With the release of Mission: Impossible III, summer blockbuster season has officially started.
For “I hate blockbuster” types, M:i:III reinforces everything that is wrong with the genre; for those pure thrill seekers, the verdict is still out there whether it provides enough excitement in this “anything is possible on screen” age. In this third installment of M:i, IMF (don’t confuse it with International Monetary Fund, here it stands for Impossible Mission Force) agent Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise) is forced back into action to fight with a merciless baddie Owen (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman). M:i franchise has clearly become America’s answer to British James Bond with Hunt clearly holding moral superiority. Hunt is just as capable to get out of any impossible situation as Bond, but unlike Bond, Hunt does not play the field. In this movie, Hunt actually tries to have a normal life and become a family man. Of course, his plan goes horribly awry.
Director J.J. Abrams, mastermind behind such popular TV series as Alias and Lost, did not bring any originality to this third installment. Sequels and remakes can be fun, if they are done with some style and wit, but M:i:III lacks both. The only realization I had after the movie is how much Cruise and Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan are alike. Not only have they been playing action figures for decades, but their characters have also not aged over the years. Even though both stars are in their middle age now, their characters have not matured with them. On screen both stars have even tried to stay young appearance-wise. They are apparently very comfortable being stars rather than being actors.
M:i:III boasts a stellar international cast and even scores an Oscar winner as the super villain, but the script has little room for serious acting and nobody outshines the special effects in the movie.
After watching M:i:III, I am afraid it is going to be a long summer indeed.
4 Comments:
L'Enfant is showing now. or you can try art shcool confidential during the davinci weekend. both are good.
I just missed L'Enfant. It was only shown in one theater in the city. When I went to see it over the weekend, the theater just stopped showing it the day before. However, I did see Deepa Mehta's Water. Wonderful film. I will post its review next weekend.
If I have time, I do want to see Art School Confidential. The director's Ghost World was very interesting and original.
L'Enfant is so cold.Much better than the Tsotsi.
Art school confidential could be better if they shoot the same way as thank you for smoking.
Just saw the lost city.Andy Garcia is not good enough for that story. but i was moved and i like the lost city more than any other movies i've seen in the past month. I think it because i came from a lost country.
i'll go to see Water and Davinci Code and Over the hedge this week.
btw, i'm in florida and i almost can find all the movies that's played on more than 200 screens. lucky me.
I envy you.
I do want to see The Lost City. Like you, I am very much drawn to this kind of movies.
I read The Da Vinci Code before. It was an entertaining book, but I am not sure that I would go see it. Too little time; too much to see.
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