Hello people. My apologies, I have not been writing much recently. I kind of hit a brick wall and have been a bit depressed about my current living situation. As a result, I am trying something a little different; I will be doing a movie review on camera. Sooner or later, it had to happen.
This review will be of Ridley Scott’s historical epic “Napoleon” which stars Academy Award winner Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte, the French military commander and leader who came to prominence during the French Revolution, and his brutal military campaigns during the Revolutionary War are the tales of history which are impossible to forget, especially considering how it resulted in millions of lives lost. The movie focuses on Napoleon’s rise to power, and of his all-consuming relationship with Joséphine de Beauharnais, played in a fantastic performance by Vanessa Kirby (the White Widow in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise).
Scott’s “Napoleon” works best when it focuses on the tortured relationship between Napoleon and Josephine as Phoenix and Kirby make quite the acting pair whenever they are together onscreen. Watching them face off with one another is endlessly enthralling, and it helps to make up for Scott and company do not dig enough into Napoleon’s psychology. My problem is the film tends to keep him at an arm’s length distance, and I came out of it feeling like I could have learned more about the man. Nevertheless, Scott has crafted a four-hour cut of the film which will debut on Apple TV in the near future. That’s right, it will be streaming before we all know it.
Please check out the review below and subscribe to The Ultimate Rabbit You Tube channel if you have not already. It is not too long, and I did my best to make sure it only lasts a fraction of “Napoleon’s” running time which is 157 minutes.
Well, we are finally back in IMF territory where Ethan Hunt keeps taking a lick but keeps on ticking, just like the Energizer Bunny. Like Nicole Kidman keeps saying at your local AMC multiplex, we come into this theater to see if Tom Cruise and his director of choice for this franchise, Christopher McQuarrie, can top what they did previously in “Mission: Impossible: Fallout” which itself was one of the best action films in recent memory. Better yet, can it be the equal of last year’s exhilarating spectacular, “Top Gun: Maverick,” which Cruise starred in and McQuarrie co-wrote? Whenever these two are presented with a challenge, they always rise to the occasion no matter what the cost. And speaking of cost, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” is the most expensive installment of this franchise yet, let alone in Cruise’s film career.
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” begins with what I would like to believe is an ode to “The Hunt for Red October” as we encounter a Russian submarine with stealth capabilities, and its captain believes he is in command of the most lethal weapon on planet Earth. But before he knows it, the submarine is destroyed in a way similar to how the Konovalov went down, and we are introduced to this film’s McGuffin: a key which will give one power over an experimental AI (artificial intelligence) called the Entity. Originally designed to sabotage digital systems, it went rogue like Ethan often does, but in the process, it has infiltrated defense and military systems and intelligence networks. As a result, all the major powers are racing to get control over the Entity before it does the whole planet in.
These days, AI is the perfect villain as it threatens to take over all our lives and the work human beings are supposed to get paid a healthy salary to do. Clearly, audiences need to revisit the first two “Terminator” movies as James Cameron was really onto something. You remember what happened when Skynet became self-aware, right?
As always, it is fun to see in what format Ethan will receive his mission in, should he choose to accept it. In the past, he has gotten it via vinyl record, a pair of cool-looking sunglasses, a disposable camera, and a small videotape. This time, it comes to him in a food delivery bag like the kind Door Dash and Postmates often utilize. The irony, however, is inside it is a micro-cassette recorder, an allusion to the past which Ethan will be forced to confront. And while many “Mission: Impossible” installments are made to stand on their own, this one remembers how its characters, particular Ethan Hunt, have a history which has come to inform where they are now. Peter Gabriel said it best when he wrote how “nothing fades as fast as the future, nothing clings like the past.”
Following the plot of “Dead Reckoning Part One” is a bit hard as, like some of the other sequels, it gets a bit convoluted as so many ideas are brought up to where the plot is a little hard to follow. Then again, we do not go into these movies for logic. We go into them for the action and amazing stunts.
Still, I was reminded of how McQuarrie won an Oscar for writing “The Usual Suspects” and how brilliant that screenplay was while watching “Dead Reckoning Part One.” Like “Usual Suspects,” this film is a puzzle piece filled with characters trying to figure it all out before the timer on that bomb, any bomb, reaches zero. Also, I am not sure I have seen another movie in recent memory with so many actors putting on their best poker faces. As I watched everyone do their emotions hidden and not show any sign of vulnerability, I kept waiting for Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” to start playing on the soundtrack. It doesn’t, but maybe Cruise and McQuarrie are saving it for “Dead Reckoning Part Two.”
