Mission: Impossible - films and tv series

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  • edited July 2015 Posts: 11,119
    I'm listening the entire soundtrack now. I like the score a lot. It's certainly darker and more serious as opposed to Michael Giacchino's approach on "III" and "Ghost Protocol".

    Still, I miss something. A bit more rhythmic cohesion perhaps? Or foremost slightly more memorable arrangements and melodies apart from Lalo's signature theme? The score perhaps works tremendously when watching the film.

    In my opinion, from what I've heard so far from Daniel Pemberton makes me slightly more happy. His compositions are more memorable. They can also be listened at while not watching the film.

    Same thing with Thomas Newman and his first action score for "Skyfall". I loved the brooding atmosphere, caused by great tight orchestration and very nuanced use of electronic percussion.

    And I even think Henry Jackman's score for "Kingsman" was better than Joe Kraemer's score for "M:I 5". You simple can 'hum' his arrangements better.

    "Melody" for me is pivotal in an action score. While Joe Kraemer did some very good work for his first "Mission: Impossible"-film, I think Henry Jackman, Daniel Pemberton and especially Thomas Newman at this very moment are slightly better in this crowded spy-genre.
  • Posts: 270
    Yes the Bond trailer was shown. It is glorious in IMAX!
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    hthomas20 wrote: »
    Yes the Bond trailer was shown. It is glorious in IMAX!

    Thanks. Hopefully I can catch this movie tonight.

    What did you think of the MI movie?

  • Posts: 669
    Simply put, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is absolutely terrific. It takes the best elements of the first film (Cold War espionage spy games) and the fourth (bombastic, over-the-top setpieces laced with humor) and marries them. As I suspected from watching the trailers closely, there really isn’t a lot of action in this film, or at least not “big” action. This is more of an old-fashioned spy vs. spy type movie, with double agents and triple crosses, moves and countermoves. This is McQuarrie’s best work as a screenwriter since The Usual Suspects. The dialogue crackles, and you always get the feeling that everyone on screen is intelligent – something all too rare in modern action/adventure movies. There are some great little twists on the TV series, too (I’m thinking especially of the scene where Ethan receives his mission).

    Granted, McQuarrie as a writer is better than McQuarrie the director – there are a couple key sequences (the opera, in particular) that are quite good, but I couldn’t help feeling that Brian DePalma would have absolutely killed those scenes instead of just delivering them well. But that’s a minor complaint, because the scenes are still terrific, and the fact that we have a big-budget summer blockbuster that dares to have brains instead of just brawn is a minor miracle. You’ll be surprised how much you will be caught up in the story, and not just wowed by action. Oh, and incidentally, when the action does come, it’s terrific – it’s shot and edited beautifully so you always know just what’s going on. Joe Kraemer’s score is great, too. Like Michael Giacchano’s two M:I scores, it incorporates elements of the TV show’s themes and even uses a couple of Giacchano’s own cues. Kraemer also liberally uses the famous M:I theme, understanding that audiences WANT to hear such iconic, pulse-pounding music – something Thomas Newman might want to learn when he scores SPECTRE.

    The performances are great across the board. Cruise is as solid as ever, and the returning team members are all most welcome (great to see Luther back). Rebecca Ferguson is a revelation. Not only is she gorgeous (those legs…oh God, those legs), but she kicks some serious butt as well. I can’t wait to see more of her in the future.

    On a side note, since this is a Bond forum, I want to mention that if Christopher McQuarrie ever has a hankering to write and direct a Bond film, I say let him! He has crafted what might be the best film in the series. Mission accomplished.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    @PDJamesBond great write up. Glad you liked it and very glad this movie us getting such positives responses. I definitely will catching this tonight.
  • SarkSark Guangdong, PRC
    Posts: 1,138
    I might have to go to Macau to see it. The mainland doesn't get it until august 9.
  • Posts: 11,119
    First time ever a "Mission: Impossible"-film gets a full four star rating at RogerEbert.com (The late Roger Ebert himself gave "Ghost Protocol" three stars):

    http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mission-impossible---rogue-nation-2015
    Simply put, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is absolutely terrific. It takes the best elements of the first film (Cold War espionage spy games) and the fourth (bombastic, over-the-top setpieces laced with humor) and marries them. As I suspected from watching the trailers closely, there really isn’t a lot of action in this film, or at least not “big” action. This is more of an old-fashioned spy vs. spy type movie, with double agents and triple crosses, moves and countermoves. This is McQuarrie’s best work as a screenwriter since The Usual Suspects. The dialogue crackles, and you always get the feeling that everyone on screen is intelligent – something all too rare in modern action/adventure movies. There are some great little twists on the TV series, too (I’m thinking especially of the scene where Ethan receives his mission).

