I really liked the first one and have seen it a few times, wasn't bothered about the second one and saw a wee bit of tit when it was on the telly once, not really interested in the third one and don't mind whether I see it or not
― RJG (RJG), Friday, 5 May 2006 15:51 (seventeen years ago) link
― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:03 (seventeen years ago) link
― RJG (RJG), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:10 (seventeen years ago) link
― Vitbe... *pause*... Is Good Bread (Dada), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:10 (seventeen years ago) link
― RJG (RJG), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:13 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:13 (seventeen years ago) link
― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:17 (seventeen years ago) link
(lotsa reviews say PSH doesn't get much meat in this)
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:18 (seventeen years ago) link
Did anyone ever watch the 2nd one more than once? is there a point?
― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:19 (seventeen years ago) link
― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:22 (seventeen years ago) link
too true - cf. Malkovich, Dennis Hopper, tons of others.
(exception = Pacino in Dick Tracy!)
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:24 (seventeen years ago) link
― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:24 (seventeen years ago) link
― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:26 (seventeen years ago) link
Terence Stamp?
― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:27 (seventeen years ago) link
I liked Malkovich in that Eastwood pic.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:28 (seventeen years ago) link
Kneel Before Zod = teh classic, of course.
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:29 (seventeen years ago) link
― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:29 (seventeen years ago) link
for example, (ignoring the plot) Timothy Dalton & Robert Davi in License to Kill.
― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:29 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:30 (seventeen years ago) link
xpost Warner is classically trained, right? Also did outstanding voicework in Baldur's Gate 2 as the villain.
also, Peter Cushing in SW
― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:31 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:31 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:32 (seventeen years ago) link
(OK, how about solid actors who get to use more than 5% of their chops playing big baddies? I think Brandauer and Malkovich qualify here.)
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:37 (seventeen years ago) link
― RJG (RJG), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:39 (seventeen years ago) link
― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:46 (seventeen years ago) link
we can pretty much rule out sharon stone.
― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:47 (seventeen years ago) link
― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:48 (seventeen years ago) link
― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:53 (seventeen years ago) link
X-Men movies are great, kingfish otm for why too. (next one's gonna BLOOOOOOWWWWWW)
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:54 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:57 (seventeen years ago) link
― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 5 May 2006 17:01 (seventeen years ago) link
― remy (x Jeremy), Friday, 5 May 2006 17:02 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 5 May 2006 17:03 (seventeen years ago) link
― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 5 May 2006 17:04 (seventeen years ago) link
Ming the Mercilessall the bond books were written in the 50s, etc
― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 5 May 2006 17:15 (seventeen years ago) link
??? That's the best Bond movie by fucking miles. The "realistic"-not-really acting served the "realistic"-not-really plot perfectly. Wayne Newton as televangelist providing cover for Davi drug op? GREAT.
― adam (adam), Friday, 5 May 2006 17:22 (seventeen years ago) link
A character basically hissing "I'm evil" can usu be taken about as seriously as that Colbert critic announcing "I'm a funny guy..."
Next MI: Cruise vs Montalban as Khan. "You will be ber-ried a-li-ive..."
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 5 May 2006 18:33 (seventeen years ago) link
― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 5 May 2006 18:36 (seventeen years ago) link
― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 5 May 2006 18:39 (seventeen years ago) link
some good, some bad, some retarded plot twists, and some simon pegg(who's good in his two scenes as fumbly britishes computer guy)
― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Sunday, 7 May 2006 02:23 (seventeen years ago) link
― latebloomer (latebloomer), Sunday, 7 May 2006 02:51 (seventeen years ago) link
otm! the only scene in this movie that actually felt like "mission impossible" was the aforementioned vatican city sequence, which happened to be the most entertaining part of the movie.
― latebloomer (latebloomer), Sunday, 7 May 2006 02:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― the Enrique who acts like some kind of good taste gestapo (Enrique), Sunday, 7 May 2006 18:02 (seventeen years ago) link
many xposts - Irons is great in Die Hard With A Vengeance!
― milo z (mlp), Sunday, 7 May 2006 18:11 (seventeen years ago) link
― Joe (Joe), Sunday, 7 May 2006 23:50 (seventeen years ago) link
― Onimo (GerryNemo), Sunday, 7 May 2006 23:56 (seventeen years ago) link
well, the thing is, i don't think you need them to be all that non-descript e.g. Ving Rhames is great in his role, which is admittedly just being a Ving Rhames-type incarnated as an operative. There's plenty of value in a well-contructed team of folks doing something; like a semi-crazy helicopter pilot, a tough mechanic/driver/demolitions expert, a smooth-talkin' chameleon/covert ops type, and a cigar-chomping leader who loves it when a plan comes together.
