Mission: Impossible - films and tv series

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  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,203
    When formulating rankings for any franchise I feel Time is often needed for the recent entry to ultimately find its place.
  • A video that appeared on CBS' Late, Late Show to promote the movie.



  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Walked out of the theater just now. I promised not to see it today because I have a wedding to go to, but here we are. I couldn't help it.

    Let me sum it up in a few words, I'll try to post a longer review later.

    Fallout was more of a James Bond film than a Mission: Impossible film, yet it was done in a way that could bode for the template of either franchise. Gets the teamwork amount right as it is required of an M:I entry, and does far better job in telling an adventurous thriller involving spies/super-spies that Bond (I'll put this bluntly and state it, whatever you think of it, that'd be your opinion) was failing to deliver for ten years now.

    McQuarrie promised an emotional story, and he delivered an emotional story without delving into melodrama like the third film. It also didn't forget to narrative what's supposed to be a super-spy fantasy, which we all love. Or at least most of us do. Balancing the film drama-wise? It excels. Action-wise? It breaks the speed of light. I enjoyed the hell out of it and I'll be seeing it again either tomorrow or on Monday.

    Cruise was terrific as Hunt, as usual. Rebecca Ferguson was even greater than she was in the previous installment. Vanessa Kirby played the character she was given and is a credit to the excellency and praise she is awarded with...
    She got Vanessa Redgrave's mannerisms too spot on I could've actually believed they were related, as it happens The White Widow is Max's daughter.

    And then, there was Henry Cavill. Definitely a great screen presence and as some of the people here said (as well as the critics), it's his greatest performance in a film yet. Those who badmouth him just keep operating on the notion of bias and balderdash, something I wouldn't worry about. He was a rogue alright. A real rogue with a sense of classic leading man's presence.

    While at times it's quite obvious McQuarrie has directed it, some of the action setpieces and the editing spewing similarities with Rogue Nation's, the director did a great job in making a film he intended to feel different. A director who does feel confident on his vision and does execute it without coming off pretentious. While the film was in production a year ago, he did mention that the new installment was going to tell "an emotional story" which "should not be confused with dark." He was right. It wasn't dark in the slightest.

    I can hardly wait for the seventh installment in the series, and by George, I expect Rebecca Ferguson coming back as soon as possible. I see Ilsa Faust as Ethan Hunt's successor should the latter retire after a few more films.

    However, still after all this, the film falls fourth on my ranking list. Ghost Protocol remains my favourite, followed by Rogue Nation and then, the first film. Couldn't care less about the second and third entries.

    Great review.

  • BennyBenny Shaken not stirredAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 15,132
    Still have a week before MI: Fallout opens here Down Under, so please ensure spoilers are placed in spoiler tags...
    Thanks
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    RE The White Widow:
    It was the voice that tipped me off, before the mention of paradoxes. With that voice, she could have passed for a younger version Max.
  • Posts: 9,846
    I will say this
    Huntley’s death kind of annoyed me for obvious reasons I feel he was great as hunt’s boss... I don’t get why we need a new IMF boss every film it seems as I feel some familiar faces beyond hunt and his team is appreciated every once and a while...
    That and the nightmare stuff was kind of weird

    I need to rewatch it a few times
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited July 2018 Posts: 15,423
    doubleoego wrote: »
    Walked out of the theater just now. I promised not to see it today because I have a wedding to go to, but here we are. I couldn't help it.

    Let me sum it up in a few words, I'll try to post a longer review later.

    Fallout was more of a James Bond film than a Mission: Impossible film, yet it was done in a way that could bode for the template of either franchise. Gets the teamwork amount right as it is required of an M:I entry, and does far better job in telling an adventurous thriller involving spies/super-spies that Bond (I'll put this bluntly and state it, whatever you think of it, that'd be your opinion) was failing to deliver for ten years now.

    McQuarrie promised an emotional story, and he delivered an emotional story without delving into melodrama like the third film. It also didn't forget to narrate what's supposed to be a super-spy fantasy, which we all love. Or at least most of us do. Balancing the film drama-wise? It excels. Action-wise? It breaks the speed of light. I enjoyed the hell out of it and I'll be seeing it again either tomorrow or on Monday.

    Cruise was terrific as Hunt, as usual. Rebecca Ferguson was even greater than she was in the previous installment. Vanessa Kirby played the character she was given and is a credit to the excellency and praise she is awarded with...
    She got Vanessa Redgrave's mannerisms too spot on I could've actually believed they were related, as it happens The White Widow is Max's daughter.