    Granted, McQuarrie as a writer is better than McQuarrie the director – there are a couple key sequences (the opera, in particular) that are quite good, but I couldn’t help feeling that Brian DePalma would have absolutely killed those scenes instead of just delivering them well. But that’s a minor complaint, because the scenes are still terrific, and the fact that we have a big-budget summer blockbuster that dares to have brains instead of just brawn is a minor miracle. You’ll be surprised how much you will be caught up in the story, and not just wowed by action. Oh, and incidentally, when the action does come, it’s terrific – it’s shot and edited beautifully so you always know just what’s going on. Joe Kraemer’s score is great, too. Like Michael Giacchano’s two M:I scores, it incorporates elements of the TV show’s themes and even uses a couple of Giacchano’s own cues. Kraemer also liberally uses the famous M:I theme, understanding that audiences WANT to hear such iconic, pulse-pounding music – something Thomas Newman might want to learn when he scores SPECTRE.

    The performances are great across the board. Cruise is as solid as ever, and the returning team members are all most welcome (great to see Luther back). Rebecca Ferguson is a revelation. Not only is she gorgeous (those legs…oh God, those legs), but she kicks some serious butt as well. I can’t wait to see more of her in the future.

    On a side note, since this is a Bond forum, I want to mention that if Christopher McQuarrie ever has a hankering to write and direct a Bond film, I say let him! He has crafted what might be the best film in the series. Mission accomplished.

    I highlighted my favourite parts of your review. It does seem "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" is a slightly more realistic espionage thriller, that uses today's geopolitical developments in a slightly more believable way.

    I can't wait to see this film. One question I do have: Do you think this film is slightly influenced by the success of "Skyfall"? I heard that 'Hunley' (Alec Baldwin) give a wonderful speech in this film about the relevance of espionage in today's world. Similar to "M"s speech in "Skyfall".
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    I doubt I'll be as eloquent as most of the reviews I've read here thus far, so I'll just post a general view of my thoughts.

    Pros: (mild spoilers)
    - Great action sequences that were well shot.
    - Ferguson absolutely stole the show and killed it. She was amazing.
    - The opera sequence is one well-shot moment in the film, and not just any action scenes that may take place during it.
    - Great dialogue and score.
    - Cruise is just as awesome as always!
    - Harris nailed playing one creepy villain, mainly because of his voice and the look he has. Very menacing, indeed.
    - The film has another PTS, of sorts, which I thought was pretty cool.

    Cons: (mild spoilers)
    - Doing the airplane stunt from the trailers as a throwaway scene in the first five minutes didn't sit well with me.
    - Most of the characters (mainly Brandt and Luther) took a backseat and were missed.
    - Some of the directing could've been done a little better. As someone else said, McQuarrie is better as a writer than a director.
    - The finale felt a little dull to me after we had such great action sequences.
    - And speaking of those, I feel like most of the film can be spoiled and pieced together thanks to the overly-revealing trailers and TV spots, sadly.
    - The villain was more fleshed out this time around, but still didn't receive as much screen time as I had hoped.

    Figured I'd try to balance out those pros and cons, but that doesn't detract from the movie in the slightest: it's one of the best additions to the series and was one entertaining time at the movies. I slightly prefer 'Ghost Protocol,' but 'Rogue Nation' was definitely a worthy sequel to everything we've received from the M:I team already. Go check it out!
  • Posts: 669
    @doubleoego and @gustav_graves – thanks for the kind words! I really think (and hope) you’ll like the film. I say that as one Bond fan to another. And Gustav, I’m not sure whether I can really say how much Skyfall influenced the writing of this film. A case could be made for it, certainly (especially with the questions raised about the relevance of organizations like the IMF), but I couldn’t say for sure.

    One interesting side note is how many similarities there are between this film and SPECTRE, especially in terms of locations.
  • edited July 2015 Posts: 669
    @creasy47: You make some excellent points, but I’d like to respectfully disagree with a couple of your cons:
    I don’t think it should be held against the movie that the airplane stunt was so quick and put at the beginning. The studio chose to market that as the centerpiece of all its trailers, but that’s not the film’s fault. It was only intended to be a quickie curtain-raiser of a scene, and the marketing people blew it up into something it was never supposed to be.