For instance.
― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Monday, 8 May 2006 00:03 (seventeen years ago) link
I guess the comparison with Indy is obvious, but this felt even more like prepping Hayley Atwell's character to take over after the death of a Ethan Hunt towards the end of the next film.
― Andrew Farrell, Sunday, 23 July 2023 18:03 (eight months ago) link
i found the shading of hunt's backstory way more tasteful than what they did with bond, but it prob helps that they're not playing around with established mythos
― ivy., Sunday, 23 July 2023 18:24 (eight months ago) link
A card you can only play once but I'm kinda impressed they didn't do that until the seventh film.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 23 July 2023 18:27 (eight months ago) link
I do agree with Andrew that I don't really come to this series for pathos and those moments aren't that great here. But they didn't last long enough to bug me too much.
― linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Sunday, 23 July 2023 18:28 (eight months ago) link
Hunt's backstory is he killed a guy at Blockbuster Video over a dispute over late fees, then the uncle of the guy he killed iced his girlfriend.
Uncle.... Gabriel
― linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Sunday, 23 July 2023 18:29 (eight months ago) link
There'll be a behind-the-scenes that explains that the flashbacks to first love / Ilsa / Grace before the motorbike jump were because he needs exactly the right angle of sad erection for the stunt to work, aerodynamically.
I'm joking of course, there's nothing sexual about Ethan Hunt, even if for a second it looked like his chaste date with Ilsa ended with him taking her to a sex club.
― Andrew Farrell, Sunday, 23 July 2023 18:35 (eight months ago) link
That's what made 2 feel so out of place. Ethan "Horny" Hunt
― linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Sunday, 23 July 2023 18:46 (eight months ago) link
You mean #3 (the one that is bad and in which he fucks)
― serving bundt (sic), Sunday, 23 July 2023 19:21 (eight months ago) link
I just saw MI2 yesterday in which he fux and it sux
― nashwan, Sunday, 23 July 2023 19:23 (eight months ago) link
It also suffers a bit from all the talking about AI and Gabriel's showboating as the true believer - the previous films are spy shit / biotech / biotech / nuclear / spy shit / nuclear and sure it's a bit repetitive but at least everyone gets it, you can get the new guy up to speed quickly and transition smoothly on to jumping off the Burj.
Anyway I hope Luther finds it in the first week and spends the next three months getting stoned.
― Andrew Farrell, Sunday, 23 July 2023 20:51 (eight months ago) link
The key!The key!
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 4 August 2023 23:58 (eight months ago) link
Where’s the key??!?
“We’re on a runaway train!”“…I know!”
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 4 August 2023 23:59 (eight months ago) link
for the first time i felt like Tom Cruise was one of the worst things about this. His meet-cute in the airport with… the thief… Hayley Atwell, was so fuckin choady. It’s supposed to be lightly dangerous and delicious and something you can’t wait to see more of and Tom just doesn’t have it in him. She’s an accomplished thief and he surprises her with the “tap you on the other shoulder” trick?? And then bumps up into her, like kind of physically cornering her? Charming. Smooth stuff, Tom. Hayley tries her gosh darn best to be winsome but Tom delivers his quips like a lead-lined condom. “I’ll scream.” “I hope you do.” Tom that’s supposed to be a sexy line. For the love of God.The train climax was great, Rome car chase great. The camera work tremendous. Venice satisfyingly claustrophobic. Extremely crunchy soundtrack and solidity to everything.“The key!!!!!!!”I guess I’m alone in liking the AI, and Gabriel as its avatar. Truly scary when it begins impersonating people.
― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 5 August 2023 00:09 (eight months ago) link
Oh I loved Atwell’s waistcoats and sleeved shirts. Very “gentleman thief”.Related: Loved all the knife action. More knifeplay in this than in all the Bonds and Bournes combined probably
― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 5 August 2023 00:11 (eight months ago) link
Much to my surprise, I didn't really like this one at all. Pretty campy at times, pretty hacky all the time. If someone told me they had changed teams again to a new writer/director I'd believe it. Weird editing, flat comedy, pretty tedious set pieces (motorcycle aside), those two federal agents serving absolutely no purpose, a baddie assassin that seemed like they wandered in from the "John Wick" universe, the movie is constantly telling you what you are watching, and so many Dutch angles!
