Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - Review

It's official everyone...

Tom Cruise is completely insane... AND I FREAKING LOVE IT!

The Plot

After amassing a record of "wanton acts of mayhem" over the years, CIA Director Hunley motions for the dissolving of the Impossible Missions Force and have their assets absorbed into the CIA. As IMF Analyst, Brandt (Jeremy Renner), tries to stop Hunley, IMF Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) finds himself targeted by a shadowy organization called The Syndicate, led by the even more mysterious Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). To prove that the IMF is still a viable force for good, Ethan makes it his mission to prove the existence of The Sydnicate while being the number one rogue fugitive on the CIA's list. He'll need help from Benji (Simon Pegg), Brandt, Luther (Ving Rhames) and the mysterious Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) in the ultimate cat and mouse game against an enemy that has been secretly causing them trouble for years.

Review

Once the now infamous "Tom Cruise is strapped to the side of a plane" scene takes off at the very BEGINNING of the movie... I suddenly had no idea what I was in for. Usually a scene like that would've taken place in the middle or at the end of the movie. But no, the infamous scene is what starts this movie off with a bang. It is a shot of adrenaline that prepares the audience for the insane ride that will follow. And if you believe nothing in this film can top that opening scene, then you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I have to give a lot of credit to director and writer Christopher McQuarrie. Mainly because for the first time, I believe he's the director who completely nailed what this franchise is suppose to be. Him and his co-writer, Drew Pearce, took all the best parts from the Mission franchise along with an examination of how summer blockbusters are suppose to operate and doesn't try to reinvent the formula but resuscitates it into something that can truly breathe. The concept of having the big money shot at the beginning of the movie was done to ensure that audiences will no longer be waiting for it to happen, but instead be focused on the movie and its story. It is a brilliant move that just elevates this film above its predecessors and its peers.

But one thing that definitely makes this movie stand above its peers is the utilization of the action within the story. Usually action happens for the sake of action. But good action is used to accelerate the plot. And in this film, every single action scene was warranted for the sake of progressing the plot further as well as developing character motivations. All of them, from Hunt's first fight with the Syndicate to the Opera House battle to the underwater scene that escalates to a car chase that then escalates into a motorcycle chase all keep building momentum towards the finale which has surprisingly not been spoiled in any of the trailers or commercials. Which makes the third act of the film even more impactful in that everything that has been used to promote the film has been from the beginning and middle, but never the end.

Tom Cruise proves that he is still in peak physical condition at 50, and is probably THE action star of this current generation. His charisma and dedication to this franchise continues to shine with incredible results. And thankfully his team behind the camera has finally found out who Ethan Hunt is suppose to be. He is not James Bond, which they tried to make him like in the second film, but a team leader who prioritizes the safety of his team first over himself. That combined with making him someone who can get hurt is what makes him such a compelling character. And thankfully he is surrounded by equally compelling teammates, with one literally outshining him.

Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner and Ving Rhames return as Benji, Brandt and Luther: Hunt's loyal friends. What truly makes them standout is how they're all utilized in the story at the most appropriate times. Pegg's Benji may have the most screen time of the three, and the most comic relief, but Pegg continues to prove that he is more than just a comedy actor. He is well rounded and looks right at home standing side by side with the likes of action men such as Cruise, Renner and Rhames. Speaking of the latter two, both of them are more utilized in a subplot that doesn't collide with the main plot of the movie till the third act, but Renner and Rhames were still utilized efficiently for the story. However, there is one person who is not a returning veteran, but a newcomer into the franchise.

Rebecca Ferguson will soon be the talk of the town, as her performance as Syndicate Agent (or is she?) Ilsa Faust is the biggest standout of the film. I always get irked by women who get cast as Bond Girls in James Bond films claiming they're "not your typical Bond Girl," then wind up being the typical Bond Girl with a little more to do. Thankfully in the Mission: Impossible franchise, there is no "Mission Impossible Girl." But if there had to be one to define that term, it would be Ferguson's Ilsa. She is probably the most well written ambiguous female spy character in a Hollywood blockbuster film while being extremely sexy and extremely efficient. What makes her so incredible is that you could easily take out Ethan Hunt and all the Mission Impossible characters, and still have an incredible spy film with her as the lead. She is so good that I hope she breaks the norm of female agents in previous Mission films never returning in the next one, because I want more of this incredible villainous/heroic (?) character.

But what about The Syndicate? The "Rogue Nation" of the title? What about their mysterious leader, Solomon Lane played by Sean Harris? Well, to put it simply, they are the best antagonists for the franchise so far. In fact, I believe them to be better than SPECTRE in the old Sean Connery Bond films. They are essentially a reboot of the IMF's original nemesis from the TV show (yes if you didn't know, Mission: Impossible is based on an old TV Show), and they are rebooted in the best possible way. Here, they are actually a legitimate threat as a completely evil incarnation of the IMF. Credit definitely has to go to Harris for his portrayal of Solomon Lane, who is believably more cunning and frightening than any villain in the Mission: Impossible franchise. The only downside I can come up with for him, as well as the whole movie, was wishing Lane was in the movie more, but again the amount of time he was present was utilized perfectly.

