Starting with the opening titles, it was apparent that this Mission Impossible movie was not aiming to be incredibly modern but nostalgic. "Light the fuse," says Cruise. The opening titles follow a lit fuse and play the classic theme song, just like the TV show. While there are quite a lot of computers in this movie, it's not all about hacking like other newer action films such as Live Free or Die Hard. It still had the elements of a classic spy movie. Letter drops, disguises, gadgets, and Russians. Speaking of gadgets, did you know you can make a hologram wall using an iPad? It's amazing what you can do with product placements these days.
The plot revolves around the Russian nuclear launch codes being stolen by a crazed man who believes that the world will be stronger after a nuclear war (similar to Ozymandias in Watchmen.) There are several great action scenes including a car chase, the world's tallest building, and a parking garage with an automatic valet system. There were at least two gasp-worthy "oh shit" moments and countless instances of bone cracking.
Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) plays the humorous geek character very well. I hope that we get to see that Brit make more appearances in the next few years. I can't help but attribute this movie's awesomeness to director Brad Bird (The Incredibles) and producer J.J. Abrams (Lost, Star Trek.) There was also a subtle reference to Lost with the line "whatever happened, happened." Abrams doesn't appear to forget about his fans.
Cruise has still got it, Abrams has still got it, Pegg has definitely still got it and I'd say the franchise has at least one more strong film in store for the future.
Great job. I felt much the same way. However, while I like Abrams and do feel that some of the film's success can certainly be credited to him, I feel it's definitely worth a mention that director Brad Bird, long known to be a great director of animation, really proved he is just as proficient with with flesh and blood actors. Abrams directed the third MI which I did not enjoy nearly as much as this one directed by the live action new comer. Also, there is something that always bothers me about marketing in movies at least when it's obvious, and you could tell they were getting paid big bucks to give the iPad as well as the BMW i8 plenty of screen time. But like I said, good movie and good review.
ReplyDelete