, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Industry analysts had expected the movie to open in the range of "Mission: Impossible II," which debuted with $57.8 million from Friday to Sunday over Memorial Day weekend in 2000, and Cruise's "War of the Worlds," which premiered with $64.9 million from Friday to Sunday over Fourth of July weekend last year.

Rob Moore, Paramount's head of worldwide marketing and distribution, said he did not believe Cruise's private life had any impact on "Mission: Impossible III," directed by "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams.

"I don't think so. There's no question it concerns us if the press is writing about things other than the movie," Moore said. "If people are writing about his personal life, then by definition, they're not writing about the movie."

Cruise's antics in the past year or so, publicity over his romance with Katie Holmes and the tabloid blitz regarding their daughter's birth in April may have left some movie-goers burned out or disenchanted with the actor.

MORE AT LINK: http://www.comcast.net/entertainment/index.jsp?cat=ENTERTAINMENT&fn=/2006/05/08/386592.html

[shayes51]

38. I was glad to hear it!

[dback]

36. I was bummed that Keri Russell was so underused

I've adored her since "Felicity" and think she's incredibly talented, as well as underrated. She's barely in the movie 10 minutes; the rest is See Tom Run, See Tom jump, See Tom Avoid Gunfire, etc. The usual.

[Radio_Lady]

39. 'M:I 3' Movie Money & Misgivings -- from www.boxofficemojo.com

'Mission: Impossible III' Doesn't Thrill in Debut
by Brandon Gray
May 7, 2006

This franchise will self-destruct in three movies.

Count Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible among the mega-movie series that faltered by the third outing, joining Beverly Hills Cop, The Matrix and The Terminator among others.

Mission: Impossible III detonated with an estimated $48 million, below such other recent spy pictures as The Bourne Supremacy and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. At 4,054 theaters, the $150 million action spectacle had the fourth widest launch ever but did not achieve a commensurate height in box office, trailing its predecessors by a wide margin in terms of attendance.

Released ten years ago, the first Mission: Impossible's $45.4 million opening weekend would equal around $67 million today, adjusted for ticket price inflation, while the second's $57.8 million from 2000 would be about $70 million. To be fair, both bowed on Memorial Day weekend when Sunday is as potent as Saturday, but both also burnt off demand with Wednesday debuts. Mission I went on to gross $181 million, or $266 million adjusted, and Mission II did $215.4 million, or $260 million adjusted.

According to distributor Paramount Pictures' exit polling, Mission: Impossible III's demographic breakdown was identical to the previous movies, with 64 percent of the audience over 25 years old and 56 percent male.

MORE AT LINK -----> http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2061&p=.htm