Mission: Impossible

My only real takeaway is that there seems to be more Vanessa Kirby, so yeah, big thumbs up.

Other than the first film, was never really into these. And lockdown happened and as these were all on streaming services watched all in one go and grew to love. So yeah, looking forward to this.

Cruise is getting too old for these roles. I hope they shaded off the physical demands on him during the filming and let doubles do the hard stuff.

“they”

" "

name them

they 100% used digital de-aging on his face, in some of those shots he looks younger than he did in the last MI movie

"they" is Cruise!

in Aimless's post, I mean. not in One Eye Open's post, but who knows with Cruise

this is just for you, sic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfnnujU1DUk

i think ppl would like 2 more if they thought of it less as a mission: impossible movie and more like two hours of the most maximally cool shit happening at all times. euphoric

watched the first one last night for the first time in forever. holds up well, except for ethan hunt's deep dive into the internet when he's first trying to track down max (his second search on usenet iirc is for "max.com" lol)

cruise isn't quite as good here as he's been in 4-6 (and presumably 7 & 8), he was leaning a bit much on his '80s charm and a few good men "i want the truth!" intense acting and he relied on head tilts as much as early clooney and hand shapes as much as jeff goldblum back then. but he was starting to come more into his own i think. most of the cast is only serviceable; i think the best roles here belong to czerny (peak smarm), a totally charming and in-charge vanessa redgrave, and kristin scott thomas somehow makes a huge and tragic impression with her tiny role.

it felt big-scale in 1996 but it seems so small scale now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avz06PDqDbM

One of the few movies that may end with a literal cliffhanger.

first movie is such a strange artefact now, its not really like very much at all of the time (except in very specific ways maybe like ronin)- unless im missing some other major efforts the next one that did "run around europe" as such a major element of the style vibe and frankly plot to any note is maybe bourne identity and obv after that a glut, by which stage i think MI has already decided to plow its current furrow into the modern bond (by which i mean location, vocation, vacation with elements of camp that actual modern bond makes a hames of when trying)

its not because of depalma - because honestly youve to think twice about its being a depalma imo- that i feel it hearkens back to a seventies kind of vibe- and yes scale (a certain claustrophobia it gets very very right indeed) is a part of it

the other thing its like is an agatha christie, somewhat imo to the detriment

Those first three films are still such a strange trilogy, three very different Ethan Hunts, each one feeling disconnected from the other and while one could plausibly deny to oneself that perhaps that's part of his spy skill I think it really is more about the franchise fumbling its way through character and worldbuilding without having an overall plan. Versus Ghost protocol through the present, which has certainly more of a genuinely strong through line and serial storyline that doesn't betray the series, unlike what ultimately happened with the Craig bonds. Though I suppose Ghost protocol is in a lot of ways very much its own thing?

I found Ghost Protocol very boring at the time, but I should rewatch it.

I do like the scene with the hallway screen projection, it's totally fun and absurd, like somethning out of a Buster Keaton movie. As much as I prefer the McQuarrie films, I can't recall any specific set pieces or scenes in them, but I still remember that weirdo hallway scene.

III is maybe JJ's only good movie IMO, because it's basically just an extended Alias episode.

Even the big stunts aren't really memorable in themselves as pieces of filmaking -- I'll usually think "wow, Tom Cruise is impressive for doing that" and then completely forget the stunt itself by the time the next movie rolls around. There's nothing as iconic as the upside down break-in from the first movie.

NB I love these movies and am excited for the next one

the problem w/III (i think it's the worst MI film though that doesn't mean it's *not* Abrams' best film, damning w/faint praise here probably) is it does feel like a TV episode, and also it forced callbacks to Ethan Hunt's domestic life in subsequent films. not bad in theory but in series practice, ehh...

i think its the one i trace the through line from current back to, thos thats maybe a function of the ensemble somewhat coming together

its the worst one tho. because of abrams and psh tbh

true there is a through line i guess, i prefer to mentally separate it out, i guess.

i won't tell anyone to not like MI3 even if i think the hackwork is pretty transparent, abrams just being a director and writer who is absolutely inflexible in the worst ways possible, bound to his worst tendencies, and as always an over-promiser and under-deliverer.

i guess a lot of things

i guess i agree

The first two seasons of Alias are fun! Sadly the rest are bollox

Those first three films are still such a strange trilogy, three very different Ethan Hunts, each one feeling disconnected from the other and while one could plausibly deny to oneself that perhaps that's part of his spy skill I think it really is more about the franchise fumbling its way through character and worldbuilding without having an overall plan.

rewatching the mcquarrie joints starting w MI:5

sidebar, i came up with an acronym for the Syndicate

Society for Young Nazi Dickheads Involved in Corruption, Annihilation, Terrorism and Extortion

:D

lol

the technology stuff in Mission Impossible is so hilariously similar to like, Star Wars Empire designs

the main CPU is underwater inside a centrifuge & it uses uh plastic punchcards / oh the switch is on a platform with no guardrails waaaay up high

We are watching the series as a family and I have to say, 1-3 are great but very different beasts but the changes in tone work to keep you interested.

we did 4 this weekend and it was forgettable,

one seems more indebted to the original and seems more Spy-ey. Redgrave brilliant.
two is great for helping you explain why John Woo directing is a big thing to kids born after 2010... also features the only correct use of the phrase 'to get a ride' in a hollywood film
three has the best baddie in SFH and they purposefully never explain what the Rabbits Foot is.... (IIRC)
Four was good but suffered from having the same Russian launch codes plot device as Goldeneye.

will hit five in a few weeks and see if it does get into its formulaic stride at that point...