    And then, there was Henry Cavill. Definitely a great screen presence and as some of the people here said (as well as the critics), it's his greatest performance in a film yet. Those who badmouth him just keep operating on the notion of bias and balderdash, something I wouldn't worry about. He was a rogue alright. A real rogue with a sense of classic leading man's presence.

    While at times it's quite obvious McQuarrie has directed it, some of the action setpieces and the editing spewing similarities with Rogue Nation's, the director did a great job in making a film he intended to feel different. A director who does feel confident on his vision and does execute it without coming off pretentious. While the film was in production a year ago, he did mention that the new installment was going to tell "an emotional story" which "should not be confused with dark." He was right. It wasn't dark in the slightest.

    I can hardly wait for the seventh installment in the series, and by George, I expect Rebecca Ferguson coming back as soon as possible. I see Ilsa Faust as Ethan Hunt's successor should the latter retire after a few more films.

    However, still after all this, the film falls fourth on my ranking list. Ghost Protocol remains my favourite, followed by Rogue Nation and then, the first film. Couldn't care less about the second and third entries.
    Great review.
    Thank you, sir. :D
    RE The White Widow:
    It was the voice that tipped me off, before the mention of paradoxes. With that voice, she could have passed for a younger version Max.
    Definitely.
    I have to admit. I appreciated her more and more with every scene passing. But, damn, that bit when she forcefully kisses Hunt out of lust, it just turned me on. We gotta have either a woman like that, or none at all. :D
    Risico007 wrote: »
    I will say this
    Huntley’s death kind of annoyed me for obvious reasons I feel he was great as hunt’s boss... I don’t get why we need a new IMF boss every film it seems as I feel some familiar faces beyond hunt and his team is appreciated every once and a while...
    That and the nightmare stuff was kind of weird

    I need to rewatch it a few times
    I share your sentiments exactly.
    It's as if Alec Baldwin didn't want to be further more in the next films, so I might've guessed he requested for his character to be written off. I liked Hunley in this one myself, too. Hunley's blood, however, was on Erica Sloane's hands, as she deliberately made that decision to double-cross them and it gave them bad results. I do hate it when the CIA sabotages the IMF, despite the many times the latter proved them wrong. It's like showing who's got the bigger balls, which I find pathetic after all this time IMF operated.
  • YayakovYayakov UK
    edited July 2018 Posts: 8
    I don't think it was a very good spy film.

    It wasn't clever enough.
    After they break Solomon out, it's just chases as far as I remember. I missed the elaborate schemes they usually have to carry out, infiltrating a high security complex etc!

    It reminded me of going from Quantum of Solace to Skyfall. Why is everything so grandiose and portentous all of a sudden? Ok there's nuclear weapons involved, but Ghost Protocol had nuclear weapons and it was really energetic and had a light touch. I get they wanted this film to be different, but it wasn't different enough from 4 and 5 to warrant being all moody and apocalyptic.

    The stakes weren't as high as they seemed to think they were. Solomon isn't a good bad guy IMO, just not very imposing. I think the problem is they've never shown us examples of what Solomon's capable of, they've just told us. I can't even remember what he was supposed to of done in Rogue Nation apart from the attack on the Austrian Chancellor. He caused an outbreak of smallpox in this one. But we never experience the devastation he's caused.

    I thought the music was really poor. The Dark Knight with the Schrifin themes on top every now and then. There wasn't any joy to it. The punch the air moments, like when Ethan escapes through Paris on the motorbike, didn't land because the music was so soulless.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    The 'Twists" in MI6 were terrible, I could see each coming a mile off. As I haven't gotten any smarter, it must be that I'm so used to them after six movies. ;-)
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    edited July 2018 Posts: 8,395
    The numbers are in, and it looks like Mission Impossible Fallout made 23 million (estimate) on its first Friday in US cinemas.

    https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4420&p=.htm
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I enjoyed how they got so many Conor McGregor look a likes for one fight scene :D very funny.
  • Posts: 2,491
    Yayakov wrote: »
    I don't think it was a very good spy film.

    It wasn't clever enough.
    After they break Solomon out, it's just chases as far as I remember. I missed the elaborate schemes they usually have to carry out, infiltrating a high security complex etc!

    It reminded me of going from Quantum of Solace to Skyfall. Why is everything so grandiose and portentous all of a sudden? Ok there's nuclear weapons involved, but Ghost Protocol had nuclear weapons and it was really energetic and had a light touch. I get they wanted this film to be different, but it wasn't different enough from 4 and 5 to warrant being all moody and apocalyptic.

