Director J.J. Abrams was given directing duties on this, the third entry in the blockbuster Mission: Impossible series, stepping into shoes previously worn by John Woo and Brian De Palma. Tom Cruise returns as super-spy Ethan Hunt for another round of mystery, espionage, and mind-boggling gadgets. When international-weapons dealer and sadistic psycopath Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) sets his sights on doing away with Hunt once and for all, the revelation that the madman's plot also involves the murder of Hunt's girlfriend prompts the determined secret agent and his specialized team to leap into action. Also back is Ving Rhames, who again reprises the role of Luther Stickell.