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Mission: Impossible III

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 13.
  • Is it any good?

    3.0
  • Common Sense says

    More boisterous and violent action; teens and up.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 13–14

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Ethan rides a motorcycle without a helmet; Ethan lies to his fiancee; villains kidnap Ethan's fiancee, tie her up, and hold guns on her; Ethan and IMF crew operate undercover, so they're lying for a living; villain/mole inside the U.S. government agency.
  • Violence:

    Action violence (explosions, fights, gunfire, missiles, two-chopper shootout, car chases, adrenalin shot to the heart, stabbing, throat-cutting, brain zapped by device through nasal passage); action sequences involve lots of shaky handheld camera; Ethan mourns his student's death (crying and holding body); threat of bioweapon ("Toxin 5"); gizmo called "rabbit's foot" (never explained) threatens world decimation; leaps off tall buildings (falling images); Ethan holds villain as if to drop him from a plane; Ethan zapped by weapon, convulses violently; fight in elevator (Ethan slams multiple men into walls); Ethan bites a villain to escape restraints; Ethan runs into people on the street in Shanghai to reach his destination; some slow-motion crashing and shooting; repeated threats to "kill you."
  • Sex:

    One agent wears a sexy red formal gown to go "undercover" at a party (shots emphasize men staring at her long legs and visible back/cleavage); Ethan and Julia show affection (kissing, nuzzling) and her siblings discuss the "new family" they'll be starting; Luther and Ethan joke about marriage to each other; sex scene post-marriage in hospital supply closet (brief and suggestive, shirts off, then cut away); Julia in shower (shoulders up), to establish vulnerability before her kidnapping.
  • Language:

    A couple uses each of "ass" and "hell," plus "damn," "sonofabitch," "t--s," and four s-words.
  • Consumerism:

    7-11 store; Slurpee; Kodak camera; Lamborghini.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Drinking (toast to engagement, champagne, martinis); villain smokes cigarettes; Ethan drinks a drug to become unconscious during ride to hideout.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Mission: Impossible III

Parents need to know that this movie includes frequent, intense scenes of violence, including a few (repeat) shots of a dead character's grisly face, whose loss causes some brief heartache for our hero). Secret agent action includes explosions (including tiny bombs that detonate inside agents' brains), shootouts with automatic weapons, missile fire, car and helicopter chases, falls, crashes, and torture (victims tied to chairs, showing sweaty faces and teary eyes). A couple kisses and then, following a quick hospital chapel wedding, has sex in a supply room (scene cuts away following removal of shirts); girl appears briefly in shower, head and shoulders up. Blood is visible following a few shootings. Ethan's face is repeatedly bruised and scraped. Characters drink wine, champagne, and beer. Villain smokes cigarettes a couple of times.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the tension Ethan feels between his job and his personal life/romance. How does he learn that lying to his wife has various costs, in terms of trust as well as her physical danger? They can also talk about action movies in general, and whether a movie needs violence in order to be thrilling.

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See all 23 member reviews

Most Recent Reviews

  1. I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 4.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate language

    Sensational, Thrilling Movie...

    M:I 3 is a great movie. It is thrilling, suspenseful, action-packed, and completely implausible. But hey! That's what makes it fun. The main thing parents need to be concerned about in this film is the menacing villain (a sadistic black-market dealer) and the evil things he does to get his way. He kidnaps people, inserts chips into their brains (with a device that resembles a staple-gun), then activates the chips, which kill the people who have them. In another scene, he beats Ethan to a pulp and shoots a woman tied to a chair in the head. Elsewhere, people are shot, stabbed, and exploded, with some onscreen blood. One man is smashed by a car (we see it hit is body momentarily, but the rest is offscreen). There is some language: several "d**n"s and "h**l"s, plus two "SOBs" and a few "a*s"s. Once Ethan and his fiance are married, they rush into a supply closet and kiss passionately, while removing each other's clothes (the camera flashes away after shirts are gone, and no sensitive areas are shown).