    The stakes weren't as high as they seemed to think they were. Solomon isn't a good bad guy IMO, just not very imposing. I think the problem is they've never shown us examples of what Solomon's capable of, they've just told us. I can't even remember what he was supposed to of done in Rogue Nation apart from the attack on the Austrian Chancellor. He caused an outbreak of smallpox in this one. But we never experience the devastation he's caused.

    I thought the music was really poor. The Dark Knight with the Schrifin themes on top every now and then. There wasn't any joy to it. The punch the air moments, like when Ethan escapes through Paris on the motorbike, didn't land because the music was so soulless.

    Agreed on the first part. I loved the music tbh.
    Risico007 wrote: »
    I will say this
    Huntley’s death kind of annoyed me for obvious reasons I feel he was great as hunt’s boss... I don’t get why we need a new IMF boss every film it seems as I feel some familiar faces beyond hunt and his team is appreciated every once and a while...
    That and the nightmare stuff was kind of weird

    I need to rewatch it a few times

    I feel like
    The secretary of the IMF is like that teaching job in Hogwarts where one of the teachers for that one subject were being killed every year :D


  • edited July 2018 Posts: 1,661
    Another online article about MI franchise now better than Bond:

    https://screenrant.com/mission-impossible-better-james-bond/
    Daniel Craig will soon reprise his role in Bond 25 in the franchise, to be directed by Slumdog Millionaire’s Danny Boyle. He has said this will be his last time as the character and talk of his replacement has been an ongoing subject since the release of Spectre. It remains to be seen where the franchise will take Craig and Bond and how they can continue on in this new age of cinema. There will always be a place at the table for James Bond but it’s Ethan Hunt who has carved a path forward through fine-tuning the formula and understanding so keenly what audiences want. One can only hope that Bond can keep up with the frantic pace Mission: Impossible has set for the genre.

    In terms of box office, Craig's Bond films make more money than Cruise's MI films. Bond is more popular. I'd put a fiver on Bond 25 making more money than Fallout (domestic US box office and internationally).

    Would the next Bond actor agree to do many of his own stunts - big scale stunts like hanging from moving vehicles? It's hard to imagine the next actor going the Cruise route but if Bond 26's first trailer showed the new Bond actor hanging onto the side of train - some of the pro-MI fans might go "wow, that's just like Cruise in the MI films!"



  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Were the Indiana Jones films diminished because Harrison Ford didn't do his own stunts ? Or why not forget about an actor and just hire a good stuntman
    :D
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,963
    Were the Indiana Jones films diminished because Harrison Ford didn't do his own stunts ? Or why not forget about an actor and just hire a good stuntman
    :D

    Definitely not, but seeing an actor do their own stunts isn't bad at all, either.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Were the Indiana Jones films diminished because Harrison Ford didn't do his own stunts ? Or why not forget about an actor and just hire a good stuntman
    :D

    Definitely not, but seeing an actor do their own stunts isn't bad at all, either.

    Daniel got his head drilled in SP. There was no stuntman. Let s see Cruise do that.

    Oh, I forgot about the scientology thing, but you know what I mean.
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    edited July 2018 Posts: 13,773
    It should not become an on-screen draw that the latest Bond actor take on more and more stunts. That becomes time-consuming and bad business and unnecessary risk for the production.


    Cruise deserves all the credit for his success and dedication and abilities. Kudos to him. Well done. As producer he makes that call and he's been proven right many times over.

    But I'm also reminded of Hollywood legend (it's been denied I believe) regarding an interchange between veteran actor Sir Laurence Olivier and a young Dustin Hoffman during the filming of Marathon Man. Preparing for the famous dentist's chair torture scene, method actor Hoffman stayed up overnight without sleep to give his character that rattled and distraught performance.

    Learning this, Olivier wryly commented: "You should try acting, it's much easier" or some such.

    So for me I value the professional stuntmen on Bond films.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Why stop at stunts, the next Bond should do the lighting and maybe ....... Write the theme tune, sing the theme tune. :D
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,963
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Were the Indiana Jones films diminished because Harrison Ford didn't do his own stunts ? Or why not forget about an actor and just hire a good stuntman
    :D

    Definitely not, but seeing an actor do their own stunts isn't bad at all, either.

    Daniel got his head drilled in SP. There was no stuntman. Let s see Cruise do that.

    Oh, I forgot about the scientology thing, but you know what I mean.

