Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part One Is An Exhilarating Mission That Audiences Should Enthusiastically Choose To Accept

 

Note: This review contains no Spoilers.

      When it comes to popular film franchises that began as being mediocre but remarkably improved in quality with each new installment, one would be hard pressed to name a better franchise than that of the Mission: Impossible series. First launching in 1996 with Tom Cruise as the main lead, the series has proven itself to be one that gets progressively better with age while finding new and daring ways to thrill audiences. With Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part One, Paramount Pictures continues that trend with the stage being set for an epic two-part story that's designed to retire Cruise's character Ethan Hunt with a bang. Given how terrific the previous entry, Mission: Impossible- Fallout was, the bar was raised high for the newest installment to do better. Shockingly, it manages to not just do so but absolutely exceeds expectations in delivering the series biggest and strongest entry yet.  

      Marking the seventh installment in the Mission: Impossible series, Dead Reckoning Part One has Ethan Hunt and his IMF team matching wits with a powerful rogue AI known as "the Entity." Dead Reckoning's plot is one that stays true to the series traditional concepts regarding world-threatening stakes combined with epic set-pieces that outdoes anything that's been seen before previously. Combined with an electrifying performance from Tom Cruise, a fantastic cast, stellar writing, directing, and what audiences have is an exhilarating action experience that's a must see. 

      Along with Reckoning's impressive stunts and high-octane action, the film is energized by its hugely-talented cast who all deliver phenomenal work. With Ethan Hunt, Cruise continues to prove that he was born for the role as he commands the screen while displaying the appropriate amount of seriousness and intensity required with playing the character. Hayley Atwell is equally terrific as thief and Ethan's newfound ally, Grace, with the actress portraying her character as being ambiguous in terms of where her loyalties lie. Her chemistry with Cruise feels natural with both making for an excellent on-screen duo. Returning are franchise favorites including Ving Rhames as Hunt's best friend and member of his team, Luther with Simon Pegg as IMF technical field agent, Benji, and Rebecca Ferguson as Hunt ally and disavowed MI6 agent, llsa Faust. As far as new franchise faces go, Vanessa Kirby impresses as black-market arms dealter, Alanna, who goes by the alias "white widow", along with Esai Morales as powerful terrorist and adversary of Ethan, Gabriel, who appears to be working with an all-powerful AI system called Entity, in order to rule the world, Pom Klementieff as French assassin, Paris, who works for Gabriel. Other notable performances include the return of Henry Czerny from the first Mission Impossible as former director of the IMF, Eugene Kittridge, Shea Whigham as US intelligence agent, Jasper, whose tasked with hunting Ethan, and Cary Elwes as Denlinger, the Director of National Intelligence.

      Directed by Christopher McQuarrie who previously helmed Fallout, he once again knocks it out of the park with delivering a fast-paced popcorn blockbuster, that's filled with tons of impressively-staged action sequences including a stunning car chase and train crash sequence which adds to the films level of peril. Everything from typical yet well-choreographed hand-to-hand combat and characters being incapacitated by knockout gas, is present here with the violence shown being intense yet never gruesome. The film is well-shot with cinematography that captures the films breathtaking locations, although the shaky cam effect used during the hand-to-hand combat sequences makes the action difficult to see at times. At 163 minutes, Dead Reckoning is one of the best-paced action movies ever with the film balancing its three key action scenes while feeling like its own self-contained story despite being part one. Lorne Balfe, who composed the score for Fallout, returns to provide music for both parts of Dead Reckoning with him once again delivering fine work that goes hand-in-hand with both the films action and emotional core.

      With Reckoning's writing, the plot emphasizes the importance of doing the right thing even if no one else is aware of it. Themes regarding courage, perseverance, and loyalty are strengthened through Ethan's bond with his group. The story is one that demonstrates how greed and longing for global domination can ultimately push people to do irrational things. As with any previous Mission: Impossible film, the script is full of twists and turns which the audience mostly don't see coming. The newer characters introduced are appealing and fairly well-developed with the reemergence of old faces such as Kittridge, being a welcomed Easter egg to the earlier part of the franchise. With each Mission: Impossible allowing Cruise the opportunity to perform an insane daredevil stunt that becomes each films trademark moment, Dead Reckoning's story doesn't disappoint here with Cruise big motorcycle moment which involves him diving off a cliff and parachuting onto a train being one that's undoubtedly exciting and living up to its hype. Whereas the Mission: Impossible franchise relies heavily on plot and character formulas regarding preventing world domination and the struggle over power, Dead Reckoning finds newer ways to make what's already familiar feel exciting again with its story touching upon the hotly debated concept of AI.

