[FIELDWORK] MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, BANK OF CHINA TOWER/ XITANG

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, DIR. J. J. Abrams (2006)

The Shanghai Bank of China Tower/ Xitang, Shanghai

Paramount Pictures released Mission: Impossible III in May 2006 in the United States. It is the third instalment in the Mission: Impossible film franchise. The movies are based on an imagery organization called IMF (Impossible Mission Force), which sends its agent to save the world from villains. The protagonist is Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise), one of the IMF agents. At the end of the previous movie, Hunt ‘has retired from the field work’ and became a coach of the new recruits. The movie starts with an action scene where Hunt is trying to save his tutee that has been captured by the antagonist Owen Davian but failed. This conflict gives Hunt a reason to take revenge and figure out the plan of Davian’s. The whole movie is 126 minutes long, and the whole climax (nearly 40 minutes) was shot in Shanghai.

The night scene filmed in Shanghai involves one of the most significant stunts in Tom Cruise’s career. He swings himself from the Bank of China Tower to the Bank of Communication tower. Although in reality it was shot in the studio with a green screen due to safety reasons, the film scene did portray the night in Shanghai and its landmark. Later in the film, Hunt was asked to deliver a biological hazard to Xitang, an ancient town located on the west side of Shanghai, in order to save his wife, Julia. I have lived in Shanghai for almost 12 years, and have been to Xitang years ago. In the movie, two different scenes give shanghai various characters. The night scene was shot downtown, with all the neon lights and skyscrapers (oriental pearl tower, Jinmao tower, etc.). It adds a sense of modernism and industrialism. On the other hand, Xitang is an ancient town, which is a totally opposite side of modern. Compared to reality, there’s obviously less population density presented in the film. Except for this, the visual effect of the movie and the reality of these two places are almost identical.

With the contrast between the modern city and the ancient town, the movie is able to express more information. Unlike the previous ones in the franchise, director J. J. Abrams wants to add a more emotional side to the character Hunt in the movie. He reviews that MI3 should not just be a presentation of Hunt’s mission. The character also has feelings. Thus, the director uses scenes to create a bridge to connect different characters’ emotional statuses. The scene in Shanghai downtown, where Hunt is doing a dangerous mission, swinging from one skyscraper to another, conveys the pressure and the nature of his job as a secret agent. The intensity of the scene (as well as the architecture) matches what Hunt is doing in the movie. On the other hand, in the Xitang town scene, people are chatting in front of the house, fishing nearby the lake; they are enjoying their life in general. This peaceful scene has a huge contrast with Hunt, while he is rushing through the crowds, trying to stop the antagonist and save Julia. From my perspective, the peaceful scene in Xitang represents regular people’s ordinary life as well as Julia’s. It shows how different Hunt and Julia are, which also foreshadows the end of their relationship in the later film. Although Hunt is trying to find a balance between his secret job and his personal life, the nature of his work prevents him from having a normal life and family. Just like the lifestyle in the city and ancient town; they are totally different. Although the two characters love each other, it is in their best interest to not be together. Overall, MI3 is a typical American action movie, but the director uses the scene as a tool to re-introduce Hunt to the audience, giving him ’emotion’.

Citation:

Mission: Impossible III. Rotten Tomatoes. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mission_impossible_3

Orr, C. (2011, January 17). The movie review: ‘mission: Impossible III ‘. The Atlantic. Retrieved March 21, 2022, from h ttps://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2006/11/the-movie-review-mission-impossible-iii/69608/

–Tsui Fung Cheung, 3035858860