    This is the type of commitment I demand when I watch a film.
  • NS_writingsNS_writings Buenos Aires
    Posts: 544
    My review, should you choose to read it... https://letterboxd.com/ns_writings/film/mission-impossible-fallout/

    (No spoilers. Well, not vital spoilers at least. Some people consider a spoiler saying "it starts with the Paramount logo")

    In a few words: FANTASTIC action sequences, FANTASTIC cast, keeps you in the edge of your seat all the time, BUT... too many important characters, too many subplots, too many things at the same time, the feeling of an M:I "greatest hits album" script sends this one below Ghost Protocol and slightly below Rogue Nation.

    I agree that
    they shouldn't have killed Hunley, and as Clark says, Baldwin probably wanted to be written off. My main issue is that everything happens at the same time. So his death is a bit like Mathis' death in QOS, perhaps even more rushed!
    .

    Also, the
    nightmares
    felt silly. The return of Julia too (
    not even Hunt gives a second tought after Walker threatens her life (a cheap and less profound revival of Devian with Lane and Walker
    ). Jane Carter should have returned instead of Julia, acting as just another operative a la Maggie Q in M:I-III.

    Regarding Lane,
    while he set this all up, he's just taken from a spot to another as a puppet - by Hunt, the Apostols, the police. He should have escaped and be the same threatening mastermind as in RN. Yes, he was still threatening, but one step down Walker
    .

    On Hunt,
    I noticed him emotionally "weak". Not at the point of M:I-III but still, the nightmare things made him lose strenght. While he endures a lot, the bathroom fight -where Walker and Ilsa save him- reminded me to the Bambi and Thumper fight in DAF. Or, to be more generous, the rock salt shotgun fight in AVTAK. The Chinese "Lark" beats him good!
    . Maybe he's like Samsom, he loses strenght when he cuts his hair short.

    But, overall, fantastic film. Can't wait for 3D next Wednesday! Oh, also: FANTASTIC score and cinematography!

    PS. My ideal team for M:I-VII would be: Ethan Hunt, Ilsa Faust, Benji, Jane Carter, Brandt (and Luther).
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Love the Samson comparison. It's so spot on. :))
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    fanbond123 wrote: »
    Another online article about MI franchise now better than Bond:

    https://screenrant.com/mission-impossible-better-james-bond/
    Daniel Craig will soon reprise his role in Bond 25 in the franchise, to be directed by Slumdog Millionaire’s Danny Boyle. He has said this will be his last time as the character and talk of his replacement has been an ongoing subject since the release of Spectre. It remains to be seen where the franchise will take Craig and Bond and how they can continue on in this new age of cinema. There will always be a place at the table for James Bond but it’s Ethan Hunt who has carved a path forward through fine-tuning the formula and understanding so keenly what audiences want. One can only hope that Bond can keep up with the frantic pace Mission: Impossible has set for the genre.

    In terms of box office, Craig's Bond films make more money than Cruise's MI films. Bond is more popular. I'd put a fiver on Bond 25 making more money than Fallout (domestic US box office and internationally).

    Would the next Bond actor agree to do many of his own stunts - big scale stunts like hanging from moving vehicles? It's hard to imagine the next actor going the Cruise route but if Bond 26's first trailer showed the new Bond actor hanging onto the side of train - some of the pro-MI fans might go "wow, that's just like Cruise in the MI films!"



    Bond will ALWAYS make more money than MI. That's not really impressive considering Bond's standing in cinematic history. However, outside of Bond, Cruise will outgross any of the Bond actors' films. It's a testament to Cruise's star power and the fact that this particular comparison is being made between Bond and MI (Tom Cruise IS the MI franchise)only further cements how big and unique Cruise is. Tom Cruise is Hollywood's last, one and only true superstar.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    You're forgetting Stormy Daniels ;-)
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited July 2018 Posts: 23,883
    I just thought I'd stop in briefly and post my thoughts, having just got back from a first viewing. This is easily the best film I’ve seen this year and it’s also unquestionably the best cinematic experience I have had in this genre since MI:RN. Cruise and McQuarrie have delivered nothing short of a masterpiece here in my humble estimation. It’s a Mission Impossible film through and through. The unmistakable franchise DNA is front and centre and readily absorbable from the get-go. The teamwork, the death defying stunts, the great locations are all here and executed with typical clinical and audacious perfection. Despite understandably very high viewer expectations on that front, they certainly don’t disappoint. I was frankly open mouthed in sheer awe many times today.