Final Thoughts

If you haven't figured it out yet, I really loved this movie. LOVE IT! And the more I think about it, the more I like it. And if you happen to be a fan of the original 60s TV Show, and have gotten bitter because the movies are nothing like the show, then this is the movie you've been waiting for because it finally has the elements of the TV show the original fans loved. Mainly the mind game aspect that is the real conflict between Hunt and Lane. There are callbacks to previous films as well as a complete reinvigoration of what a blockbuster should be. I'm hoping for the success of this movie, because it proves that you don't need Superheroes to make a good blockbuster anymore. Furious 7, Mad Max Fury Road and Jurassic World proved that. But this film proves it even more.

SCORE: 9.5/10 - The best Summer Blockbuster of the "Year of the Spy" so far

Avengers: Age of Ultron - Review

"There are... no strings on me."

This is it... Finally! A Villain that can finally go down in comic book cinema history as one of the great ones! A Villain that will finally show that MARVEL knows how to create credible threats!............... Or so I thought.

The Plot

The Avengers are back! Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) are now a fully functioning team operating on their own terms in taking down the remnants of HYDRA! But when Iron Man, Tony Stark, discovers a method of creating an artificial intelligence that can police and protect the world, he enacts on his desire to create a "suit of armor around the planet." But that program calculates that the only way to save the world, is to cause humanity's extinction. That program is Ultron (James Spader)! Aiding him in his vendetta against the Avengers are enhanced twins, Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), who have a bone to pick with Tony Stark, but unaware of Ultron's true intentions. Can the Avengers stop this robotic threat?

Review

I'm just going to flat out say this. The movie is....good. Maybe even okay. But it is not the excellent game changing film that it was expected to be. There are a lot of things this movie does good, but there are a lot of things that the movie.... doesn't do wrong but horribly executes with bad editing. The pacing is completely all over the place and doesn't have the build up the previous film had. However in this film's defense, the opening of this film is a thousand times more exciting than the previous one.

Okay, I shouldn't compare it to the first one. But the problem is, because of how the Marvel Cinematic Universe functions, you not only have to think about the first one but also the third and fourth Avengers movies coming in the future. The film suffers from cramming in too many story lines from previous films as well as setting up what is going to happen next. This hurts the main plot of the Avengers going up against Ultron, because there are so many things in the mix that wasn't really necessary to the plot. And while those seeds are necessary going forward, I didn't feel like they were warranted to the story, which should have been about developing this ultimate threat: Ultron.

James Spader can do no wrong as far as voice work goes. This Ultron's personality is a far cry from his comics counterpart, mainly because he does have a personality in this film. I loved that director Joss Whedon tried to do something different with the robot villain archetype by not having him be robotic, but rather more human. He is portrayed as a dark mirror to Tony Stark, but lacks the menace that was displayed in the trailers. His actions are, but his personality just doesn't fully match up. He is still one of the best villains ever put on screen in the MCU. But he is nowhere near as good as Tom Hiddleston's Loki in The Avengers.

But speaking of Tony Stark, let's talk about The Avengers! You know them by name, and you know who play them. They're all great. Hemsworth amps up the comedy as the outlandish alien god, Thor. Evans does great as Captain America. And while Ruffalo does a good job playing Dr. Banner and the Hulk, it feels like his character devolved instead of evolved. Last time we saw the Hulk, he was in full control of his anger, but in here, he still has a problem with his anger and devolves back to the character he was in the Ed Norton Incredible Hulk movie. His character has a small progression with Johansson's Black Widow, whom we finally learn her backstory, but the romance aspect between them wasn't handled too well. The only two characters who really feel like they've grown are Downey Jr.'s Stark and Renner's Hawkeye.

Stark is still reliving the trauma of what he experienced in The Avengers and the fallout from Iron Man 3. It is his paranoia about not wanting to experience such trauma ever again that causes him to create Ultron, which works brilliantly well for him. But the real standout of the team is Hawkeye, because in here we not only get to see him as the sarcastic character he is known to be, but also get a sense of who he is and why he wants to be an Avenger. He is pretty much the most developed character among the original core team, but there are new kids on the block. And one of them steals the show.

Paul Bettany is probably best known as voicing JARVIS in the Iron Man films, but in here he appears in full physical form as Vision, a fan favorite who is directly linked to Ultron. He is arguably one of the best parts of the movie, despite being quickly developed, it felt appropriate and well handled. Which is more than Ultron's enhanced human henchmen, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Johnson and Olsen do what they can with what they're given in bringing the iconic twins to life. There is the stigma of Evan Peters playing a far superior and effectively used Quicksilver in X-Men Days of Future Past that completely downgrades Johnson's portrayal of Quicksilver. Still, Johnson does fine, but it definitely is not a highlight. Neither is Olsen, who does a good job playing creepy, but comes off really campy with her fake Russian...Sokovian accent.

Final Thoughts

All in all though, despite lacking a sense of development for all the players on the board, as well as rushing way too many plot lines in a mad dash to the finish line, the film still works fine. It is an entertaining piece of cinema that will probably go down as one of Joss Whedon's weakest film outputs, unless something else he directs comes along to take that title. But even though it is not the strongest film in the Marvel catalogue, it still delivers the promise of spectacular entertainment with Earth's Mightiest Heroes. I don't know if I'm willing to watch this movie again in theaters, but I'll definitely be buying the Blu-Ray. And hopefully, just hopefully, Whedon's original 3 hour Director's Cut makes its way on Blu-Ray to clear up all the mess wrought upon this film. Still good though.

SCORE: 7.5/10 - This was not easy to do...and it really shows in the final product