Tom Cruise usually gives his all to make a film work. In the fast-action, explosive Mission: Impossible III, he delivers one nail-biting scenario after another. The third installment of this franchise, directed and co-written by Alias and Lost creator J. J. Abrams, has some highs and some lows, but it should earn back its multi-million dollar budget.

Special IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is once again on the move. About to be married, Hunt had hoped to ease off on his assignments, but that is not the case. A fellow agent has been taken captive by Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a merciless arms dealer who follows through on his threats, so Hunt is back in action.

While Hunt may be a great agent, I had problems with his new-husband attributes. He never reveals to his fiancée, Julia (Michelle Monaghan), even after they are married, that he’s a secret agent. She thinks he works for the Virginia Department of Transportation. This is not only deceiving, but soon puts her in danger as well. In an attempt to get even with Hunt later in the film, Davian holds a gun to Julia’s head and gives Hunt a count to 10 to divulge key information before pulling the trigger.

The legendary agent was purposely devoid of a personal life in Mission: Impossible (1996) and Mission: Impossible II (2000) for this reason. Abrams likes to create more character-based projects, however, and saw a new vision for this outing. “Our approach is not to make a movie about a spy, but to tell a story about a man who is a spy,” he said.

The subject of marital baggage becomes an issue of constant bantering between Hunt and his friend and co-agent Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames). It’s a clear careful-what-you-wish-for flag that lessens the impact when Julia does become endangered. I think the marriage angle would have worked better had Julia never been made to suffer because of her husband’s job.

There are always time-clock scenarios that can work. There were plenty in Brian De Palma’s Mission: Impossible where Hunt performed spectacular stunts while completing his mission. That film probably came the closest in following the intense drama yet high-entertainment set-ups fans loved about the original TV series. In John Woo’s Mission: Impossible II, the ticking clock propels Hunt to find and destroy a deadly genetic disease before terrorists get their hands on it.

In addition to trying to humanize Hunt, Abrams has also added elements of humor in the script. But these didn’t work for me either. If Abrams wanted to convince us this is a real plot involving agents in life-and-death peril, he should have avoided anything amusing in these grave situations.

What does work here is Abrams broadening the agent arena by having Hunt and his team work more closely together. Laurence Fishburne is great as the icy and unreadable agency director Brassel. And Billy Crudup is mysterious in both his physical appearance and actions as Musgrave, Brassel’s right-hand man, who obviously has a special history with Hunt. However, Jonathan Rhys Meyers (as Declan) and Maggi Q  (playing Zhen) have little script involvement, which is another of my complaints. It’s too bad that Abrams lacks follow through on his own idea; the team has minimal plot involvement and is overshadowed time and again by Cruise’s on-screen appearances. I so wanted to see more of the phenomenal Hoffman as well.

I also had problems with the film visually. The digital filmmaking process seems far too evident in M:i:III. All of the action is high-speed and a blur often exists between the beginning and end of sequences. Many of the scenes are shaky as if filmed with a hand-held camera, and they appear dark and grainy.

The original TV show’s premise, which is still used in every sequel, “Expect the impossible,” falls flat with the ease of technological input into a film. If the sequels continue, I hope the next director can rise to the occasion and regain the drama and intrigue delivered by Jim Phelps with those white envelopes.

So what’s left? Lots of Cruise close-ups, shots of him running, dogging explosions, leaping and crashing into rooms. Cruise has earned a reputation of putting his all into movies and doing his own stunts. Directors highly respect him and fans love him. All of which makes most of my comments superfluous.

Bottom line -- Mission: Impossible III opens the summer season with a big bang, and Cruise fans will not be disappointed.

(Released by Paramount Pictures and rated “PG-13” for intense sequences of frenetic violence menace, disturbing images and some sensuality.)

Read Diana Saenger’s reviews of classic films at http://classicfilm.about.com .