But yeah, let’s talk about the stunts. There have been several trailers and featurettes dealing with the key stunts which include a massive train crash and Ethan riding a motorcycle off a cliff, and it made me wonder if Paramount Pictures was giving too much away in advance. But sure enough, they are amazing stunts which thrilled me to no end as Ethan is forced to catch up with a train in the worst way possible, and the payoff is priceless.
As for the train crash, everything leading up to is pulled off ever so skillfully. Clearly, Cruise and McQuarrie have watched the best action films out there and look to one up the stunts which have enthralled us before. While the situations seem similar, the screws have been tightened ever so tightly to where the room for error is miniscule. This is especially the case when the characters are on top of the train, looking to take one another out while also avoiding certain tunnels and structures which could knock them out of the way without much warning.
And wait a minute, I forgot to mention the car chase which precedes these scenes in Paris as Ethan and the ever so clever burglar, Grace (Hayley Atwell), race through the streets of Paris, and it featured a moment where one has to be grateful for the existence of airbags. Unlike your average car chase, this is one which puts you right behind the wheel, and just when you think things are getting better, they do not.
Cruise has always been a better actor than people typically give him credit for, but this film reminds one of what an excellent producer he can be. Along with McQuarrie, he remains determined to give audiences around the world a very good reason to see movies in a theater long before they have a chance to stream them at home. Indeed, the spectacle on display is best experienced on the biggest silver screen in your neighborhood as it will make your cinematic experience all the more invigorating.
When it comes to Cruise’s co-stars, they all deserve a wealth of credit. Simon Pegg has been this franchise’s comic relief for a while now as Benji Dunn, but here he shows how this character has evolved from his meek beginnings in the IMF to where he is not the least bit naïve about how his life compares to this or any other mission. Ving Rhames who, like Cruise, has been in every single “Mission: Impossible” movie since the 1996 original, remains an ever so powerful presence as Luther Stickell, a man who will never give up on Ethan even if someone forces him to. And let us never forget Rebecca Ferguson who once again returns as Ilsa Faust, one of the coolest MI6 agents you could ever hope to see on the silver screen. Ferguson remains an ever so indelible presence in this franchise, and she also shows an inescapable vulnerability which just might prove to be her undoing.
But when it comes to returning characters to the “Mission: Impossible” movie franchise, the most notable one to be found in “Dead Reckoning: Part One” is Eugene Kittridge, played once again by Henry Czerny for the first time since De Palma’s “Mission: Impossible” back in 1996. A Canadian actor, Czerny has proven to be enigmatic presence in films like “Clear and Present Danger,” “The Ice Storm” and “Scream VI” among other works. Here, he proves to have the greatest poker face of them all.
As for the new faces, we have Hayley Atwell prominently on display as Grace. She gives a very strong performance here as she matches Cruise scene for scene, and watching her character evolve throughout helps to give this installment more depth. Kudos also goes to Cary Elwes who is memorable in everything he does, and that includes his role here as Denlinger, Director of National Intelligence. And then there is Pom Klementieff who proves to be a lethal and maniacal presence as the French assassin, Paris.
In terms of villains in the “Mission: Impossible” movie franchise, they have been a mixed bag at times. But for my money, Esai Morales proves to be one of its best as the powerful terrorist, Gabriel. Like Philip Seymour Hoffman’s villain in “Mission: Impossible III,” he is a nemesis who enjoys the suffering and humiliation more than the kill, and he is a seething presence from start to finish to where I could not wait for Ethan to lay waste to him.
I have a hard time ranking the “Mission: Impossible” movies as this franchise has been around for several decades, and I get frustrated a lot with numbers. For me, this installment is not quite as good as “Fallout,” but that was a hard one to beat. Plus, we know there is going to be a direct follow up to this one next summer, and it has me wondering, and quite fearful, about what crazy ass stunts Cruise and McQuarrie will come up with next. Like many, I am convinced Cruise is going to get himself killed in a future sequel, but nothing seems to be stopping him.
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” is superb entertainment, and I cannot wait to see what comes next.
