Mission Impossible 8 Final Reckoning REVIEW - NO SPOILERS

Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to get through the first god-awful hour of this movie. Well when I was little, a little tyke my parents, because they're awesome, took me to see Time Cop my parents took me to see all types of movies my whole life, which is what made me a movie fan so we went to see Time Cop, and I remember going into the theatre this was back in the day, New York City single screen theatre, stuff like that this one was on 3rd Avenue, near 57th Street and I noticed there were a lot of men in the theatre when I went to see Time Cop I was like, wow, they're showing a lot of guys in here! At 62! You go, Tom! Somebody even makes a comment about it He needed to zhuzh that hair once he took the mask off that's something they should discuss in the mission briefing about how things can go better next time But that franchise is also trying to age gracefully but failing! Failing horribly! Ford was 66 for Crystal Skull Tom Cruise here is 62 is not only because it's debuting at the Cannes Film Festival but because it's also opening overseas in several countries even though they've tried to seriously downplay that because it's not going so well but it's probably closer to 4 I would have spent a little bit more to fix the first hour to be honest with you I'm like, we're already in it let's at least make sure the movie is 100% watchable There's tons of exposition and they're clearly pasting together bits and pieces to try and get the film back on its feet and catch people up to watch the second part of a two-part story where very few people saw part one They were like, well we can't throw all of this out because it would be too... I mean, I don't know! I know that these budgets are lately out of control but I think there's also something to be said for the damage that's done for releasing something that's not good and maybe sometimes you just have to you just have to lump it because this, you know, not good I did though enjoy the nostalgia that's present for the first hour of the movie There is a lot of footage from the first seven Mission Impossible movies and if you're a fan of this franchise that's very cozy it's a little walk down memory lane but again, it also catches you up so you have to really do no homework to watch this movie I mean, I know some of you have enjoyed re-watching all the Mission Impossible movies and they're great for the most part so I'm sure you had a great time but if you haven't had a minute to do that and you know, there are a lot of references in this film to, you know, previous entries don't worry! They show you the part they're talking about Unlike other franchises Tom Cruise isn't afraid to show you a clip to catch you up in the moment and I think that does help but if you like this kind of movie if you're excited about the new Mission Impossible film it gets really good down the line I would say two-thirds of this film well, it's two hours forty minutes first hour or so is awful but then the rest of it's really good I would say that if you're wondering you can use this first part of the movie to eat your snacks, go to the bathroom I would say that when Ethan Hunt turns himself into the authorities when he surrenders again, about an hour into the movie that's when it gets really good that kind of like opened up a whole new level for these Mission Impossible films so this not only ups Ethan Hunt's game and allows him to do some even cooler stuff than usual but you have this aspect where there's a mystery for the armed forces people as to who is this guy? who is this guy amongst us? he's passing by he has a team, but for a lot of this movie he's a lone wolf so he's just passing through and they not only get to see him but help him on his way with their own resources and abilities so I like that, I think it was really nice to see this show of camaraderie in a world where today there's very little of that although the movie is commenting on that because the AI of course expects everyone to fight with each other because that's what we do now so of course the only way to thwart the AI's assumptions is to do what normally people never would do which is be nice to each other and help each other out but I really liked it, I really liked that positivity like the last film these Mission Impossible movies are cutting edge in that they're not only the first Hollywood film there's been a lot of AI in Hollywood movies for instance Terminator is one of them but here Mission Impossible has a very realistic AI villain because suddenly Skynet doesn't feel that far fetched but Mission Impossible, these two entries have taken the time to really outline what the AI would do and it sounds a lot like stuff that's actually happening in real life now while that's fascinating and very ripped from the headlines at the same time I think it does make these two films feel sometimes a little too close for comfort, you know I do wonder if this AI villain and the frank and negative discussion that comes about in terms of the internet and the way technology is being used today might turn off some people who are pro technology who like that kind of stuff maybe they might take offense but personally I feel these discussions are important and I don't see any lies here as I watched this latest entry in the Mission Impossible franchise, it occurred to me that the tagline for this franchise could be Ethan Hunt always draws the short straw because he is asked here to do impossible things, seemingly impossible things they don't call it Mission Impossible for nothing but here some of the things most of the things seem absurdly dangerous and like just so unlikely to work, they're just, they're crazy like the fact that anybody has to do this seems insane and you kind of get the feeling that the world when these things come up seems to always turn to Ethan Hunt and say, ah you do it and to his credit he always does but on that note as this franchise, like many franchises they want to keep these franchises around but the stars are getting older so it does address that to a degree with Ethan and new members are joining the team who I absolutely love I love the new members but if this franchise is to go forward and they leave the door open for that because of course they do I think there should be some discussion going forward about training Ethan Hunt's replacement who will draw the short straw going forward when Ethan Hunt no longer can because the movie makes a big point of Ethan's instincts, like how good they are like he just has a, he just knows he has a feeling, like he trusts his gut and his gut really knows what it's doing and you know, I don't even know if that can always be taught but you would think he would try to pass that