Another matter related to "Tom Cruise welcomes you back to the movie." I've noticed a couple of theater trends in recent years. The first is that no matter how nice the actual theaters get, in terms of amenities and comfort, they still rarely get the image framing right. I mean, they get it right for the commercials, but it's like they've given up adjusting the screen to suit the aspect ratio of the actual feature. And speaking of commercials, it's bad enough to sit through 30 minutes of stuff before the movie starts, but at least half of the shit is about ... going to the movies. I'm already at the movies! You don't have to convince me that movies deserve to be seen in the theater, just show me another fucking trailer! Like, the trailer for "Killers of the Flower Moon"? Yes, that makes me want to go to the movies. But a PSA just showing people having fun at the movies? Don't remind me that other people are traditionally what has made going to the movies *not* fun.
Anyway, I can never remember these movies after I see them, but I think I'll remember not liking this one enough to keep me home whenever the next one comes out.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 04:17 (eight months ago) link
those two federal agents serving absolutely no purpose
This was absolutely wild. So much time spent on those two. I kept waiting for the payoff? Literally could have cut all their scenes.
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 06:42 (eight months ago) link
And speaking of commercials, it's bad enough to sit through 30 minutes of stuff before the movie starts, but at least half of the shit is about ... going to the movies.
How delicious that it's Nicole Kidman doing the intro.
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 09:14 (eight months ago) link
“We are.”
― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 09:31 (eight months ago) link
Shea Wigham and his partner were just there to serve as another impetus to force Ethan and gang to keep moving. Without them, the standoff in the street in Italy would have been harder to escape.
I knew they'd bungle it the moment they cast Shea Wigham in one of the parts. Nobody's getting apprehended when Shea is in charge
― linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 12:42 (eight months ago) link
The key!
was very amused when someone was explaining how the key is the most important thing in the world and no one knows where it is and we need to find it at all costs while nearby there was a computer screen showing an extremely fine-detailed 3D model of the key spinning around. just make a copy of the fucking key! more than once this happened iirc
― waste of compute (One Eye Open), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 13:09 (eight months ago) link
Didn't the doodad have some sort of magic matching widget in it that made it impossible to counterfeit? Not that details like that even matter in movies like this. I was shocked how many times there would be some 5 minute exposition dump, like, "This Entity is unlike anything we have ever seen. It knows what we have decided before we have decided it. It doesn't even need to watch us because it knows where we are," etc. And then the next scene Simon Pegg or whomever will be using a computer and then be shocked, shocked, when the Entity takes over or breaks it or whatever. They'd probably try to copy the key, and then the computer would melt.
Deus ex Wigham was the last thing Cruise and Co. needed to stay on the move. Just so dumb, these two American agents traversing the globe in plain sight, getting into shootouts, tasing people, etc. So much pickpocketing and talk of pickpocketing and up-close magic in this movie, too. They should have cast David Blaine as the bad guy.
(tight closeup on a serious Cruise): "You don't know this guy like I do. I've seen things you couldn't imagine. I've seen him pierce his bicep with a needle. He's caught a bullet with his mouth. He stood on a block of ice for 63 hours, stood on a pole for 35 hours, held his breath for 17 minutes and was buried alive for 7 days ... just because he could. There is nothing we can do to stop him, which is why we need to beat him at his own game. I need you to freeze me in a block of ice."
"But Ethan, that would kill you!"
"Exactly. It's the last thing he would expect me to do. It will make him let down his guard, and then we can get the key."
"But Ethan, you'll be dead!"
"Just leave that part to me."
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 13:46 (eight months ago) link
lord this was fun except when it slowed down to give us the meaning (in either sense of the word)
the exact type of total nonsense i like and im p sure it knows it
― close encounters of the third knid (darraghmac), Tuesday, 15 August 2023 22:38 (eight months ago) link
had anyone (ned) said AI of Sauron yet?
i have no idea who gabriel is or why he has been chosen or what his link to the sentient superpower is nor what the sentient superpower wants but as usual that stuff really, really does not matter.
its a series about doing stuff secretly under deadline and looking amazing and honestly i just really identify with that
― close encounters of the third knid (darraghmac), Tuesday, 15 August 2023 23:07 (eight months ago) link
idk but I kept thinking "AI morals, see?" whenever he appeared
― serving bundt (sic), Tuesday, 15 August 2023 23:42 (eight months ago) link
loved this but it did feel stupid in a way the other McQ ones haven't (or maybe i just need a rewatch), they definitely pulled a "write an enemy so powerful you don't know what to do with it," didn't really come into play at the end. benji putting his trust in a self-driving car was tense until you realize they weren't going to do anything with it. hunt pickpocketing the key seemed like one thing THE ENTITY should've been able to predict. nothing as interesting as benji's voice being hacked. it's already hard to take ROGUE AI seriously as a threat knowing how bad midjourney is at drawing hands.
i was certain that the gabriel flashbacks were clips from one of the first 3 movies, now that i know they're brand new they actually seem clunkier than exposition in fast and the furious movies. just totally unnecessary to do it that way. the less i know about ethan hunt the better.
