It's hard to know where to start with Mission Impossible. I can't even remember if this is the third or fourth instalment of the franchise. I know MI:2 had a sound track done back Limp Bizkit; that was such a long time ago that I'm guessing that they found time to do a third in between. Let's go with this as the fourth one.
We begin with Tom Cruise breaking out of a grim Russian prison with support from Simon Pegg (OK he defiantly wasn't in MI:2 so this must be number four) and franchise new comer Paula Patton (Deja Vu, Precious). The plot then follows the standard global pursuit of a shadowy terrorist (Michael Nyquvist) who is intent on starting a global thermonuclear war between Russia and the US (think Sum of All Fears). Along the way the gang pick up Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) as an analyst with a past, are disavowed, implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin and are pursued by Russian secret agents/police/another agency.
So firstly, the good. I think they have pitched the level of knowing self-referential humour at exactly the right level. The script is not above taking a few swipes at series cliches ('I hope we get to use masks') but this does not go too far and so does not detract from the stakes or make the film feel too much like a parody. Most of this comes from Pegg, but it was nice to see Jeremy Renner also getting a few good sequences; able to display the self doubts that his previous characters might have lacked.
The set pieces are awesome. It's clear that director Brad Bird was able to bring some of the action nous evident in The Incredibles with him to this. The sequence on the Burj Khalifa was awesome, especially if you stump up the extra cash to see it in IMAX. It is honestly a draw dropping visual experience.
There are, however, things wrong with this movie that keep it from being a classic. The villain is shadowy to the point of being completely undefined. I still have absolutely no idea why he wanted to end the world beyond a few 'on in the background' snippets. This was a problem for me because I like complex villains. For all intents and purposes the Nyqvist was basically playing a monster, something evil and devoid of personality to be cut down without thinking. LOTR or Star Wars might be able to get away with this but I don't have sufficient love for the Mission Impossible franchise to fully forgive this.
The usual plot holes aside (and there are plot holes, big ones) the other big problem for the film is that it seems to lack a clear through line. I was thinking about the film afterwards, and all I can really remember of it is a series of big set pieces with some plot stringing them together. It never really felt like a complete story for me. Maybe if the characters had been more fleshed out then they could have driven the plot forward more convincingly, but I think is hard to do in an ensemble piece whilst still leaving room for the explosions.
If you can put up with the 2d villain and the disjointed feeling you get zipping between spectacular action then there is a decent evening's entertainment to be had here. Despite the humour and the spectacle though this is not a classic, not in my book.
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1229238/
We begin with Tom Cruise breaking out of a grim Russian prison with support from Simon Pegg (OK he defiantly wasn't in MI:2 so this must be number four) and franchise new comer Paula Patton (Deja Vu, Precious). The plot then follows the standard global pursuit of a shadowy terrorist (Michael Nyquvist) who is intent on starting a global thermonuclear war between Russia and the US (think Sum of All Fears). Along the way the gang pick up Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) as an analyst with a past, are disavowed, implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin and are pursued by Russian secret agents/police/another agency.
So firstly, the good. I think they have pitched the level of knowing self-referential humour at exactly the right level. The script is not above taking a few swipes at series cliches ('I hope we get to use masks') but this does not go too far and so does not detract from the stakes or make the film feel too much like a parody. Most of this comes from Pegg, but it was nice to see Jeremy Renner also getting a few good sequences; able to display the self doubts that his previous characters might have lacked.
The set pieces are awesome. It's clear that director Brad Bird was able to bring some of the action nous evident in The Incredibles with him to this. The sequence on the Burj Khalifa was awesome, especially if you stump up the extra cash to see it in IMAX. It is honestly a draw dropping visual experience.
There are, however, things wrong with this movie that keep it from being a classic. The villain is shadowy to the point of being completely undefined. I still have absolutely no idea why he wanted to end the world beyond a few 'on in the background' snippets. This was a problem for me because I like complex villains. For all intents and purposes the Nyqvist was basically playing a monster, something evil and devoid of personality to be cut down without thinking. LOTR or Star Wars might be able to get away with this but I don't have sufficient love for the Mission Impossible franchise to fully forgive this.
The usual plot holes aside (and there are plot holes, big ones) the other big problem for the film is that it seems to lack a clear through line. I was thinking about the film afterwards, and all I can really remember of it is a series of big set pieces with some plot stringing them together. It never really felt like a complete story for me. Maybe if the characters had been more fleshed out then they could have driven the plot forward more convincingly, but I think is hard to do in an ensemble piece whilst still leaving room for the explosions.
If you can put up with the 2d villain and the disjointed feeling you get zipping between spectacular action then there is a decent evening's entertainment to be had here. Despite the humour and the spectacle though this is not a classic, not in my book.
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1229238/
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