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. 

The Wild Robot

The hype that surrounded this film upon release does it a disservice. While it does look good from a visual standpoint, it’s nothing so great that audiences can be truly wowed by it. Seemingly, we have reached the limit of animation's state-of-the-art, at least as far as realism or naturalism in motion or appearance goes. You can’t get more real than reality. So the visual side of this flick only takes the viewer so far. Then the story has to do the rest of the work, and here that story is surprisingly mundane and reliant upon familiar tropes, if not outright cliches. It’s cute and occasionally funny, but, again, it is hardly groundbreaking, and in some instances—particularly the ending—it is mildly disappointing and even somewhat baffling. Indeed, much of the story’s setup had me asking questions—Is this supposed to be the far future? A different planet?—that only served to distract me during the early scenes. I wouldn’t call this movie bad by any stretch, but as noted, it isn’t exactly paradigm-shattering either. Like most animation that comes out of the major studios today—at least in this country—this will satisfy children, but leave the rest of us wishing for more. That seems to be the plan most of the time. Task partly, but by no means totally, completed. 

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.

Lilo & Stitch

A remarkable mixture of charm, absurdity -- almost to the point of surrealism -- and comedy, including a more than a few laugh-out-loud moments. Oddly, for a Disney movie, this outing obviously owes a lot to the work of Dr. Seuss; some of the alien characters owe much in their morphology to Seuss drawings, though that applies less to Stitch, the titular visitor. His human partner, Lilo, immediately earns the viewer’s warmth and admiration, displaying an unusual ability from her earliest on screen acts to combine sweetness and stubbornness -- often outright obnoxiousness -- in a way that packs a punch without ever making her unlikable. It’s a great balancing act upon which much of the movie’s success pivots. Stitch himself is not quite so lovable; the character is largely a blank at first, then comes across as a jerk -- and a destructive one at that, and more than just in the physical sense -- before finally, and somewhat astonishingly, achieving a transformation that makes the audience really care about whether or not it all works out. The supporting characters are a mixed bag; the humans are nicely developed and likable, while the aliens besides Stitch are somewhat one-note, a bit shallow in development, and oddly prone to shifting from good guy to bad without much justification. (It is worth giving a nod to the “blending in” efforts of the two principle aliens hunting the fugitive Stitch, which provide some of the best comedic visuals of the whole piece.) Finally, it’s a pleasure to mention that both the Hawaiian setting and the main (human) characters’ ethnic background are used to excellent effect here -- and, mercifully, because this film was made before woke madness took over the world, that is accomplished without everything turning into a vehicle for identitarian preaching. Lilo, Nani, and David just are who they are, and are not called upon to be standard bearers for anything else. That’s probably why most of this movie is so enjoyable. I’m sorry I missed this when it was new, and I’m so glad I had the chance to give it a look now. One of the best efforts of the “second tier” of the canon, and very much worth the viewer's time.

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.

Mission: Impossible-2

It is itself, only more so. This second outing in the series takes the template--one is tempted to call this work formulaic, but that would be too negative--formed by the first and magnifies it. Credit for that must go to having John Woo as the director, or at least to the decision to bring the Hong Kong action master in to helm the production. His  touch shows throughout the proceedings, in a building pattern that eventually reaches a point where, at the climax, the movie achieves maximum John Woo-ness, with set pieces, stunts and visuals that are so over the top that certain moments are laugh out loud funny. Other parts of the production are uneven yet entertaining. The story runs from simple and straightforward to a growing complexity, where at at least one point it’s hard to follow who is doing what. The propensity of the characters to wear flawless disguises assists in creating certain confusion, though at one point the ploy is used so obviously that there’s humor in what should otherwise be a serious confrontation scene. Then again, this flick never really takes itself too seriously, except perhaps for its through line of ogling Thandie Newton, a pastime that gets devoted attention almost from start to finish. Overall, this movie delivers decent popcorn entertainment; if you don’t expect brilliance--and clearly, many moviegoers have not over the franchise’s lifetime--you will be mostly satisfied with your investment here.

Mission: Impossible

I missed out on this one for some 27 years. That seems...highly improbable. Especially considering how prominent this film and its sequels became. In truth, the old TV show came across (to me, at least) as not particularly fertile ground for growing a whole film franchise, and in this first entry in what became a series, it doesn't always look that promising. As a stand alone piece, this is mostly entertaining work, with some decent action sequences, though hardly knock-your-socks-off stuff. Perhaps that’s the product of watching this flick so many years after its first arrival; action filmdom has largely--in every sense of the word--moved on to bigger and better things since the mid ‘90s.  The story here is relatively straightforward, unlike many a spy movie; perhaps that is a key to how this film and its sequels have had such broad appeal. Then again, Tom Cruise's charisma contributes tremendously to that success, too. His inherent confidence--the key trait that he brings to his every role--shines through throughout the proceedings, giving the viewer the sense that he’s being guided all the way through by the surest of leaders. You never really doubt that the hero is going to come out on top, whatever obstacles are placed in his way, and thus the climax and conclusion prove satisfying. Ultimately, it’s not the greatest thing ever, but it’s a good way to kill a couple of idle hours, and sometimes that’s what watching a movie is all about. 

Out of Sight

Pretty good. Features Jennifer Lopez, in her a little less sleazy incarnation as straightforward actress, along with George Clooney doing his usual thing. Not spectacular, but it holds your interest.