It’s been close to five years since the last film in this long-lasting franchise, but now we get our first look at “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.” I should, however, state how frustrated I was to see it will not be released until July of 2023 which is such a buzz kill. All these exciting images are presented to us, and now we have to wait just a little over a year to see them on the silver screen. This reminded me of how thrilled I was when I first watched the teaser trailer for “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions,” and how deflated I was when we saw the year 2003 plastered at the end of it. We were so excited, and then we were made to wait a full year before we went back to the “real world.” That’s like putting salt in the wound!
Well, with Tom Cruise returning as Ethan Hunt once again, we are greeted with various images we have come to see in the “Mission: Impossible” films such as him palling around with his colleagues played by Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson and Vanessa Kirby among others. We also get glimpses of insane car chases which go through downtown cities, trains traveling through the countryside, and our heroic characters partying at a members’ only rave in the most glamorous of places. So yeah, this definitely looks like a “Mission: Impossible” film.
Having watched this teaser trailer several times now, this particular sequel looks to be not much different from the others which preceded it. Perhaps this is because Christopher McQuarrie is returning to director’s chair for the third time, or maybe I am just reacting to how Tom Cruise still looks like he hasn’t aged a day since “Mission: Impossible III.” I’m not surprised to see him “grinning like an idiot every 15 minutes” here and, in this trailer, we see him running really fast, and all by his lonesome as usual. When was the last time anyone rang alongside him anyway?
What stood out to me most in this trailer was the appearance of Henry Czerny who returns to this franchise as Eugene Kittridge for the first time since the original “Mission: Impossible” film from 1990. Hearing him talk to Ethan and explain how he needs to take a side makes me feel like this sequel will have very high stakes, and this always helps to add to spectacle on display.
One other thing; seeing Ethan ride a horse is something I have not seen him do before in this franchise. At least I can count on the filmmakers bringing in that as something new. Plus, I have not seen a train fly off the rails since “Back to the Future Part III,” and that should be quite the sight to see. And then there is Cruise driving a motorcycle off of a cliff, something we already knew he was going to do. It makes me wonder what motorcycle enthusiasts think of such a stunt. Once they learn what kind of motorcycle he let crash to the ground, they may be incredibly heartbroken.
And if you look closely, you will get glimpses of newbies to this franchise which include Esai Morales, Hayley Atwell and Cary Elwes among others. These are actors you can always depend on, and I have no doubt they will be great additions.
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” is set to open in theaters on July 14, 2023. If you haven’t already, check out the trailer above. Whether or not this will equal or be better than “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” one of the best action films of recent years, remains to be seen.
This is never supposed to be the case. Movie franchises are not supposed to improve with each sequel. We all expect them to get worse and worse to where you wonder why the filmmakers even bother making them anymore. But with the “Mission: Impossible” movie franchise, actor and producer Tom Cruise continues to work closely with gifted filmmakers to create motion pictures which defy expectations as he is intent on topping what came before. “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is the sixth film in a series which began back in 1996, and it proves to be the most thrilling installment yet. I cannot wait to see it again, and I am determined to see it in a IMAX theater as this sequel demands to be seen on the biggest screen in town.
The plot of “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is a bit convoluted, but I will give you the gist of it. The terrorist group from “Rogue Nation” known as The Syndicate has since reformed into The Apostles, and Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is tasked with intercepting the sale of three plutonium cores to them. But despite the presence of team members Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Benjamin “Benji” Dunn (Simon Pegg), the mission is thwarted and the plutonium is stolen right out from under them. From there, they are determined to get the cores back, and their latest impossible mission has them meeting up with characters old and new to where alliances and methods are questioned endlessly. It all reminded me of what Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio told Willem Dafoe in “White Sands:”
“You’re honest, even when you’re lying.”
Does everything we see here make perfect sense? No, but I really didn’t care. Even at 147 minutes, “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” never drags, and it is a movie I am happy to describe as exhaustively thrilling as it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Just when you think it’s over, we are pulled back into another astonishing action set piece which leaves us out of breath.
Let’s talk about the stunts, shall we? Among the first is the HALO (high altitude, low opening) jump which is a skydive from a seriously insane height. We all know how Cruise is a stickler for doing his own stunts, and while the average skydive is done from 7,000 to 9,000 feet, a HALO jump is often done from 15,000 feet and with the aid of oxygen. Taking this all into account makes this particular sequence all the more thrilling as it is done in what seems like an unbroken shot which would make even Alejandro Inarritu stare at the screen in awe.
