"Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning": A Love Letter to Old School Action Blockbusters
If our lives are the sum of our choices, than Mission Impossible-The Final Reckoning is certainly the sum of its predecessors. After a bland Dead Reckoning, it all leads up to this film. Perhaps a love letter to big action blockbusters and cinema itself, Tom Cruise doesn’t hold back on stunts and action set pieces. In a franchise that’s all about the journey to an end, this entry doesn’t disappoint!
We get put right back into the action after the events of the last film. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is still wrestling with the loss of Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson). Luther (Ving Rhames) is somewhere underground building a weapon that will defeat the Entity. Gabriel (Esai Morales), having failed The Entity by losing the cruciform key, is now on the outs but still desires proximity to the digital AI virus. The world is in chaos and on the brink of nuclear destruction. Only with the help of Grace (Hayley Atwell), Benji (Simon Pegg), Paris (Pom Klementieff) and Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis) and a few friends he doesn’t know yet can Ethan try to pull off the impossible.
So that’s it. That’s the race against time. It’s understanding the race to extend time and the lives of billions that becomes heavy after a long exposition of the stakes in the first thirty minutes. The theme of loss and perseverance through obstacles is hammered home as Ethan must once again sacrifice his feelings and perhaps life for the greater good. As soon as you start to think this proselytizing is becoming annoying, the movie is off and the magic sets in. Suddenly the dark themes and pressure laid on Ethan and his team turns into gigantic action set piece after gigantic action set piece that forces you to hold your breath in anxiety laced stunts that you’re enthralled in.
If this is the last hoorah for Tom Cruise in the shoes of Ethan Hunt (although he’s alluded to it not being over) Cruise and co-writer/director Christopher McQuarrie decide to take us on a thrill ride on land, air and under the sea. Major stunts happen in places and ways that take something we’ve seen before but elevate it in unique ways. Cinematographer Fraser Taggart lights his subjects with an old school glow. It’s this nod to Indiana Jones and other old school blockbusters that used a splash of light across the eyes or to highlight the McMuffin in a scene that makes a moment important. It’s Cruise’s desire to entertain audiences by pushing his own body in stunt after stunt that gives a nod to the trailblazers who performed their own stunts in the early days of cinema.
The Final Reckoning feels is a broken mirror that slowly comes together, shard by shard. Occasionally we get glimpses of other shards that haven’t been placed on the board yet, but when has Mission Impossible not done that? It’s the fun of trying to put the pieces together and watching the one in a million chance opportunities work to create the suspense that makes a movie like this worth seeing in theaters! Grounded in a space of reality, I couldn’t help but think at one point, maybe this is what the world on the brink of nuclear extinction would look like.? It may not have all the memorable feats and set pieces of MI past, but it pays off. It’s definitely worth the ticket, popcorn and snacks this Memorial Day weekend.
Rating: B
"Inside Out 2" Review: Another Great Probe Into Our Minds!
Inside Out will always be a special film for me because it was the first film I took my daughter to see when she was almost three years old. The Oscar winning film was a great movie that dealt with emotions and how we use them. Nearly ten years later, Riley (Kensington Tallman) is thirteen, my daughter is almost twelve and this movie is so in touch with that thing called puberty it’s scary!
We catch back up with Riley as she is still playing hockey and dominating the rink. She is going to high school next year and her bond with her best friends, Grace (Grace Lu) and Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green), couldn’t be stronger! Or could it? As the trio goes to camp, Riley learns that they will be going to different schools in the fall which will break up the band. This information, coupled with the onset of puberty, creates new emotions that come to the forefront of her mind.
Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Anger (Lewis Black) are still at the helm of the controls of Riley’s mind, but new emotions are introduced that will challenge for the throne: Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adele Exarchopoulos) (think “play it cool” mentality), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), and, the leader of them all, Anxiety (Maya Hawke). Anxiety proves to be akin to fear in some ways but her role is to predict what could happen to Riley and either stop it, avoid it, react to it or move her towards it if the idea seems good to her.
The old and new emotions have a conflict that sends the old crew on an adventure. Along the way we meet some new characters and concepts like sarcasm being a literal chasm that makes anything nice sound bad and a stream of consciousness being a stream with whatever Riley is thinking in it. Perhaps the funniest new characters are Bloofy (Ron Funches) and Pouchy (James Austin Johnson), a duo similar to a Barney-like character that Riley secretly still likes watching.
