Mission: Impossible: All: Of: Them

Despite sharing the main character's last name, I had never seen a Mission: Impossible film up until a few weeks ago. When Fallout was released to very positive reviews I knew I had to do a speedy catch up on this franchise. So what follows are my thoughts on each of the films, written after I saw them, with little to know knowledge of what was ahead. So please enjoy my first steps into this series and my musings on each of the films - the good and the bad.

Mission: Impossible

This first one is a good spy film: walking the line of serious and goofy surprisingly well for the most part. I enjoyed the action and the twists but I did, at times, struggle keeping up with who was who in the pretty sizeable cast. Now the basic structure has been set up I look forward to seeing what comes next.

3.5/5

Mission: Impossible II

This was quite the struggle to get through but it’s all good from here on, right? It was weird, John Woo’s style did not mix well at all: it almost felt too different to the first film whilst also containing double the amount of mask reveals. The action is cool at the end but after you’ve had to slog through the boring plot, forced romance and casual sexism it’s doesn’t really matter, the film could not be saved.
1.5/5

Mission: Impossible III

The opening of this film is more tense than the previous two films put together. Each of these films feel like a bit of a reboot with a new cast of characters, new back-stories and relationships that you need to get up to speed with. It's not all a bad thing though - I had a lot of fun with this film. The action is at its best and the stakes feel high, despite giving away so much at the start. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is an amazing and intimidating villain, God I miss him. He and Cruise are delight to watch bounce off of each other. It's all good stuff. Although going through these I find it hard to get a grip on who Ethan Hunt is, his defining character trait seems to just be; he's good at things. I don't know maybe that's just me.
3.5/5

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Although it lacks Phillip Seymour Hoffman, this film fires on all cylinders. It has the best characters yet, the more interesting plot developments and some of the best action set pieces. I loved the way the tension was amped up in every scene, even with things as small as jumping into a slow moving train. This is definitely the best of series I've seen so far, which is quite something from the 4th film in a franchise.
4/5

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

This is the first instalment that actually feels like a sequel to it's predecessor. However, the women are still unfortunately replaceable in this franchise, with none making it across from the last. It follows the same kind of beats as Ghost Protocol but never reaches the same heights. It's still a solid film but that car/motorbike chase in the middle is great but the rest is a little more forgettable. Just an observation but is Ethan Hunt on the run from his own country/people in every film in this series apart from 2? IMF are not the greatest employers...
3.5/5

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Fallout was everything I wanted from this series. Finally on the sixth outing we get some character development for Ethan Hunt; the story pushes him to his limit, trying hard to break him into someone or something he doesn’t want to be. It also brought back female characters from the previous films therefore driving the plot and being essential to the emotion of some of the scenes. The story - although not breaking loads of new ground - works really well, delivering on loads of exhilarating action and actual shocking twists that change the whole feel of certain scenes. For the first time I actually felt emotionally invested in the stakes for the team and I never wanted the film to stop. I’d heard good things about this one and it's one of the reasons I’ve watched the whole series in quick succession. I’m so glad I did, it’s one of the best action movies in a long time and easily the best Mission: Impossible film. 
4.5/5

So there you have it, my thoughts on Mission: Impossible franchise as an absolute newcomer. I feel like these later films have definitely found their place now, creating a recognisable look and style with an emphasis on action and stunts. Fallout feels like a culmination of all six films and would even be a satisfying ending to the franchise, though now that it is so good I just want to see more! I recommend anyone going through these films, they're solid spy action films and have a great payoff when you get towards the final few. 

What do you think of the franchise? Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to comment below and let me know.

Thanks for reading!

Quick Reviews #4

I was originally intending to use this post to write one big review for The World's End but I watched Mud last night and how could I not review it, especially as it was my favourite film of the year so far. So instead I have a written another 'Quick Reviews' post where I give my opinions on both the films.

The World's End 

The highly anticipated threequel to the Cornetto trilogy is a lot darker than it's predecessors. That's not to say it doesn't dish out the laughs. Whereas Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz were a lot lighter in tone, this time round Simon Pegg's character Gary is a alcoholic wreck stuck in the mindset of his younger more rebellious days while his four other friends have all grown up, he's quite a sad character really. Gary reunites his friends to finally accomplish the Golden Mile, 12 pubs, 60 pints finishing at 'The World's End'. For the first 20 minutes you start to forget that this is in fact a sci-fi film, the characters are so layered that this could have been about the fivesome without the use of an robot/alien invaded town. But this is Edgar Wright and this film would not be right if it didn't involve some kind of fantastical Hollywood element and it worked for this film and made for a lot of laughs. The humour my not be as consistent in this film as it has been in others but it is still really funny, making it one of the best comedies of the last few years. It's great to see the trio that is Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost back together making movies again because they do it so well! I really hope this isn't the last time we see the trio make a film together. The usual ensemble of actors is back with a few new faces, everyone is great in their roles however I do feel that a few minor characters such as Reece Shearsmith's were not needed and were just there for their cameo appearance. The film looks great and Wright's fast paced camera movements define is auteur style and make for some great comic action scenes, ones that should hopefully be replicated when he takes to directing Ant-Man in the next couple of years.The writing is great and the jokes are funny, something which isn't always achieved in mainstream comedy films at the moment. I wouldn't even know where to start when comparing it to the two previous films because all have been of high quality. I am giving The World's End a rating of 4/5.

Mud

I was gripped throughout the whole of Mud. Director Jeff Nichols has written a story so strong and powerful that even if the cinematography wasn't as beautiful and the actors as good as they are, this film would still be amazing. The film follows two boys as they encounter a fugitive and try to help him to evade capture or death from a set of bounty hunters and reunite him with his true love. This film is just incredible, an instant American classic. A change in pace and tone from the director's previous work with Take Shelter, which is also a great film. The two kids played by Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland are brilliant and hold their ground against Matthew McConaughey who is continuing his streak of great roles in this film which might be his best to date. With most of the blockbuster films this year being below expectations it's great to see something small come along and blow you away. Hands down this is the best film I have seen this year. The story reminded me of children's stories like Stig of the Dump or coming of age films but with much more mature themes such as loss of innocence and breakdown of romance. I really cannot praise this film enough, therefore I am giving Mud a rating of 5/5. Go and see it!

Thanks for reading!