Choppers bursting into smithereens. Lamborghini blowing into pieces. Smashing bullets swiping off a building. Sixteen reels of unadulterated, ceaseless, incredible bam, wam, dhad, dhoom!

What more could you possibly want from a summer blockbuster?

tadang dadang dadang dadang dadang dang dang! tadang dadang dadang dadang dadang dang!

Er, that would be the Mission Impossible signature theme, redone by Lalo Schifrin.

Now, now, don't go on and spoil the party by looking for logic in this movie. Instead direct it at yourself. Unless you are a true- blue, mindless, action movies buff, you have no business being in the same vicinity as MI: 3, the latest in the Mission Impossible series.

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Based on Bruce Geller's TV series, MI:3 has Tom Cruise [Images] reprising his role of super IMF (Impossible Mission Forces) agent Ethan Hunt and executive producer once again.

In Brian De Palma's version � the first in the MI movies -- Hunt's character was rather mysterious, even ambiguous, perhaps in keeping with the somewhat abstract tone of the film. John Woo's MI:2 was a striking departure from its predecessor. It fashioned Hunt into a James Bond [Images] clone with guns, gizmos, gals and plenty of Sydney tourism.

In director J J Abram's (Alias, Lost) adaptation, Hunt has taken a voluntary retirement from his job. He is currently besotted with a stunning doctor in Virginia, namely Julia (Michelle Monaghan). They even exchange marriage vows and children's panda rings (not cute) in the hospital ward.

Delighted with his own newfound domesticity, Cruise seems perfectly home playing this part. With the kind of hold he has on writers and directors, I won't be surprised if this mushy side to Hunt was his invention. Does he jump on the couch? Nope! How about plummeting from dizzying heights to rescue his damsel in distress? Oh yeah!

Mushy or married, the man's still got what it takes -- the four-lettered word called grit. He'll jump off glittery skyscrapers of Shanghai. At times, he's not even wired, mind you. There is more on his resume: dangling through speeding vehicles, dropping off mid-air in a hot balloon, escaping unscathed through running traffic, sprinting like a hurricane, shooting targets without even aiming, speaking every conceivable language on this planet. Ah yes, the traditional MI gimmick -- mask 'n' voice cover up.

Back to the movie, when Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell) one of his prot�g�es, whom he regards "like a little sister" is kidnapped in Berlin, he is contacted by IMP operations chief Musgrave (a ho hum Billy Crudup) to get her back. Without any procrastination, Hunt agrees. Other than Luther (Ving Rhames), his squad has two new additions, Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and Zhen Lei (Maggie Q). Owing to a self-destructive explosive install via the nose, Farris doesn't survive. She, however, leaves a clue behind which prompts Hunt to go on a self-employed task of unearthing the truth behind her message.

What no villain? Of course there is. Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a white-collared arms dealer trying to retrieve the stolen device called Rabbit's foot from Hunt. Davian's motives are vaguely explained in the end but you are too busy worrying how Hunt will escape from his clutches to truly care.

You connect better with Hunt's teammates. Rhames, as the gadget geek provides a few laughs, and is a subject of envy since he gets to dab all those cool red buttons and drill underground breakthroughs. If Tom Cruise wasn't eye-catching enough, Meyers adds more pizzazz to the proceedings with his alluring presence. He's purely eye candy here. But then who's complaining?

The ladies do their bit too. Maggie Q's single contribution to MI:3 is flaunting her perfect figure in a all-revealing red gown at the Vatican City and getting behind the wheels of swanky orange Lamborghini, only to bomb it ten minutes later. As for Monaghan, she has this 'left out' look on her face. And when it's not that, she smiles excessively and does the 'oh baby' routine.

Laurence Fishburne (he plays the all-important, no-nonsense IMF boss) with his I-will-not-tolerate-insubordination demeanour injects verbal action into the proceedings. Ditto for Philip Seymour Hoffman. The Oscar-winning actor has barely anything to do, except threaten, but his cold presence is menacing enough.

The action and special effects are so exhilarating that it becomes hard to keep track of the story. It is then hardly surprising that till the movie actually came out, no one was aware of its storyline. Truth be told, if you try looking for a storyline here, you will miss out most, or should I say all, of the movie. The mainstay of MI brand of movies is not plot, acting or screenplay. It is pace, stunts and Tom Cruise; MI:3 gives you popcorn tubs of that.

At the end of the movie, two types of folks will walk out of the theatre. Those who looked for sense: never found any. Those who looked for fun: found plenty.

Rediff Rating: