Mission: Impossible III (abbreviated M:i:III) is a 2006 action film, the third based on the spy-themed television series Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise who reprises his role of IMF, an unofficial branch of the CIA likely modelled after their elite Special Activities Division, agent Ethan Hunt.

The film was directed by J. J. Abrams. It was first released on April 26, 2006 at the Tribeca Film Festival, and widely released in the United States on May 5, 2006. Filming began in Rome, Italy in July 2005. The film had been kept under extremely tight wraps, and very little was known of its plots or new featured characters during filming. Location filming took place in China (Shanghai, Xitang, and Zhouzhuang), Germany (Berlin), Italy (Rome and Caserta), the United States (California and Virginia), and Vatican City.

Synopsis

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has retired from being an IMF team leader, instead opting for a quiet life with his fiancée Julia (Michelle Monaghan), a hospital nurse (who was the captive in the opening sequence). During their engagement party, Ethan is contacted by IMF Operations Director Musgrave (Billy Crudup) who provides him with a disposable camera. After viewing a video hidden in the camera, he finds out Musgrave wants him to rescue Agent Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell), Ethan's protégé, who has been captured in Berlin by Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a prominent dealer in the international black market (the captor from the opening). He reluctantly agrees to participate in the mission and meets the team which has been selected for him, consisting of Declan Gormley (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), Zhen Lei (Maggie Q), and his old partner, Luther Stickel (Ving Rhames).