There’s also a motorcycle chase through the streets of Paris, and I kept waiting for the characters to get seriously injured or killed as no one can navigate traffic like that in real life. And yes, it is indeed Cruise jumping from one building to another. Everything culminates in a thrilling helicopter chase which outdoes the ones I loved watching in “Blue Thunder,” and it is in this sequence where Cruise and company attempt to complete the most impossible mission of all as what they are tasked with doing has a higher probability of failure than success.
Cruise is now 56 years old, and he shows no signs of slowing down. While many be telling him to act his age, a term which has now lost all its meaning to me, he continues to defy the odds and show just how far he is willing to go to make an action movie which is anything but average. The scenes of him “grinning like an idiot every 15 minutes” are few and far between this time around as we instead see him playing mind games with actors who are playing characters not entirely trustworhty. And yes, there is the obligatory scene of him sprinting at warp speed, and I hope I am able to run like he does when I reach his age.
“Fallout” almost marks the return of writer and director Christopher McQuarrie, making him the first filmmaker to direct more than one “Mission: Impossible” movie. “Rogue Nation” was terrific entertainment, but he really outdoes himself this time out. His screenplay is full of endless plot twists and enigmatic characters to where I was quickly reminded of he was the same man who wrote the screenplay for “The Usual Suspects.” Seeing him balance various plot threads makes me admire him as a director even more as he brings everything together for a furious climax which is just staggering.
Simon Pegg has been great fun in the “Mission: Impossible” movies, but in “Fallout” we see his character of Benji Dunn evolve a bit. Granted, Benji has always served as the comic relief, but we see him become a better field agent to where, even when he whines about the things he doesn’t want to do, he can hold his own with Ethan to where he doesn’t have to perform a HALO jump to make this clear. Pegg has always been a great comedic talent, but he’s also a better actor than people give him credit for.
Ving Rhames continues to make Luther Stickell the uber cool IMF agent, and Luther has evolved to where he is not as concerned about his expensive taste in clothes anymore. Rebecca Ferguson, who all but stole “Rogue Nation” as Ilsa Faust, once again makes her character wonderfully enigmatic to where I was desperate to get at the secrets inside Ilsa’s brain. Alec Baldwin has more fun this time around as Alan Hunley, Sean Harris makes “Rogue Nation” baddie Solomon Lake even more sadistic than ever before, and Michelle Monaghan once again provides this franchise with a warm human presence as Ethan’s ex-wife, Julia.
We also get introduced to some new characters including Erica Sloane, the new CIA director played by Angela Bassett. Although we don’t get to see much of Bassett here, she reminds us of how badass she remains after all these years. It has been 25 years since she broke through as Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” and she hasn’t let us down since.
Acclaimed stage actress Vanessa Kirby makes her American film debut as White Widow, a black-market arms dealer. Kirby makes this character such an alluring presence as she keeps her cool even as her life is constantly being threatened and as she dangles a plutonium core right in front of Ethan’s eyes, knowing full well just how much he wants it.
And, of course, we have Henry Cavill who gets to take some time off from his day job playing Superman to portray CIA assassin August Walker. Cavill is a bit stiff in some early scenes to where he threatens to get upstaged by his mustache, the same one he was unable to shave off for “Justice League” reshoots. For a time, I kept waiting for him to say, “It’s just you, me, and my mustache” as such a big deal was made about it having to be digitally removed. But as “Fallout” goes on, Cavill makes August into an especially dangerous character who is never to be trifled with. And while he may not be playing the Man of Steel here, he throws punches which had me thinking his arms were made of steel.
Seriously, “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is the best movie yet in this franchise, and it may very well be the best action movie of summer 2018. Just when I thought nothing could top the sight of Cruise climbing the Burj Khalifa tower in “Ghost Protocol,” we are given some of the most amazing stunts, and they are coupled with characters busy playing mental chess games with one another as what the eyes reveal can be even more threatening than a bullet to the head. “Fallout” is a thrilling spectacle, and it makes me wonder if Cruise and company can possibly top what they have accomplished here.
Cruise had a tough time in 2017 as “The Mummy” reboot proved to be a critical and commercial bomb, and the biographical crime film “American Made” underperformed at the box office. It’s a good thing he still has “Mission: Impossible” to fall back on as he always pushes himself to outdo what he did previously as an actor and producer. Just when I thought his career would self-destruct in 5 seconds, he manages to come back with a vengeance.
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