  2. Teen Reviewer Age 17
    Lives in Maryland
    I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it 5.0

    Good plot, good acting, good movie.

    M:I:III is an outstanding movie.The plot is intriguing the action is exciting, and the movie is exillerating. And Tom Cruises wife in the movie is banging!!!

  3. Teen Reviewer Age 13
    Lives in Georgia
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 3.0

  4. Teen Reviewer Age 15
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    Better than the first two, great movie

  5. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Iowa
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 5.0

    Cool for teens and up

    Another one you cannot miss better than the first!

  6. Kid Reviewer Age 10
    Lives in Pennsylvania
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    It was SWEET

    It was awsome! I enjoyed the action. I watched it with my friend skyler in his dads car. I Reccomend this movie to 11-. My favorite part was when they jumped the vadican wall and had cool disguises. I hope you enjoy this thrilling movie! be thrilled!

  7. Adult Reviewer
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 3.0

    Admissibly interesting story

    I have to admit I was a little disappointed with this film. As a movie that was supposed to follow in the footsteps of the "Mission Impossible" legacy, I was expecting high stakes, thrilling action and captivating drama. Instead, I was subjected to an admissibly interesting story with a straightforward plot and fairly exciting but not exceptionally great special effects. Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance as the villain Owen Davian was probably the most impressive, but unfortunately not nearly as central to the story as it could have been. I was hoping to see more of Laurence Fishburne as well, but unfortunately his contribution to the plot remained mostly off-screen. The team of Ving Rhames, Jonathon Rhys-Meyers and Maggie Q are great in their supporting roles, but again, their characters seem to be there for the sole purpose of giving a little bit of depth and variety to a one-man show. If you're a big Tom Cruise fan, you'll probably enjoy his portrayal of Ethan Hunt as much as you would any of his other typically average characters, but don't expect an award winning performances like those in the early nineties (Born on the Fourth of July, A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire). All-in-all, not a complete failure but definitely far from a hit. I give it a 6/10 and recommend it for when there's nothing better to watch.

  8. Adult Reviewer
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 4.0

    Breath of fresh air

    Definitely a step up from number 2, the story line was great and easy to follow. The "tricks" and techie stuff was mostly reused from the first 2, nothing much new in that way. But it is always exhilirating to watch the team get out of those impossible situations! Fun and enjoyable all around.

  9. Teen Reviewer Age 17
    Lives in Tennessee
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    Just Plane Awsome!!!!

    Mission Impossible 3 was the best one yet.

  10. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Massachusetts
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 4.0

    BETTER THAN 1&2

  11. Teen Reviewer Age 17
    Lives in Michigan
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 3.0

    Lots of Action

    Quite violent. Do not let kids under the age of 13 see this movie. There are blood and disturbing images. The plot is interesting and the movie is very entertaining.

  12. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in Colorado
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 5.0

  13. Teen Reviewer Age 15
    Lives in North Carolina
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 1.0

    Not for kids !!

    kids under 12 should not read this book but if you are 12 ask an adlut to read the book and give you an ok to read this book.

  14. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Washington
    I rate this title off for age 2 and give it 1.0

    I lost like a MILLION brain cells watching this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Mission Impossible is for for two year olds. WE ALL should be watching something MATURE,ADULTLIKE like Barbie Fairytopia The Movie!!!!! Your children or spouse might complain in the beginning,but in the end they will be weeping over what a beautiful movie it is.

  15. Teen Reviewer Age 16
    Lives in Utah
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 4.0

    Action-packed!

    This movie is tons of fun! But be warned, it was rated PG-13 for a reason. But if you obey the rating you'll be fine, because it's fine for anyone 13 and up! There's lots of violence, some language, and a bit of sexuality.

  16. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Michigan
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 5.0

  17. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    Lives in California
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 4.0

  18. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Utah
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 4.0

  19. Adult Reviewer
    Anonymous
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 4.0

  20. Teen Reviewer Age 15
    Lives in Massachusetts
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 4.0

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