Why we picked this film: Well, we bought the trilogy on sale as part of our blu-ray bonanza. It came with movie cash to go see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and well we felt it was necessary to complete the trilogy before heading out to theaters to see number 4.
Beeps: This movie starts in media res, or in the middle of things, giving us a taste of the ending, and then snapping us back to the beginning. I am a huge fan of this technique, which J.J. Abrams uses brilliantly here. After a scathing review of the previous incarnation of the series, I'm pleased to say this one is a much better movie. My complaints about the other one have all been answered. Tom Cruise leaves his feet to perform a crazy Kung Fu move exactly 0 times. The use of masks and voice changing software is kept to a minimum, and it works. It all just works. Phillip Seymour Hoffman excels as the villain in this film. I'm not just saying that because he's one of my favorite actors. He plays a truly evil person, with a sort of absolutism about everything that he does. A calmness about the situations that he is placed in that makes you believe the atrocities that the man is capable of. Well done. As for the film itself, the pacing just feels a bit labored, the movie checks in at just over 2 hours but at 70 minutes in, I felt as if I had already gone through 2 hours. I was seriously worn out. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but I'm leaning to the negative. I like a movie that you look at the clock and say, "Oh man I've been watching this for how long? It feels like 5 minutes." A few things bothered me about the plot, the most glaring being this. You have millions of dollars worth of high tech equipment and yet you have a cell phone that can't get a signal in one of the world's most populated cities? Seriously? Anyway, my silly complaints aside, this film is rock solid. 4 Stars!
Apes: So here we are with the third installment. I have to say this one is a LOT better than the second one, but how the heck did we go from womanizer, sleeping with a thief to in a stable committed relationship and getting married? This bugs me. My personal issues aside This movie is much more fast pace, but still seems long. Tom Cruise's performance was adequate, but a little one dimensional. I know, I know, its an action flick how much character depth can I expect. After watching these movies back to back they lose something. I realize that I don't care. He saves the world from bad, greedy, and corrupt people sure, but not in realistic ways... and the Impossible Mission Force? Really that's the best name we can get? If Their missions are so Impossible how does he ALWAYS succeed and why did they act so surprised when the girl at the beginning failed? I say they rename it the Improbable Mission Force. Maybe I'm a bit Jaded, and I DO want to see the new one, but some how these movies I remember being EPIC have lost so much over time. If you're in the mood for a brainless action flick have at it. If you intend on being the LEAST bit logical... Skip this one. I give it 3 stars for being well done as a brain dead meat head flick, but nothing more.
Overall we give this film 3 1/2 stars.
~Beeps and Apes
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