along to someone to some degree now his team does show a remarkable selflessness many times during this film, just like Ethan Hunt does which is really admirable there's a line that they put in here where they're saying they're saving people they'll never meet and it reminded me because Andor of course just wrapped up in season 2 but it reminded me of Luthen's famous line from that, well semi-famous because a lot of people aren't watching Andor either but you know of course when Luthen said I burned my life to make a sunrise I'll never see to the degree almost where I was like you're kind of ripping off Luthen's line you know, and I wish more people were aware of that line and I think Luthen's works a little bit better, it's a little more poetic to be honest with you but I like that they're highlighting this noble sacrifice showing but it's a contrast as well because Andor of course is showing that's something that revolutionaries do but Mission Impossible is saying that sometimes people who work for the government make that sacrifice as well and I suppose it depends on your world view if you're willing to acknowledge and consider that perhaps sometimes there are selfless heroic people who do work for the government that's in place and remember, in the world of Mission Impossible they don't follow the government blindly, they're often deciding that the marching orders or the mission is wrong and taking matters into their own hands and that's even something that's discussed here I think in a very well in a very well done way but don't worry, as I said, this is the non-spoiler review surprisingly, there's not a ton of action here for a movie that's almost three hours long and that they're saying you need to see it in IMAX I mean that said though the two sequences that I said were spectacular the submarine deep dive and the biplane aerial battle those probably do look pretty amazing in IMAX although I have to tell you my press screening, I couldn't make the IMAX press screening they did show it on a baby IMAX here in New York City for the first press screening but I couldn't make that so I went to a later one which was the Dolby screening room here in New York City which has Dolby picture and sound so it looks and sounds amazing but it's actually a pretty small screen however, I still had an incredible time although of course with the added Tom Cruise trademark willingness to risk his life for our entertainment and I have to say he does really up the sequence with those antics you're like, wow, he's really out there he's getting the face, you know, with the wind it was funny, it was good it was a very good sequence but to me, the real standout sequence for this movie is the submarine deep dive oh, that was something special I can't wait to see this again I've watched a number of submarine movies I like submarine movies I think they're really good so I've seen a lot of the stuff that Hollywood can dream up to happen in a submerged submarine I never saw any of this though they managed to really surprise me this was a thrilling sequence I was on the edge of my seat glued to the screen I would say, you know, this is the same screening room where I not only saw The Last Mission Impossible but I also saw Top Gun Maverick there and this sequence was as good as Top Gun Maverick this was really, really a great sequence I was really impressed with this sequence and it's also a very long and therefore satisfying sequence I feel that Mission Impossible Final Reckoning is worth seeing for this sequence alone which I would probably say is maybe about I don't know, maybe 20 minutes it's great, it's really, really good there are also some fight sequences throughout the film there's that longer one with Tom Cruise in his underwear but also, in addition to his antics Pom Klementieff and Greg Tarzan Davis they give Ethan Hunt's team something that he hasn't really had before and that's muscle and on that note, now let's move over to the cast one great example is when you see the president and her advisors and when you just look at that room I was like, what a cool group of people what a great representation I mean, I just really loved it I just thought it was really, really fantastic and I can speak to how I felt as a woman watching the film because I thought, not only did I feel represented but I really liked the way I was being represented I was like, all these ladies are awesome! Oh, wow! The women featured in this movie not only is there a wide range of women but I would say that each and every one of them plays an important role in the mission they're team players which I really appreciated they didn't work against the group they worked with the group they all looked fabulous on screen and I think they all earned their spot not only within the story of the film but as actresses I mean, I loved the respect that was being given to them I mean, I can understand that she made a sacrifice that an agent like herself would make but that she's not here for when the rest of the team is it was frustrating and that she was largely forgotten within the context of the film she pops up just momentarily, very briefly and it's like a couple of flashbacks but it's not even sequences, it's just clips however, I will say that to have two women fully on this team this time maybe even you could say three by the end of the movie was really refreshing to see but one day, someday there will be a woman president of the United States almost everyone gets a moment at least a moment to shine so to see him evolve and get his footing and become more self-assured as a spy was really nice to see so I loved having Hannah Waddingham and Tramiel Tillman in this movie and when they showed up commanding an aircraft carrier and then a submarine that really helped to kick the movie into high gear and energize it it was just fantastic just wait until you hear Waddingham's American accent they both got a lot to do you know what, someone should send her brief scenes to Jimmy C to James Cameron because I haven't seen someone this cool in this type of a role since Vasquez I'm all on board the Katie O'Brien train the role is bad and he's bad in it has just run that character into the ground and you know, handled her very poorly and ended up Mary suing her in the worst of ways and I think that's transferred a little bit to Hayley Atwell which is really unfortunate I think you think of that when you see her but she looks great here I think she's a great actress I think she has some cool moments but her role is a bit bland it's underwritten as the romantic interest for a male lead often is and she did it very well I must add a movie that was quite the rollercoaster because it started out oh so bad but by the end was oh so good because the first hour is pretty bad