Mission: Impossible Retrospective (Updated)

Note: This is a reprint of a retrospective previously published prior to the release of the last Mission: Impossible film, which originally ran on July 30, 2015. I am publishing it again today (with the addition of Rogue Nation as well as other necessary edits) as Mission: Impossible - FALLOUT hits theaters this weekend.

With the release of Mission: Imposible - FALLOUT tomorrow I decided to go back and catch-up on the previous five films in the series this week. To be honest with you, I'd never before sat down and watched the original Mission: Impossible all the way through. I'd seen bits and pieces and tried multiple times over the years to make it all the way through, but it never happened for one reason or another. So, in sitting down to watch the 1996 film that started it all I was surprised to find out there wasn't actually too much I hadn't seen. Basically, I hadn't made it around to the climactic action sequence on the train and that was about it-otherwise I'd seen the major set pieces and had enough to go on that I knew the gist of the plot. This isn't just a look at the first film though, as it's probably been the full eighteen years since M:I-2 came out that I'd actually sat down to watch it again. I can remember going to the theater to see it as I'd just turned thirteen the month prior to its release and it was one of the first legit PG-13 films I saw on the big screen. I'll obviously get into more detail around it later, but to summarize-it holds up better than I expected and though it is definitely the least of the series it still isn't what I would necessarily label as bad. It was also nice to return to J.J. Abrams third installment that I remember really enjoying when I saw it at the early Thursday night show in the summer of '06 and given I've re-watched Ghost Protocol so many times since it's release seven years ago there was hardly any reason to return to it other than the fact it's ridiculously entertaining. The fifth Mission film, Rogue Nation, followed on the heels of Ghost Protocol quicker than any sequel in the franchise had-separated by only three and a half years due to the fact its planned Christmas release date was moved to summer in an attempt to clear the way for Star Wars: The Force Awakens it seemed only good things and good things were what was delivered in the first of what are now two Christopher McQuarrie offerings in the franchise. And so, as we anxiously await the release of FALLOUT, let's take a look back at the adventures that have brought us to this point.

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM Review

For what is mostly the first entry in a brand new series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is also very much a re-boot to the Harry Potter universe that Warner Bros. has surprisingly let remain stagnant for a solid five years. As someone who grew up with the books, who matured as they matured, and grasped the implications of the ideas and themes more as the series went on and explored more complex ideas and themes itself I have to admit to not being too thrilled by the fact Warner Bros. planned on extending the world of Harry Potter to New York City and the 1920's with a film about the guy who...wrote one of Harry and his friends textbooks? Despite the fact J.K. Rowling herself would be penning the screenplay there was still a fair amount of trepidation that whatever this Eddie Redmayne-fronted extension of the magical world might ultimately be it would inevitably be little more than a cash grab. A boardroom mandated blockbuster that would repeat as many of the same beats from the Harry Potter franchise as it could while doubling the amount of merchandise and thus the revenue. And so, here we are-the full swing of the Holiday season in November is in full force and amidst the crowded multiplexes sporting a number of high-profile releases and awards season hopefuls we again find the comfort and ease of knowing that while not exactly Harry, we are once again able to escape to the magical world Rowling has conjured up and that, no matter the protagonist, is something of an unavoidable happiness members of a certain generation can't pass up. For the truth is, after allowing my hesitations to subside and instead becoming excited by the fact Rowling and director David Yates (who made the final four Harry Potter films) reunited for a brand new chapter in the development of the wizarding world and that this chapter of the bigger picture would ultimately add more depth and scope to this world we already believed we knew turns out to be a solidly entertaining thrill ride. Though Fantastic Beasts certainly has its issues and two too many endings it casts a charming enough spell to leave audiences wanting more from the adventures of Mr. Newt Scamander and his inevitable battle with Gellert Grindelwald.

Comic-Con Trailer for FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

Director David Yates is a busy man. Not only did he direct one of the more surprising and solid blockbusters of the summer in The Legend of Tarzan, but he also has seemingly just completed both his and Warner Bros. return to the wizarding world with the adaptation of J.K. Rowling's 2001 novel Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them. The book was published under the pseudonym Newt Scamander and purports to be Harry Potter's copy of the textbook that was on his list of necessary school supplies in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Our protagonist here is Scamander himself and given the screenplay was the first penned by Rowling herself I'm assuming this is an original story that will give audiences insight into how Mr. Scamander came to be experienced enough to pen an entire textbook on magical creatures. With the film now only four months away from release it makes sense that WB would not only premiere a full length trailer at Comic-Con, but that they'd also be game to show off more of the completed money shots that likely haven't been available for very long. With this latest (and hopefully final) look at the film we are given a more immersive look into this new era of the wizarding world that this installment seems to be leaning on as a means to justify its existence. While this new film won't deal with "The Boy Who Lived" exclusively, the idea of being able to return to such a world, and in November no less, is something of pure bliss for my generation in particular. The look of the film is certainly engaging and I like that Yates is here to secure a continuity of tone if there can't be much of it elsewhere. While part of me gets more nervous the closer we get to this thing I can't help but to be excited given how big a part of my childhood Harry Potter and his wizarding world was. Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Ron Perlman, Carmen Ejogo, Jenn Murray, Faith Wood-Blagrove, and opens on November 18, 2016.