― ✖, Wednesday, 16 August 2023 01:16 (eight months ago) link
really dug this!hayley atwell was great, and pom should be a baddie in more stuff she was awesome, and esai morales rules the set piece in the little yellow car was so great also trains are my favorite :D
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 16 October 2023 04:12 (six months ago) link
https://i.imgur.com/WaL40ox.gif
― hat trick of trashiness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 16 October 2023 12:01 (six months ago) link
Lol
― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 16 October 2023 17:48 (six months ago) link
big fan of this one. getting this out of the way, i thought the Ethan/Ilsa romance which was only hinted at maybe didn't work, only because when she died it didn't feel heavy enough for someone that close to him, and while i don't want that type of heaviness for this story since it becomes an albatross on the narrative in these types of films (see: latter Craig Bonds), it felt a bit muted as far as a moment. She was a fantastic character who arguably revived the series as much as McQuarrie, maybe she deserved a bit better. but maybe they were just coming to a dead end with the part and maybe Ferguson was done playing that role and had other things she wanted to commit her time to. i suspect that might be the case. which is cool, she's a fantastic actor.
Cruise did his usual Cruise stuff and as the solid center of the franchise he's both likable and clearly insane to do what he does IRL. i appreciate his commitment to the craft. There's not much more to say about him.
Hayley Atwell is great, i also give a shoutout to her wardrobe and generally the duplicitous nature of the character really serves the narrative well, it's less about protecting her but protecting her while keeping an eye on her because she's liable to both escape and steal everything from you while doing so. which works to keep the chase going through various countries and setpieces the entire time. the car chase was particularly excellent, maybe not quite as impactful as the Ilsa pursuit in Rogue Nation but more gleefully demented.
Speaking of demented, i'm guessing Pom Klementieff really appreciated being given a shot to play a character completely the opposite of Mantis. she was clearly having a great time there, my kid's favorite part was her cackling while driving that armored vehicle over and through various obstacles. It's a very Xenia Onatopp type role. i also liked the brutality of the twist involving her, where Gabriel's deduction is correct but perhaps from the way the story plays out we can also deduce he played himself and caused what he correctly thought would occur to actually happen in the end.
Esai Morales was a good choice for the Gabriel part, he's a very good actor who never tips over into absurdity despite this being a potentially absurd role, and i also just like to see an underrated performer being given a juicy part along these lines, going mano a mano with Tom Cruise on top of a train, knife fighting his way across Europe, etc. i feel like perhaps Gabriel didn't need to be a guy from Ethan's past, that was a bit too "Silva in Skyfall" to me, but this film fortunately didn't turn into a therapy session, it just kept moving.
it was nice to see Czerny back in that role, with some good callbacks to his part in the first film. Vanessa Kirby was good too. everyone was good!
gonna be psyched to see how the story wraps up. from what i've read, there was the thought that MI:8 would wrap the franchise up, but it seems like it'll continue on for a bit longer. I hope so, it's probably the only ongoing action franchise i have confidence in as far as consistent QC, the Abrams entry aside.
i almost forgot about it in the midst of the rest of the film, but the opening scene with the Russian submarine is a great one, with such a bleak and haunting final shot.
― omar little, Monday, 23 October 2023 17:00 (five months ago) link
Yeah as a grim miniadventure it was pretty great (and the actual final shot of the film appropriately fucked up and ominous).
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 23 October 2023 17:20 (five months ago) link
Pom Klementieff
Was not really a fan of this movie, but particularly didn't like her character, tbh. Of course these movies are innately ridiculous, but I'm trying to think of other instances/characters that were as outright cartoonish. She reminded me, yeah, of a few colorful Bond henchpersons (Onatopp, May Day), but also a particular strain of eccentric movie assassins, not just like you may find in the heightened (sur)reality of "John Wick," but, like, Sam Phillips in "Die Hard 3," Lucy Liu in "Payback." Kind of took me out a bit.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 23 October 2023 17:28 (five months ago) link
"Mission: Impossible: Part Seven: Part 2" bumped to 2025! The future!
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 23 October 2023 23:49 (five months ago) link
I don't know, something like that can't even begin to bother me in this type of movie. They are sort of the American Bond films at this point, to an extent. The outlandishness will periodically come with a territory, and it's all in good fun. I've never been taken out of any of these movies by anything other than III being mostly bad.
― omar little, Tuesday, 24 October 2023 01:02 (five months ago) link
xpost -- Ah that sucks but the longer the SAG strike goes on...
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 24 October 2023 01:52 (five months ago) link