Mission: Impossible III a 2006 action film, the third based on the spy-themed television series Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise who reprises his role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt. The film was directed by J. J. Abrams, it was his first film as a director. 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, Germany, Italy, the United States (California and Virginia), and Vatican City. The MPAA rated this movie PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Frenetic Violence and Menace, Disturbing Images, and Some Sensuality.