Tag Archives: Mission: Impossible

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

Reviewing Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (MI:TFR) via some Q & A…

Does Tom Cruise do his own stunts? 

Yes. So we are told. The new film’s money shot is an aerial chase involving century old technology… biplanes, like the one Lindy flew to Paris 98 years ago. My concern while watching the scene was not the welfare of Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) but instead… how did they do it? How much time was spent digitally erasing the tethers? Where were the cameras placed on the planes and copters and drones? Did Tom realize he looked like Moe Howard when the wind pushed his hair down over his face?

Is it necessary to have seen 2023’s Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning (Part One) (MI:DR) to enjoy the new movie? 

No. There’s a voice over at the beginning of MI:TFR that goes over much of the activity and set up from the earlier film. And MI:DR is available for streaming on Prime Video if you’re interested. Watching it can help provide context for the new film. (My review of MI:DR from July 2023: https://davidcraigmovies.com/2023/07/11/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one/)

Are there other amazing stunts beside the biplane chase? 

Oh, yes! The submarine dive which comes in the middle of the movie offers big thrills and tension as Ethan goes into the sunken Russian sub to retrieve a vital element of “the entity.” His ingenuity as he escapes via a torpedo tube and the clever way the scene is resolved are true highlights of MI:TFR.

What is “the entity?” 

It’s a rogue software program that threatens to destroy everything that is online throughout the world. Or selectively, if a person or a nation has control of the entity. MI:DR’s plot was pursuing the two pieces of a key that can unlock the entity. MI:TFR’s plot is gaining access to the other elements that can enable or disable the entity.

Is there actually a server farm that contains all of humanity’s knowledge hidden deep underground somewhere? 

Who knows? But the image of the one seen is MI:TFR may provide a clue to digital storage capabilities that Amazon and Microsoft (and others in foreign lands) have now and are constantly expanding to accommodate AI.

Could a woman be our president? A Black woman? 

Well, maybe. (One such real life person did get 75 million votes last November.) Angela Bassett brings an even-tempered level of gravitas to her role as POTUS in MI:TFR. 

Can Nick Offerman play a heavy? 

Yes. He’s a general, one of the president’s key advisers. The question of destroying a U.S. city in a weird defensive strategy is debated among the POTUS and her inner circle. 

Do the other members of the Impossible Mission Force play important roles in aiding Ethan in his mission? 

You betcha! Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rames) provide the hacking and other assistance needed at key junctures. The newest member of the IMF, Grace (Hayley Atwell), demonstrates physical abilities beyond picking pockets in a violent fight scene early in the film.

Is Gabriel (Esai Morales) a capable villain? 

Yes, if you like your villains handsome and swarthy with a bit of charm. 

Anybody else of note in the cast? 

Yes. Henry Czerny is back as CIA chief Kittridge. Also supporting are Hannah Waddington, Janet McTier and, as the curious character Paris, Pom Klementieff.

Is MI:TFR too long? 

No. Not at all. Except for a few sections of exposition, the film moves quickly from locale to locale, from task to task, from peril to peril. Just under two hours and fifty minutes.

Should I get the large popcorn? 

Absolutely, yes. The mondo bucket size.

When will Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning be available on streaming platforms?

In a few months. But do yourself a favor and see this one in a theater. IMAX if you can swing it.

Leave a comment

Gangster Squad

With classic elements galore, Gangster Squad delivers the goods. Sean Penn turns in a killer performance as a boxer turned mob boss in mid-20th century Los Angeles. His character is almost cartoonish, like a Dick Tracy bad guy. Josh Brolin, as leader of the secret Squad, is not unlike Dick Tracy, with a Tess Trueheart type wife.

With a hint of the colors of retouched picture postcards and the requisite armada of late 40’s automobiles, Gangster Squad is drenched in nostalgia. The wardrobes (including men in hats), the red lipstick, the smoking, comments about WW II, the music all do a nice job of capturing the era. Josh Brolin’s opening and closing narrations echo another staple of this genre.

Penn’s character Mickey Cohen controls not only vice but also the majority of police and political leaders in metro LA. Nick Nolte, looking healthier than in his other recent roles, is the LAPD chief (not been bought off by Cohen) who anoints Brolin’s character John O’Mara as leader of a secret gangster squad.

O’Mara recruits a team of cops to shut down Cohen and his operations. Ryan Gosling is a cool LAPD detective named Jerry Wooters who successfully hits on Cohen’s babe, Grace Faraday, played by Emma Stone. He eases his way into the squad and becomes a vital team member.

The squad operates almost like the Mission Impossible teams of prior movies and TV shows. They even have a tech guy, played by the nerdy Giovanni Ribisi, who plants a microphone in Cohen’s digs and listens in from a remote shack.

The Gangster Squad and Cohen’s crooks trade punches throughout the film until the last round, when the knockout blow is finally delivered.

Gangster Squad is an entertainingly violent movie that’s not quite a classic, but has all the LA period piece cops and robbers stuff. One quibble is the casting of Emma Stone as the babe. A more mature, less innocent looking actress may have been more effective in the role.

Word is that the movie was originally slated for a September, 2012, release. But because of its violent content (and one particular sequence) was retooled and held back after the Aurora, Colorado shootings. Nonetheless, Gangster Squad is action-packed with great characters, a strong cast and a good story. I’m already looking forward to seeing it again.

Leave a comment

“Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol” (Non-Stop Action!)

Tom Cruise and his MI team are on a mission to save the earth from nuclear annihilation. Sounds like a modest proposal, right? But it turns out to be rather complicated.

The team busts Tom (as Ethan Hunt) out of a Russian prison to the accompaniment of Dean Martin’s “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head.” They survive an assassination attempt in Moscow, then head off to Dubai to execute a scheme at the tallest hotel in the world.

You just know that some kind of stunt will involve the risk of falling a hundred stories or more and the filmmaker does not disappoint. This is one of the more exciting sections of the movie. After the scam occurs with partial success, it’s time for the team to go to Mumbai to scuttle the launch of a nuke targeted for San Francisco.

Throughout the movie, you will enjoy chase scenes (by car and foot), gunplay, hand-to-hand combat, a really big sand storm and some cool electronic surveillance. Should you notice any holes in the plot, or occurrences that defy all belief, don’t worry. Just enjoy.

In a genius casting move, Simon Pegg on “Shaun of the Dead” fame, appears as the team’s timid electronics guy. Pegg provides geeky comic relief. Jeremy Renner plays an agent turned “analyst,” whose cover is quickly deduced by Ethan. Paula Patton is the team’s designated babe. She’s gorgeous and feisty, too.

If you can, see this in the IMAX or large screen formats. It’s a big movie and it looks better on the bigger screen. The film is directed by Brad Bird, best known for directing Pixar hits “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille.” As he did with “The Incredibles,” he has delivered more fast-paced action/adventure fun.

Leave a comment