Writers Meg LeFauve, Dave Holstein, and Kelsey Mann do a wonderful job of setting this new world up for the viewer inside Riley’s head as they interact with what’s going on outside of her body. It’s easy to follow and it’s the journey that makes this movie another winner! There is something so universal about the pressures of trying to fit in, choosing between making new friends or being loyal to old ones, and not really knowing what’s going on inside. Pixar usually has a way of speaking to adults while entertaining kids and that is on full display here.
Inside Out 2 is a winner because it’s thought provoking in addressing how the coming of age passage can be difficult, awkward and beautiful all at once! It doesn’t sugar coat mental health but delivers a spoonful of sugar with the medicine the doctor ordered to address it with laughs and a few tear jerking moments. Hopefully we don’t have to wait another decade for the next stage of Riley’s life, but this is certainly one to take the family to see in theaters!
Rating: A-
"The Marvels" Review: An Entanglement Of Sorts
The Marvels feels like the crashing of three different Marvel shows. It’s a soup that doesn’t quite gel and yet was an alright meal at the same time. It’s another rung in the ladder of Marvel movies and TV shows that is setting us up for something greater! These days, that seems to be the familiar MO of Marvel but you have to start somewhere.
I watched the Infinity War and End Game battle sequences prepping for the movie based off of what I saw in the trailer. I was way off. As long as you’ve seen WandaVision, Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel you’re good to go in knowing the characters. If you want to understand the plot just watch Captain Marvel as this film acts as a sequel to it. After taking down the Kree’s overseeing intelligence known as the Supreme Intelligence, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) aka Captain Marvel, inadvertently created a new enemy in Dar-Been (Zawe Aston). In taking out the Supreme Intelligence she also took out the resources of Dar-Been’s home planet and that is something Dar-Been wants back.
While investigating a strange jump point that hasn’t closed, Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), touches it at just the right time to get her powers entangled with her aunt Carol (whom she hasn’t seen in years) and Jersey City’s Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) aka Ms. Marvel. It’s a strange, platonic love triangle that works for the emotional beats of the film. Ms. Marvel is obsessed with Captain Marvel as her biggest fan. Captain Rambeau has felt abandoned by her aunt Carol while watching Captain Marvel be everywhere for everyone except her. Captain Marvel has her reasons as to why she wasn’t there for Monica. It’s this gumbo of emotions that helps the movie have a heartbeat. The chemistry of the women is probably what saves the film from itself with a couple of random moments and set pieces.
Kamala Khan’s infusion in the MCU has brought the fun quirky teenage spirit. Credit has to be given to her family ensemble with her mom (Zenobia Shroff), dad (Mohan Kapur), and older brother (Saagar Shaikh) continually responding to situations as if their daughter/sister is not a superhero. That grounding of Kamala helps create emotional moments with her family and Kamala is able to share that love with the often emotionally guarded Captain Marvel. While much of the film is based on the consequences of past decisions, the message of the ability to grow and learn is on display.
My middle school-aged daughter enjoyed the film way more than me. So this is probably a good time for the kiddos at the movies! We both agreed that it felt like episodes of different MCU shows being pieced together. That start/stop approach to the overall film is what pulls it down but the lead performances are earnest and help smooth that over. The Marvels isn’t a memorable film but the mid-credit sequence will have geeks talking for sure!
Rating: C
"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" Review: This Feels Personal
You can hear a pin drop in the first five minutes of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It’s intense and doesn’t let go of wrestling with loss, the cycle of violence and how we respond to it all throughout its running time. Even with that, this film is a vibe! It pays tribute, takes you in directions that you expect and does an intentional job of curving your expectations at the right time. This is one of the best MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) installments in a while!
The loss of Chadwick Boseman shook the world. It was a death we didn’t expect. He was a talented actor and better human being to all who knew him. He endured in silence, proving his quiet strength and giving us a lot to think about in hindsight. Whether it was not to make fun of a celebrity’s (or anyone for that matter) weight loss because you don’t know what they’re dealing with or his words in interviews, we all had to wrestle with his death. Writer/director Ryan Coogler and the rest of the cast had to do this as well. The original sequel script had to be re-written. It’s in the spaces of deep pain as a reflection of deep love that you can get a focused script like Wakanda Forever. It’s not a perfect script/story, but it’s deeply personal in every frame.
