A Tom Cruise movie getting praise in the media? Crazier things have happened. I mean, when the dearly-departed Kim Jong-il punched his ticket, a crane (the bird) landed on a statue of him in Pyongyang and bowed its head in sorrow. Has to be true though, North Korean media reported it. Anyway, the fourth, yes fourth, installment of the Mission Impossible series has been getting, shall I say, impossibly good reviews from critics. Salon.com even labeled it the action movie of the year. With my good friend and wingman Nick Decker back from Buffalo, we set out last night to see a flick. He had reservations about the new Sherlock Holmes (my original pick) so we decided on the holiday season's top action movie.
Lets say for starters that I am a huge fan of the second Mission Impossible. The acting, action, and story-line were all solid, and you can't beat the soundtrack (it was done by Hans Zimmer after all....). MI3 was decent, so given the rave reviews this new one was getting, I had pretty high expectations.....
I was disappointed. MI4 is so ridiculously over-the-top, plot-hole ridden, and cliched that I could only shake my head. First off, the plot-line is basically ripped right from the popular video game series "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare". If you don't know what I mean here, just think: Russians, nuclear weapons, and potential third World War. Really, I mean, involving the Russians and nuclear weapons, can't we possibly come up with something a little more original? I won't go into any further detail for those who want to see it, but if you are at all well-versed in action films, the story is going to feel pretty damn stale. Some of the action sequences don't even make an attempt at realism, but do demonstrate the super-human abilities of Tom Cruise. I will say, however, the action is still entertaining. Its high octane, thrilling stuff at time, and the choreography is decent. I was a big fan of some of the martial arts employed in the film
My biggest gripe with this film though is the humor. Yeah, you read that right. Call me a ogre or whatever, but I say I am an action movie purist, and I still like my thrillers/action films to take on an air of seriousness (good example? MI2....). This movie got WAY too cute at time and threw in jokes (many of them not that funny) where they weren't needed. Nothing better demonstrated this than the inclusion of Simon Pegg. I like the little Englishman, I find his movies (like Hot Fuzz and Shawn of the Dead) to be entertaining affairs, but he has no place in a film like this. I was a bit nervous about his being in this movie, and my fears were justified. He's too damn goofy. The attempts at being funny also included making Jeremy Renner (fast becoming a favorite actor of mine) look like an absolute dope in some scenes, despite his being a trained assassin. Where is the Renner from "The Town" or "Hurt Locker"? I think to best sum it up, MI4 played out more like an action-comedy. That is fine, I can get into those as well, but not for a Mission Impossible film. MI2 has a low (5.8) rating on IMDB, and this one already has a 7.9. I don't put a whole lot of stock in what the voters on that website think (One word: Oldboy. A long story, maybe I will tell it sometime), but even taking this into account, I thought MI2 better embodied what an MI film should be like. Still high-octane, but more serious and not cutesy. I came to MI4 looking for another M12, instead I got "The Rundown" (what I think is a good example of an action-comedy).
Verdict: If you like the fast-paced fight-scenes, shoot-outs and stunts, and don't get annoyed by the cliche's and silly humor, then for sure see it; MI4 fits this bill very well. However, if you are more of a purist like I am, and can't stand when a flick of this genre tries to be funny, then don't bother. Grade: B-
If you liked this movie you might also like: If you like this movie, you are probably easily entertained, not that there is anything wrong with that.
Lets say for starters that I am a huge fan of the second Mission Impossible. The acting, action, and story-line were all solid, and you can't beat the soundtrack (it was done by Hans Zimmer after all....). MI3 was decent, so given the rave reviews this new one was getting, I had pretty high expectations.....
I was disappointed. MI4 is so ridiculously over-the-top, plot-hole ridden, and cliched that I could only shake my head. First off, the plot-line is basically ripped right from the popular video game series "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare". If you don't know what I mean here, just think: Russians, nuclear weapons, and potential third World War. Really, I mean, involving the Russians and nuclear weapons, can't we possibly come up with something a little more original? I won't go into any further detail for those who want to see it, but if you are at all well-versed in action films, the story is going to feel pretty damn stale. Some of the action sequences don't even make an attempt at realism, but do demonstrate the super-human abilities of Tom Cruise. I will say, however, the action is still entertaining. Its high octane, thrilling stuff at time, and the choreography is decent. I was a big fan of some of the martial arts employed in the film
My biggest gripe with this film though is the humor. Yeah, you read that right. Call me a ogre or whatever, but I say I am an action movie purist, and I still like my thrillers/action films to take on an air of seriousness (good example? MI2....). This movie got WAY too cute at time and threw in jokes (many of them not that funny) where they weren't needed. Nothing better demonstrated this than the inclusion of Simon Pegg. I like the little Englishman, I find his movies (like Hot Fuzz and Shawn of the Dead) to be entertaining affairs, but he has no place in a film like this. I was a bit nervous about his being in this movie, and my fears were justified. He's too damn goofy. The attempts at being funny also included making Jeremy Renner (fast becoming a favorite actor of mine) look like an absolute dope in some scenes, despite his being a trained assassin. Where is the Renner from "The Town" or "Hurt Locker"? I think to best sum it up, MI4 played out more like an action-comedy. That is fine, I can get into those as well, but not for a Mission Impossible film. MI2 has a low (5.8) rating on IMDB, and this one already has a 7.9. I don't put a whole lot of stock in what the voters on that website think (One word: Oldboy. A long story, maybe I will tell it sometime), but even taking this into account, I thought MI2 better embodied what an MI film should be like. Still high-octane, but more serious and not cutesy. I came to MI4 looking for another M12, instead I got "The Rundown" (what I think is a good example of an action-comedy).
Verdict: If you like the fast-paced fight-scenes, shoot-outs and stunts, and don't get annoyed by the cliche's and silly humor, then for sure see it; MI4 fits this bill very well. However, if you are more of a purist like I am, and can't stand when a flick of this genre tries to be funny, then don't bother. Grade: B-
If you liked this movie you might also like: If you like this movie, you are probably easily entertained, not that there is anything wrong with that.
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