    However, what makes this film rather special in my view is not that, but the fact that it’s actually far more as well. There is an uncharacteristic emotional intensity - a real epic sense of danger for all the participants, and this makes the film intimate and consequential even as the incredible visual scenes unfold before us onscreen. It’s palpable, acute and unrelenting. The last time I felt something like this was during my first viewing of Nolan’s legendary TDK from a decade ago. If you like these familiar characters and appreciate their narrative arc (as I surely do), then I believe that you will think very highly of this film. If you don't, then perhaps the film won't grab you like it did me.

    The tone and mood is very different from the last two films, and more akin to the first 1996 entry. Lorne Balfe’s score is damn good, and I think I may actually enjoy it slightly more than Joe Kraemer’s superb effort in the last film. There’s a hint of Hans Zimmer’s work for the Bat series in it, layered on top of the familiar MI cues, and the film is the better for it. With MI:GP, MI: RN & now MI:Fallout, I believe Tom Cruise has delivered the best trilogy of films in a franchise in this genre since the original Bourne entries from the early 00’s. This is truly top class film making. Go see it. It’s well worth your time.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Great review @bondjames. In full agreement with you.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Thanks @doubleoego. I can't wait to see it again actually! Next viewing, when I get round to it, will be in IMAX for sure.
  • Posts: 2,491
    I'm still waiting for someone that will share my opinion about MI:F not being that amazing :D

    The more I think about it the more I find things that annoy me haha :D

    It's a 7/10 for me I guess. I'd like to stress that I did like it but overall I felt low-key disappointed, and seeing all this hype makes me think "Ok, what are these people seeing that I didn't see :D "

    I hope the next one is less "emotionally" heavy, since I didn't care for that in RN....and this being "the heart" of the movie is meh for me.

    Also I forgot to mention that I really like Lane in this movie.

    I felt that his look wasn't that menacing in the last one, but he was pretty great in this one.
    If they return him for the next one I'd like to see him in more of a...hmm..how do I put this...Emperor from Star Wars role?

    I'd like to see some straight up badass Tom Cruise-like villain going toe-to-toe with Hunt and Lane being the one sending the orders to him.

    ..I put this in spoiler cause this spoils he doesn't die in the end.

    Also...I hope they don't return The White Widdow

    it feels like they are trying to make this a low-key cinematic universe and ...idk..too many characters and connections..go back to the roots..

    McQuarrie proved with the Opera scene in RN that he doesn't have to rely on big stunts (in case Cruise's age becomes a problem) to make an amazing tense scene.

    I feel like with this one they tried to cram everything into one movie.

    ...and I know my comments sound too negative but I guess someone has to make balance haha :D

    And I know my posts are sorta too long, but I have so much to say about M:I and I don't have any fanatic friends that would talk to me about this so I have to share my thoughts here haha :D

    Btw, let's end on a positive note...that fist fight scene was pretty great (even tho it was too Hollywood with every person receiving multiple injuries probably...but still going as strong as ever...come on...) and I think the high note of the M:I movies are not the car/motorbike/helicopter chases but the foot chases and fist fights.

    Or at least for me that was the high point of the movie :D

    That foot chase in the movie was amazing, especially knowing that Cruise got really injured...

  • NS_writingsNS_writings Buenos Aires
    Posts: 544
    Love the Samson comparison. It's so spot on. :))

    I know you'd appreciate it bro. Sad but true: Hunt with long hair (M:I-II, Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation) is a strong and determined professional. With short hair (M:I, M:I-III, M:I-Fallout) is doubtful, emotionally weak and makes unforgivable mistakes.

    By the way, about time the CIA and IMF start working together. Must be a bureaucratic nightmare to authorise and disavow them all every two years, please someone think of the clerks working there! :D
  • NS_writingsNS_writings Buenos Aires
    Posts: 544
    Oh, regarding Sloane...
    I do hope she doesn't return and/or becomes the new Secretary. She did all wrong:

    1) Failed to see her agent was in league with Lane,
    2) Her "I don't trust you" trick to Hunley caused his death and allowed Walker to escape.

    Fatal mistakes for someone working in Intelligence. Mind you, nothing against Angela Basset and her character, it's just that she just doesn't deserve to return.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Truly. You said it all too well, mate. It’s about time the CIA and the IMF stopped showing each other who’s got the bigger balls. One thing I could recommend further is that the CIA just stopped controlling the IMF, and let the latter answer directly to The White House, and the Secretary should be an employee of the presidential circle or at least the secret service. Not the damn CIA.
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