That Redgrave-Cruise scene is a master class in how an actor coaxes and teases another actor out of their comfort zone; Cruise genuinely looks like he's trying to keep from collapsing into helpless laughter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTHVmd87QrY

For all his power, Cruise has always seemed a good sport, as an actor, and open to advice/mentoring. In fact, I think he sought it out. Has any other living actor worked with as many iconic American directors? It's got to be by design: Coppola, Kubrick, DePalma, Scorsese, Stone, Pollack, PTA, Spielberg, Michael Mann ...

The first Mission: Impossible, he was, what, 35?

Todd Field has spoken of how devoted Cruise was to showing him around Hollywood and for giving crucial advice.

Jake Johnson has a bunch of good Cruise stories.

https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/jake-johnson-the-mummy-interview-spoilers

Here’s a story that is very anti-Hollywood, but very Tom. He wanted me to work out with him and get in shape for the movie. People have told me in the past, including New Girl, that I need to lose weight and stay in shape. But they don’t tell me how. It’s like, "Hey tubbo, fit into these slacks!" Tom said, "I really want you fit for this movie." I literally thought I was going to have to call Max Greenfield to do Crossfit. But Tom said, "You’ll be training with me and my trainers. If you want I’ll put you on a food plan with my chef. The food is great." And the food was great.

He (also) said I could use his gym whenever I wanted. One day I got to work to work out and one of the (assistant directors) goes, "You can’t go in right now because Tom is working out." I thought, "That sucks, I got here an hour early to get this in, but he’s Tom Cruise." After, when we were shooting later that day, he said, "What happened to you? I thought you said you were going to work out this morning?" I told him I was told not to bother him and he got really pissed. He said, "Let me make something crystal clear: I don’t care what anybody on the crew says to you, they don’t know what I’m saying to you. And I’m saying to you that you are always welcome. I don’t care what I’m doing in there. You’re not other. You’re my castmate. Come in." He’s the best.

Adam Driver's racking up a list as well - Baumbach of course, but also the Coens, Jarmusch, Scorsese, Soderbergh, Spike Lee, Terry Gilliam, Leos Carax, Ridley Scott with Michael Mann and Coppola Sr on the way. He's a modern Shia LaBeouf!

I think Ghost Protocol is really good, the best in the series up to that point.

But Rogue Nation is still the best MI film, but more than that it's just one of the best action movies ever made, but it gets lost in the shuffle of great action films because it's merely considered to be a superior entry in this series rather than elevating the genre overall. The underwater centrifuge break-in leading to the car chase leading to the motorcycle chase is just astonishing. And the opera house sequence. Making Ilsa Faust the co-leading character to an extent was a v smart play.

Fallout is a p superior follow-up but not on the same level.

3 gets worse every time i see it, i think i need to start taking it out of the marathon. one day jj abrams will pay for his crimes

otm, otm

rogue nation is a level of sustained perfection in the genre

watched Fallout last night -- better than i remember though it's not the equal of Rogue Nation, just bc the lack of a true villain til the third act makes things a bit hazy in terms of the plot, and Ilsa being in play in less intriguing ways. But it's really good, i liked Cavill a bit more this time around as a properly brutish character though i didn't necessarily believe he'd be a crazy manifesto dude unlike Solomon Lane, Vanessa Kirby is a curveball character in the best ways (the perfect choice to play Max/Redgrave's daughter here really), the helicopter pursuit at the end is ridiculous in the best ways.

i think the end drags, tbh- its good all the way up to the final level mountaintop town

Anyway, so -- never did see any of these films so I thought over the past week I should fix that, and see the new one tomorrow too. Which I will! Anyway, my totally accurate summary of the first six films:

https://www.tumblr.com/nedraggett/722573883179515904/my-impossible-mission

3 gets worse every time i see it, i think i need to start taking it out of the marathon. one day jj abrams will pay for his crimes

You'll find my entry on that one bracing, then.

I own a Blu-Ray set of the first 5 but have never watched 2 or 3. I have the feeling that the hyperbolic praise for Hoffman comes from people who like Hoffman but don't like M:I movies, so whatever. I've seen him (and liked him) in enough things that I can pretty much imagine his work in this — the quiet scary voice, the rage-panic shouty voice, blah blah blah. Maybe I'll watch it one of these days but I'm much more likely to watch 4, 5 and 6 over and over instead.

Great writeup, by the way. You should do more straightforwardly humorous stuff. You're good at it.

Proper ratings too, though my own personal ranking would give the 5/5 to Rogue Nation and the 4.5/5 to Fallout.

Great writeup, by the way. You should do more straightforwardly humorous stuff. You're good at it.

― but also fuck you (unperson),

Seriously! I've rarely seen you in this writing mode before.

Ha, much thanks to you both! Ian Grey said similarly elsewhere, perhaps I should try some more.

Proper ratings too, though my own personal ranking would give the 5/5 to Rogue Nation and the 4.5/5 to Fallout.

Yeah I see how/why people vary on this. My sense is them always working to refine what they've got and make it even better (which is why I'll be interested in how this two-part setup works and if it will stick the landing, but I suspect it can).

I've seen him (and liked him) in enough things that I can pretty much imagine his work in this — the quiet scary voice, the rage-panic shouty voice, blah blah blah.

Yeah, not inaccurate, which is why I think his best moment is when he has to imitate Cruise/Hunt. It's amazing!

yes the ratings are good but just a minor correction, m:i 2 is a 6/5

yeah this is great Ned - love the line about U2’s closing credit theme & 4/4 time lol