Caught M:I 4 last weekend but decided to re watch all the films before saying much about it.
Mission: Impossible
8/10
Probably the most "realistically" grounded of all the M:I films....relatively speaking. Thats one thing that makes it my favorite. Lots of twists that can take a little while to get used to but thats half the fun. Feels like a real espionage thriller. Lots of slight of hand going on. The McGuffin is also something thats very realistic.
Theres a great cast here...sadly most of them don't get to show us much. Phelps as a traitor has to make him one of the more compelling villains of the series by virtue of having the most development. Danny Elfman did a great job updating the main theme for the opening credits and I loved the nod to the tv series intro. All the music is pretty cool.
Mission: Impossible II
6.5/10
Went in a very much opposite direction of the first film. Thats not necessarily a bad thing...if you can make it work. It has the simplest story of all the films. again not a bad thing...if you can make it work but I just didn't find this one as engaging.
Thandie Newton is good looking but of all the women in these films I found her the least interesting. Hunt goes from spy...to ninja spy. I have to give Cruise credit for really going all out doing most of his own stunts. It really lends an authenticity to the risk.
I think Billy Baird was my favorite new character in the film. Too bad we never got to see him come back. Sean Ambrose seemed to be the dark version of Hunt. I liked that. Ambrose had this predatory quality to him like a mad dog.
Woo shoots great action but sometimes it borders on comical with the triple takes and slow motion.
Mission: Impossible III
7.5/10
This was a great return to form. I liked the new IMF team and I thought the plot twists were well handled. I wasn't sure who was setting Hunt up. I like that this one really seems to flesh out Ethan Hunt the most as a person.
The action is good and I really liked Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Davian. A real A-hole. Keri Russell was also great. She did so fine a job with such a small part that what happened to her really shocked me. Simon Pegg is pretty funny as Benji
I also like how they never really explain exactly what the Rabbits Foot is. Its really not even necessary to.
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
8/10
As far as I'm concerned it ties with the first one as the best in the series. The action is incredible. Brad Bird has a great eye for big set pieces. Loved all the globe trotting. Gave this film an amazing scope. He got the most out of shooting in Dubai and Moscow. I loved the opening too. Very clever way to kick off the credits too.
Cruise is finally starting to show his age but he's still awesome in these movies. Hope he comes back for one more. This may be my favorite IMF team of them all. I also like how the team aspect is really played up here. Feels most like a true ensemble piece. Renner plays Brandt pretty low key but he plays off the others well. Nice to see Benji get an expanded role. Paul Patton looks physically capable as her character...and hot. It was also nice to finally NOT see someone who works with the IMF be revealed as a traitor.
My biggest problem is that I found Cobalt to be the poorest villain in the series. He didn't really grab my interest the way the others did. His commitment was pretty impressive though. That header he took at the end was sick. Wish Rhames/Luther had a bigger role but at least he shows up.
Top Gun
7/10
Man this movie is dripping with 80's-ness. A true 80's popcorn film. It wallows in its cheesiness at times but its a lot of fun. Its got a heck of a cast, most of whom would go on to much greater things.
The only ones who get to do any real acting are Cruise, Edwards and Skerritt. Cruise has the charisma but I think Edwards and Skerrit turn in the best performances. Kilmer is just kinda there to be the sneering rival. Michael Ironside is good but its a minor role. Just about everyone else is a one dimensional space filler character.
The plot is paper thin and pretty unrealistic at times. If American pilots shot down Russian Migs back then, even in self defense, international relations would have gotten a lot more tense very quickly. But this movie is more about the style than being particularly deep or intelligent.
I also realized that if you were a sidekick named Goose and a buddy to a hotshot young daredevil in a movie back then you were pretty much cooked.
Literally in some cases.
The aerial photography looks great. They really got some impressive shots of the jets and the editing has just the right pace. A lot of the model work is seamless. This part of the movie still holds up. Simpson-Bruckheimer were always about the slickest style and this was one place where they delivered.
