Mission Impossible III

Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in this thriller, directed by J.J. Abrams. Hunt has to stop a villain who possesses a deadly virus that causes death 24 hours after exposure. Hunt is engaged to a  nurse named Julia, who thinks he is a highway traffic control engineer. But once she is captured, Ethan must put himself in jeopardy and release the “Rabbit’s Foot” to the villain. Co-starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames and Michelle Monaghan.

 I really wanted this one to be more personal. When I started Mission: Impossible, I had never done sequels. But with this, there’s always the potential of a new adventure to go on. I’m fascinated by this genre. And when J.J. Abrams came on board, I was so excited, because I had seen his work before. Here’s this filmmaker who also loves this genre, knows it better than anyone, and has this incredibly unique voice. He can tell a story in the way of the great pulps of the Twenties and Thirties. Very tight, layered, relevant and resonant, but not pretentious.