New Trailer for FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

Director David Yates is a busy man. Not only is he in post production on his first post-Harry Potter feature, The Legend of Tarzan, but he also just completed production on Warner Bros. return to the wizarding world with the adaptation of J.K. Rowling's 2001 novel Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them. The book was published under the pseudonym Newt Scamander and purports to be Harry Potter's copy of the textbook that was on his list of necessary school supplies in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Our protagonist here is Scamander himself  and given the screenplay was the first penned by rowling herself I'm assuming this is an original story that will give audiences insight into how Mr. Scamander came to be experienced enough to pen an entire textbook on magical creatures. Though we received a teaser for the film back in December that was purely to put something in front of Star Wars while this full trailer delivers a more immersive look into this new era of the wizarding world that we will explore. While this new film won't deal with "The Boy Who Lived" exclusively, the idea of being able to return to such a world, and in November no less, is something of pure bliss for my generation in particular. The look of the film is certainly engaging and the presence of both Eddie Redmayne and Colin Farrell, including his voice over, boasts the already mythical material that much further into the high pedigree range. In short, I can't wait to see what adventure this fresh perspective holds. Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them also stars Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Ron Perlman, Carmen Ejogo, Jenn Murray, Faith Wood-Blagrove, and opens on November 18, 2016.

Teaser Trailer for FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

Director David Yates is a busy man. Not only is he in post production on his first post-Harry Potter feature, The Legend of Tarzan (which only just premiered it's trailer last week), but he is also in the midst of production on Warner Bros. return to the wizarding world of Harry Potter with the film adaptation of J.K. Rowling's 2001 novel Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them. The book was published under the pseudonym Newt Scamander and purports to be Harry Potter's copy of the textbook that was on his list of necessary school supplies in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Given our protagonist here is Scamander himself I'm assuming this is an original story that will give audiences insight into how Mr. Scamander came to be experienced enough to pen an entire textbook on the magical creatures of the wizard universe. Given what we have here is merely a teaser with very little actual footage it seems clear Warner Bros. simply wanted to get something in front of Star Wars this weekend so that audiences will know they are going to be able to return to the world of Harry Potter next year. While this new film won't deal with "The Boy Who Lived" exclusively, the idea of being able to return to such a world, and in November no less, is something of pure bliss for my generation in particular. Without having much to go on I can't really tell whether I should necessarily be excited for the film, but with Yates, who helmed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix all the way through the finale in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, once again in charge of things I have a large amount of faith in the fact I will enjoy this new adventure. Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Ron Perlman, Carmen Ejogo, Jenn Murray, Faith Wood-Blagrove, Colin Farrell, and opens on November 18, 2016.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE Retrospective

With the release of Mission: Imposible - Rogue Nation tomorrow I decided to go back and catch-up on the previous four films in the series this week. To be honest with you, I've never before sat down and watched the original Mission: Impossible all the way through. I'd seen bits and pieces and tried multiple times over the years to make it all the way through, but it never happened for one reason or another. So, in sitting down to watch the 1996 film that started it all I was surprised to find out there wasn't actually too much I hadn't seen. Basically, I hadn't made it around to the climactic action sequence on the train and that was about it-otherwise I'd seen the major set pieces and had enough to go on that I knew the gist of the plot. This isn't just a look at the first film though, as it's probably been the full fifteen years since M:I-2 came out that I've actually sat down to watch it again. I can remember going to the theater to see it as I'd just turned thirteen the month prior to its release and it was one of the first legit PG-13 films I saw on the big screen. I'll obviously get into more detail around it later, but to summarize-it holds up better than I expected and though it is definitely the least of the series still isn't what I would necessarily label as bad. It was also nice to return to J.J. Abrams third installment that I remember really enjoying when I saw it at the early Thursday night show in the summer of '06 and I've re-watched Ghost Protocol so many times since it's release four years ago there was hardly any reason to return to it other than the fact it's ridiculously entertaining. When it was announced in January that the fifth Mission film would be shifting from its planned Christmas release to the summer movie season in an attempt to clear the way for Star Wars: The Force Awakens it could seemingly only mean good things for the latest installment. I've been anxious to see where Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner would take the series ever since the conclusion of Ghost Protocol and so as we anxiously await the release of Rogue Nation, let's take a look back at the adventures that have brought us to this point.

GETAWAY Review

Courtney Solomon is no Justin Lin. Solomon could hardly even be considered a player at all in the action genre as he's only made three films and the first was 2000's Dungeons & Dragons adaptation that I never saw because I was both too young to care about it at the time and would have likely been massively confused if I had. I never played the game and the current 10% tomatometer score doesn't bode well for it either, but what really put the anticipation in the can for Getaway was knowing that Solomon also directed 2005's An American Haunting. I remember taking a date to that film and apologizing for how bad it turned out to be because it was my idea to go see it. With this third feature the director has made one of those films where all of the action revolves around a certain set of people locked into one location. This certainly might make things easier from a production standpoint as you don't have to deal with a ton of location scouting or all of the dynamics that go into orchestrating a production with a large cast involved, but when your location of confinement is on wheels there seems a much more complex scheme to choreograph and Getaway never seems to take advantage of its circumstances other than to feed us corny dialogue and messily shot action sequences that seem more thrown together than thought out. To be honest, there wasn't much expectation going into the film, but when you have such a simple premise and what seems to be outlandish execution paired with the fact that actors with the caliber of Ethan Hawke and the rising star of Selena Gomez presumably seeing something in the project you hope it might prove to be a fun, if not distracting experience. And yet, there isn't even an intentionally campy vibe to the project as it, for all intents and purposes, is as serious as a heart attack and with that tone does little to add fun to the predictable and lacking story that can't even sustain the brief hour and a half running time.