Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

Sic transit gloria cinema. If this really is the end, that is. What was in many ways the most unlikely of top-level movie franchises—in story, in execution, in star power, in sheer quality of execution—has apparently reached its denouement with an outing that is, perhaps, not the best of the series, but one that is representative and certainly full of entertainment value. You don’t really need to fret too much about the story here; this installment is continuing a thread that has been building for around three episodes now (and arguably grew out of the details of the entire series, as the movie makes clear with numerous self-referential flashback montages)--and all that really takes a back seat to the typically audacious stunt sequences anywat. Tom Cruise is very much his usual self here: strong, on-point, and totally in control of his character and environment (and he is deserving of accolades for clearly being a driving force in making this franchise what it became, which is a film series that far exceeded any reasonable expectations). The supporting cast does good work, too, including fine goodbyes to stalwarts Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg in their definitive roles, as well as solid performances from the rest of the crew--including Pom Klementieff in a role where, oddly, she speaks only French but apparently understands English in amazing detail. But hey, we’re not here to quibble; this stuff is all about a fun times at the movies, and this flick mostly pays that off, without ever descending into self-destruction. That’s a good mission to complete successfully—and here’s the proof. 

Luck

The big problem here: the viewer can never quite shake off the feeling that he's watching a knockoff Pixar piece. It’s a through line that conveys a sense that every detail of this work is just a little off. For instance, it’s a tiny bit weird that a movie that rather consciously adopts certain touches of very modern life—not just cell phones and other tech, but even certain characters displaying the execrable habit of wearing excessive numbers of earrings—also uses a forty-plus-year-old song as its key piece of soundtrack. Yeah, I get that it fits lyrically, but still. And many of the characters (trinketed and otherwise) are just a little bit off in their depicted forms; you have to believe that the artists on the Disney side of the street would have gotten them just right, down to the tiniest character-defining details. And, perhaps most crucially, the story seems to be a little too complicated; there are too many machinations to work through to get the audience to follow along with the plot; too many actions require too much explanation. So the whole production gives off something of a secondhand vibe throughout, like the merchandise you get cheap at the discount store rather than the name brands at your usual market. Add to all that the fact that casting is not a strength here—no one among the principals gives a standout performance—and it’s really only the prominence of a cat in the story that lifts the thing even up to MEOW status (and that character actually shows very little in the way of catness; his felinity is mostly a plot convenience). Overall, I suppose this is an object lesson that the animation genre, despite being highly developed and mass produced for decades now, still is not so easy to get fully right. Maybe you can have on your side the luck of having a major studio or tech company to back your project...but you’d better bring an awful lot of skill to the show, too. Don’t just rely on fortune, in all that word's meanings.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part One

A previous review link suggested that, perhaps, this series’ prior outing might be the last of its breed, if only because Tom Cruise has been doing this for so long that the exercise can’t possibly maintain particular interest going forward. Well, I guess here’s the proof that I was, shall we say, dead wrong. Apparently, the man and his crew have an inexhaustible ability to wring entertainment out of this concept. The stunts—in many ways the raison d’etre of this franchise—are up to the usual level of audacity. The plot is relatively clear, and rather timely, even if it drags its concept to a certain outlandish extreme. As for the human elements, I admit that there have been so many personnel twists and turns so far in the series that I’ve forgotten quite a bit about who is whom among the crew, beyond the core members of the team—Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg inhabit characters who are indelibly well-defined—but that really doesn’t matter for enjoying this flick. The experience is about just letting all the hyperkinetic chicanery wash over you, appreciating the awesomeness of those stunts and the cleverness of the setups while relishing the laughs scattered throughout the not-taking-itself-too-seriously script. At that level, it’s no wonder the thing keeps working. MI is pretty much as immortal and unkillable as Ethan Hunt himself—there’s always some escape to be made, some new ledge to leap onto and keep the thing climbing or running or scrambling its way forward. That, the fact of this franchise’s eternally entertaining nature, is a mission—or at least an enticement—that moviegoers have long since learned to accept. The thing couldn’t self-destruct even if it wanted to.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

An acceptable level of audacity. After taking a bit of a dip in the previous outing, this installment -- almost a direct continuation of the previous film’s storyline -- rises up once again to a most satisfying height of mayhem, twists and turns, and hanging by a fingernail intensity. And, as an added bonus, the script injects an element of emotional depth into the proceedings, in the person of our hero’s former flame, a piece of his puzzle that had been building in the previous outings, but only becomes fully realized as a key component here. Adding that to the already expert execution of all the great spy movie must-haves -- outrageous action, world-class locations, eye-popping settings, and a hint of aplomb and cool humor -- solidifies this flick as both another fine and fun entry in the series, and a representative example of the franchise as a whole. This one has a certain valedictory air to it, as if this may be Cruise's last go-around as Ethan Hunt; if so, it’s a worthy way to say sayonara to what is, in many ways, a career-defining body of work. Impossible or not, I’m willing to declare this mission more than just accomplished. Bravo.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Solid but not spectacular. This is the first film in the franchise that feels like it lives a rung down on the ladder. Not to say that it’s bad; this is a fine, workmanlike rendering of the series’ oeuvre, with all the elements that made the previous four outings so successful. There’s just a hint that maybe we’ve seen a bit too much of this at this point. The action is top notch, if not as hair-raising as some of the sequences of earlier entries. This one is a bit thin on the humor that leavened the prior episodes, hinting that perhaps the production has started to take itself a bit too seriously. One thing that does stand out: these movies have a (I don’t know if I’d call it refreshingly) jaundiced view of government -- not just foreign governments or the USA’s institutions, but seemingly every government on earth. In that way, this is a spy franchise that is more plugged into the zeitgeist than, say, the Bond movies have been for a long time. That’s perhaps not something you want to appreciate -- the world was probably a better place when you could actually believe in something -- but it is at least worth nothing, and to some extent respecting. So, in sum, we take a small step down here, but this part of the canon remains high-level action entertainment -- still a mission worth accepting.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