This is a spoiler free review, so I’ll only speak based off of what you can gather from the trailer. The world of Wakanda is familiar yet matured here after the Blip. Her people are dealing with the loss of their leader. Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) is mourning as a mother would, with maturity and grace, while keeping the outside world at bay from using vibranium in a way that would harm others. Shuri (Letitia Wright) is going through it! Her grief is manifested in overworking and anger.
In the outside world’s zest to find vibranium, a new underwater nation called Talokan is awoken. With a desire to stay hidden, its’ leader Namor (Tenoch Huerta), will do whatever it takes to make that happen. Even if it means taking down Wakanda to do it. So Wakanda calls on her heroes Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), Okoye (Danai Gurira), M’Baku (Winston Duke) and new comer Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne).
Ruth Carter’s wardrobe in the film is once again Oscar worthy. Part of the reason the film is a vibe is because of how cool the cast looks throughout the film. Whether they are wearing street clothes or traditional garb, Carter nailed it! The production and art design is incredible grounded in a tangible future. The music from Ludwig Goransson is haunting, inspired and sets the right tone for the film. Listen to the music playing in the lab while Shuri is working. It fits seamlessly to the point you might miss it because so much thought has been put into this world from head to toe.
There is an element of this film that we have to deal with. While the story does a great job of giving us Afro and Latino Futurism visions, the fact remains that the majority of the film is about two brown communities fighting each other. While the Talokan people are blue on land, they’re brown under water. They’re of Mayan origin. So it’s easy to forget this point. At a micro level, two brown nations are willing to go at each other in order to save themselves from colonizers out of fear of colonization. It’s not even guaranteed. It’s strategy for a possibility. Yet, it’s evident that they are two of the strongest nations in this world. There’s an invisible chain at play that just feels a little all too familiar for me.
That said, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a serious character drama with super hero action in the background. Their are noteworthy performances from Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira and Letitia Wright as the women take the stage in a way that feels lived in from my black experience! Equal to the performances are the character arcs of the protagonists and antagonist. Just as Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) was a great idealogical foil to T’Challa, Namor is another villain who could be considered a hero depending on the side of the coin you align with. It’s an entertaining film that will be remembered in the MCU due to the loss of Chadwick Boseman and the universal themes it deals with. There’s only one post credit scene, so you don’t have to wait until the credits finishing rolling this time!
Rating: B+
P.S.
Look for the male extra on the left side of the screen dancing in white in the beginning of the film. Someone should have been watching the dailies to remind him to stay in character! He was having too much fun I guess. If it wasn’t such a serious moment…I would have been laughin’!
"Blacklight" Review
If you’ve seen a Liam Neeson action movie since he starred in Taken in 2008, you’ve seen Blacklight. It’s the same old, don’t let the wrinkles fool you, “this agent has forgotten more than you’ve learned kid” type of tale. Truth be told, I love these types of films. Give me my ninety minute running time, some snacks and I’m down for the ride. This, however, is a near two hours of Neeson phoning in his schtick and it’s barely worth a streaming watch.
Travis Block (Neeson) is a government operative who is ready to throw in the towel in search of a life where he can be a better grandpa. He wasn’t the best father to Helen (Yael Stone) and he wasn’t a good husband to her mother. While the chance at redemption is his focus, the recent death of political figure, Sofia Flores (Mel Jarnson), needs his attention. Travis has a best friend/former war buddy/handler of sorts with FBI director Gabriel Robinson (Aidan Quinn). Gabriel is the type of best friend that says he appreciates Travis making something happen only to call him his weapon later in the film. It’s the call me back in to the game that we’ve seen in films like “Fortress”, “Out of Death”, or “Survive the Game” that has been done better.
As the film moves along we’re introduced to Dusty Crane (Taylor John Smith). He’s the young operative that just might blow the “silent hand’s” cover. He must be stopped by Travis, but the closer that Travis gets to Dusty the more things aren’t as they seem. If Travis can’t help, who can? A journalist (Emmy Raver-Lapman) who is willing to tell the truth at all costs, that’s who!
So it goes. Can everyone survive long enough to get the truth out to the world? Sprinkling in some nice chase sequences and fight scenes, writer/director Mark Williams has a bland action film that could be background noise as you do the dishes. This one just isn’t interesting.
Rating: D