Mission Impossible XXX review

[Westside Steve]

Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning

Paramount

PG-13       163 min

For the traditionalists, keep in mind the new Mission Impossible series is it they don't really have as much to do with the TV series or the situations involved with the ever-changing ensemble cast that made it so popular. That isn't a deal-breaker because the IMF, (impossible missions force), has changed over the years. Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) was the director back in the sixties, but now it's 50 or 60 years later and the force has changed with the times. Still, it’s the same idea, that this organization tackles situations the government needs to keep its hands out of. You get it. The new director is Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and unlike Phelps he is the point man on every assignment. And the new MI series is more of a saga that carries over from one film to the other. Last time around Hunt would be mourning the apparent death of a paramour and had decided to chuck the whole thing. Well that was before all the noise about artificial intelligence. Somebody has put together a program that once it's fed in to the world's wireless connections will allow bad guys, good guys, crazy guys; pretty much anybody with the money to pay for it to control each and every thing that goes on in the world today from finance to military to social media. There is a key that consists of two very special parts that need to be combined that will set this all in motion. Separately the two halves are useless but together? Anyway one piece is apparently in the hands of the authorities and the other is in the wind. Hunt's love interest in this episode is a top-notch thief named Grace. Just for the record she's a lot prettier than Elise, his previous girlfriend, but I digress. As I said there are a lot of people who will pay her good money for the genuine other half. So for 2 hours and 45 minutes it's a cat and mouse game as the genuine half gets passed back and forth among the protagonists, the antagonists and everybody else. Actually good luck figuring out exactly which is which and that's part of what makes the movie good. And on the checklist of action scenes, car chase motorcycle chase boat chase train chase, airplane chase etc.  every box is checked, andvery sequence is of the highest quality available made even more fun by the knowledge that Cruise does most of his own stunts. The good guys / bad guys scorecard is a little confusing but never completely opaque. And the bad guy, Gabriel, is really a hateful individual which is always necessary to get the emotions flowing. My small criticisms are as follows: first at almost 3 hours I think it's a little too long. And second, a personal gripe of mine, is the Scooby-Doo mask hook. I was a theater major and I saw a lot of really top-notch theatrical makeup but never ever a rubber mask that you could put on and fool somebody up close. I decided to bite the bullet and let that one slide.

That being said the things Tom Cruise does well nobody can do any better and it seems his heart's in the right place about making motion pictures for theatrical screens. Going to a theater to watch a movie is part of the social fabric of America that we dare not let disappear.

Remember folks this is part one so there will be another 3 hours coming in a year or so.

A-

[calfoxwc]

THANKS ! It's on my agenda to see that one - I love those. Great write-up. Reminds me about how long "Gone With the Wind" was.

Although, it would be easier to wait and buy the dvd later on and watch it at home......

[Westside Steve]

11 hours ago, calfoxwc said:

THANKS ! It's on my agenda to see that one - I love those. Great write-up. Reminds me about how long "Gone With the Wind" was.

Although, it would be easier to wait and buy the dvd later on and watch it at home......

If it's possible even if you have to go to a second run theater do your best to see it on the big screen.

WSS