    Also, in terms of the third act, I thought it was very refreshing that it was not action-oriented. I loved that, instead of mindless action and chases, we were treated to a climax that involved espionage and spy games.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    @PDJamesBond, your spoiler tags were messed up so I edited them for you.
    While the fact that the airplane stunt is in the beginning of the film (as opposed to teasing it like a big set piece in the middle of the movie when you see the trailers) obviously isn't their fault, all I'm saying is I wasn't ready for it to be introduced and finished in a matter of a couple of minutes is all.

    And I'm not saying that I didn't like that the finale wasn't as action-oriented, just that it felt a little bit uninspired after the events of the rest of the movie, especially the conclusion of the villain. Still, it didn't deter from the rest of it all for me and the finale was still good, as was the rest of the movie! :)
  • Posts: 669
    Oh, thanks! Sorry about that. Don't know what happened.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    @PDJamesBond, no worries! I quite enjoyed your review, as well. Nice to see that a lot of us got to head out in the last few days to check this out.
  • Posts: 11,119
    Man, isn't this wonderful? We. Are. Spy. Nerds!!! :-D
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,584
    I'm really hoping that I can convince my wife to see this with me. I enjoyed all but the 2nd one. I loved the first, the 2nd was meh, the third was good, but I don't enjoy it as much as I did when it came out and I absolutely loved GP.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    By the way, I haven't been terribly impressed with 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E' thus far, but there was a trailer attached to 'Rogue Nation' last night that I really enjoyed. Looks like it'll be a lot of fun like 'Kingsman.'
  • Posts: 669
    "Spy nerds" is right, Gustav! What a great year to be a spy nerd, too.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    edited July 2015 Posts: 13,978
    Robbie Collin, standing in for Mark Kermode has uploaded his review (possible spoilers...):

  • Posts: 632
    I enjoyed it, but not to the degree everyone else seems to have. It's completely serviceable and, after seeing the new Spectre trailer at the start of the film for the first time, almost felt like filler to me till we get to the main event in November. I also had a big feeling of disappointment with how the opening of the movie went. Still, it's worth seeing in the theaters.
  • Posts: 3,274
    Saw it today. Great entertainment. On par with GP, but not as great as MI:3 still.

    Rebecca Ferguson reminded me of Ingrid Bergman.
  • Posts: 12,526
    Not seen it yet but interesting to know MI6 is already confirmed!
  • Seven_Point_Six_FiveSeven_Point_Six_Five Southern California
    Posts: 1,257
    I'm seeing it now. I'll report back soon.
  • Posts: 9,846
    Seeing it in three hours quite excited
  • edited August 2015 Posts: 95
    Just seen it. It's defo a mission impossible film. What I mean by this is that I always find these films much harder to follow than bond films, which is defo the case here. Also it jumps from country to country as if they just walked there I mean pegs character is in Washington, gets opera tickets for that night in Austria and is there as if just got the bus? Also hunt and Peggs character are on the run. How the hell would they get through airport security? Anyway the motorbike/ car chase I kind of liked apart fron the 4x4 catching up? The underwater part everyone was going on about was totally far fetched for me and seemed cgi in parts. The plane at the beginning good apart from dosent resolve. The opera part was good, but again found a bit too unrealistic in parts. The end at London reminded me of the first IMF, but how they got the villain so easy I thought was not that well thought out. Anyway to sum up totally unbelievable and hard to follow, but does have some good set pieces, I just expect better excuated scenes nowadays.

    Mod Edit: Spoiler tags included. Please use them if discussing spoilers.
  • BennyBenny Shaken not stirredAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 15,134
    @Zekidk and @Gustav_Graves I've removed your posts as they contain potential spoilers for not only MI : Rogue Nation, and Spectre.
    As many haven't seen MI yet, it is not fair to potentially spoil it. As for the SP spoilers, well we have a designated thread for that. And that as you know is the only thread such discussion should be taking place in.
  • Posts: 3,274
    @Benny

    You are right. I should have used a spoiler-tag.

    And your logic dictates, that anyone discussing things seen in the trailers, should too, then.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    @Zekidk, at least one of the items you listed can be regarded as a spoiler, which we have a thread for. Spoiling either film isn't necessary in this thread, and if you are to spoil 'Rogue Nation' for anyone, please use spoiler tags.
  • Posts: 3,274
    Very fair that you delete posts than contain spoilers for 'Rogue Nation', dear admins. But can you please be consistent? Just take a look at the latest post from jamesdut, just to point out one latest example. Spoilers galore.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    edited August 2015 Posts: 40,968
    It's been edited.

    The film has started off the weekend with a $20.4 million domestic opening, and is tracking to have the highest opening weekend gross for a M:I film at an estimated $112 million:

    http://deadline.com/2015/08/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-international-box-office-results-tom-cruise-1201488338/
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