The strength of this franchise? Scenario imagination. The things these people think up are simply outrageously entertaining. The Dubai sequence here, for instance, is remarkable for its inventiveness, in multiple dimensions -- not the least of which is Tom Cruise scaling the Burj Khalifa's exterior, which set my fear-of-falling response into white-hot psychosis mode. And that’s really just the start of it. So much of the spectacle in these films is so over the top that it serves as its own context and raison d'etre; the details of the story, plot and overarching theme are largely irrelevant to whether or not the film succeeds as entertainment. That may not be truly good moviemaking, but it undoubtedly delivers a high quotient of entertainment. Shakespeare it’s not, but a good way to kill a couple of hours and enjoy oneself? Most emphatically, yes.

Mission: Impossible-III

Specializing in absurd bravado. Arguably, no one but Tom Cruise could pull off the combination of cheeky fun and audacious action that is the hallmark of the M:I series. This is highly professional blockbuster moviemaking, and regardless of who the director is—de Palma, or Woo, or in this case J.J. Abrams—the credit for the quality of this franchise must largely go to Cruise (who is both star and above the title producer throughout this series). It’s almost impossible not to enjoy these flicks, even considering their sometimes silly story lines or out of left field plot points or even an almost total lack of continuity between episodes (Ving Rhames is about the only commonality in the series besides Cruise himself). This is all about the spectacle, and Tom and his team never fail to deliver the goods, whether it’s jaw-dropping stunt work or moments of laugh out loud humor mixed into the mayhem. Don’t make the mistake I originally did in dismissing these films as lowest common denominator multiplex fodder; this is really the state of the art in movie-for-the-masses filmmaking. Accept the mission and give this and the rest of the series a look.

Paul

Hardly a masterpiece, but if you're in the mood for some goofy fun, sure, why not? I know that's not really a ringing endorsement, but that's pretty much what you have with this movie: a decent sci-fi comedy that spoofs the genre in a tame fashion, raising a decent amount of laughs without ever cutting too deep. Most of what goes on in the story is fairly predictable, so the film's worthiness comes largely from the appeal of the actors and their characters. Co-leads Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have their goofy British bloke types down pat by now--they've played some variation on these guys in several movies now--and they go a long way toward making this outing appealing. Seth Rogen is OK as the titular fugitive ET; sometimes he lays it on too thick, sometimes he's spot on; overall, it works. The supporting work, from several Saturday Night Live refugees, is fairly up and down; you get a pretty good sense why most of the projects that have come from later cast members have been fair to middling at best. Nobody's awful, things work out in the end (as you know they will all along), and there are enough laughs--and inside references to any number of sci-fi works of the ago--for most viewers to enjoy themselves. Out of this world? No, but you can appreciate staying firmly earth-bound, if you let yourself.

Ready Player One

Uh, why exactly would everyone in 2045 be profoundly obsessed with the music and pop culture of the eighties? Well, actually, they wouldn't be. But filmmakers who grew up in the eighties and thus see the decade of their youth as their only reference point...well there's your problem. The '80s referentialism has now become de rigeur in today's tentpole productions, and this one is awash in it. Even as a child of the era, I didn't find the choice to be particularly appealing--or, for that matter, believable within the movie's near-future context. What also hurt was the film's poor concept and execution. This flick presents near constant spectacle stitched together with clunky exposition. And then, worst of all, when you get to the end, the story rejects the obvious climax--destroy the damn thing!--and has the characters, who should have reason to feel otherwise, choosing to swallow the dystopia almost whole. This despite two-plus hours of evidence that we're witnessing a nightmare future. Maybe the only good thing about this movie is how roundly it was rejected at the original box office. Perhaps, in that fact, we can see that there's hope for humanity yet.

The World’s End

Consistently amusing and entertaining story about drinking, friendship, and the apocalypse, not necessarily in that order. The Britishness of the principals involved really shines through, lending the film heavy doses of appealing eccentricity as well as a notable way with the language that sparks many of the laughs. Interesting to compare and contrast this with that other apocalyptic comedy, the recently viewed This Is The End; the differences clearly stem from the creators’ nationalities, and each film is appropriate to its own kind. Can’t really say which is better or worse; just that, in this case, this is exactly the kind of funny movie the limeys do best.

Star Trek: Into Darkness

There has to be a temptation to downgrade this effort, both for some obvious fanboy bait and a certain lack of originality. This second movie is not a shot for shot remake of that second movie; more like a mirror image of the first; or perhaps it’s a photographic negative where the picture is the same but the tones are reversed. However you want to put it, what remains for the viewer is much of what we got with the previous movie in this reboot sequence: an appealing cast crafting their own versions of these well-known characters, and just enough respectful recognition of what went before to make a remake/reboot seem not quite so obnoxious. Indeed, any who’ve never seen the originals of this series might even be getting a better experience; without the clouding effects of fandom obscuring the weaknesses of the original, new audiences may be able to judge this film for what it is: more than good enough.

Star Trek (2009

The J.J. Abrams remake. Better than I expected. Lots of nods to the stories so well known to everyone who watched the original series (mostly in reruns) all those years ago, and that vouches for the filmmakers’ sincerity in rebooting this franchise. And the cleverness of the plot, in the service of bringing new ideas to this and future efforts, promises something more than just another set of rehashes when the inevitable line of sequels comes knocking on our cineplex doors. All in all, a promising (re)start.