      The most remarkable thing that can be said about this franchise is how it's managed to stay relevant over the last three decades with much of it being attributed to the pure devotion of its main star. As excellent of an action spectacle that Dead Reckoning makes itself out to be, it's the maximum , dedication, and heart that Tom Cruise puts into making the film, that makes the franchise one that's worth revisiting with each new installment. Cruise presents himself as being someone who knows better than anyone else on what makes a fantastic action movie and doesn't disappoint here as he delivers his all. For longtime fans of the series, Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part One is an adrenaline-filled mission that they should choose to accept with it amounting to being the ideal summer action flick.

Final Verdict: A Must See

Images Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Excites, Thrills And Offers Glimpses Of A Promising New Future For The Franchise

        If there's any film franchise that's completely surprised in terms of pulling a shocking reversal in quality, it's that of the Transformers series. Beginning in 2007, the explosive Michael Bay directed franchise began promising then saw it's quality steadily diminish with each sequel, making audiences question if there was anything more to the series than just mindless explosions and giant robots fighting. Thankfully as 2018's Bumblebee showed, there is with the franchises latest entry, Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts, continuing the series upward trend in quality with it delivering popcorn entertainment that's well-executed and surprisingly heartfelt. 

      Taking place after the events of Bumblebee and now set in the 90's, Rise Of The Beasts has two humans, Noah Diaz and Elena Wallace, joining forces with the Autobots and the Maximals to prevent the arrival of the planet-eater Transformer, Unicron, when the Terrorcons and an army of Predacon scorpions, led by Scourge, seek to obtain the Transwarp key. What makes Beasts an appealing catch for fans like Bumblebee, is how well-balanced both films feel in shifting back and forth with exploring the robotic side of the story along with blending human emotion that actually works. The film is not short of any of the series trademark action mayhem, but surprises with the amount of heart it carries. As someone who began the franchise with genuine enthusiasm and nearly lost interest prior to Bumblebee, the newest entry proves that the series can actually work and that there's still plenty of life left in it.

      As far as human and voice acting performances go, Beasts cast is terrific with everyone bringing a genuine sense of excitement to their roles that makes the experience even more enjoyable. Anthony Remos impresses as Noah Diaz, an ex-military electronics expert who lives with his family in Brooklyn while trying to support them. Remos creates a likable main lead for the story whom the audience can empathize and find relatability with. He puts his talent on full display here and establishes himself as being one of the industry's promising new stars. Dominique Fishback also shines as artifact researcher and museum intern, Elena Wallace. She proves to be equally charismatic as Remos with both making for appealing main leads, who provide the stories heart. Other notable performances from the human cast include Luna Lauren Velez as Noah's mother, Breanna, Dean Scott Vazquez as Noah's younger brother, Kris, who suffers from sickle cell disease, and Tobe Nwigwe as Noah's friend Reek who persuades him into committing grand theft auto. With the films voice acting work regarding the Transformers, Peter Cullen commands as leader of the Autobot resistance, Optimus Prime with Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, and Michelle Yeoh providing strong support as Optumus Primal, leader of the Maximals who transforms into the western lowland, Scourge who leads the Terrorcons, and maximal warrior, Airazor, who transforms into a peregrine falcon.

      Stepping into the director's chair is Creed ll director, Steven Caple Jr, who does a fine job of finding the right balance between developing the films human characters while delivering on the expected action and spectacle. He does a fine job of staging action sequences that are well-executed and consists of Transformers frequently being shot, blown-up, and decapitated which goes in line with the traditional level of violence shown throughout the series. The films soundtrack knocks it out of the park with bridging old series music with newer pieces. Audiences will appreciate the versatility with the newer themes for the joining of forces between the Maximals, Autobots, and Terrorcons with fans also being able to single out familiar beats from Steve jablonsky and Vince DiCola's previous work. At 2h 7m, the story is always kept moving with the first half being used to establish the human characters before unleashing the action in the second. With the newest Transformers, Caple jr. combines action with poignant character moments that thankfully add more substance to the story rather than it just being mindless explosions.

      The story for Rise of the Beasts revolves around themes pertaining to legends, teamwork, sacrifice, friendship, leadership, and seeking safe refuge with the films overall message saying that working together can ultimately make a difference as evidenced by Noah and Elena teaming up with the Autobots and Maximals to save the world from the Decepticons. Whereas the main leads could've easily ended up being throwaway human characters, they're written in a way which makes them palatable to audiences and not just being serviceable. The autobots are also well-developed with the story serving as being a partial Optimus Prime origin story with the latter shown to be distrusting of humans, and is only concerned with protecting his own autobots until they can return to Cybertron. It is through his partnership with Noah and Elena that he experienced a change of heart.  Bumblebee and Noah's relationship is well-handled and hits home in a similar fashion to that of the first Transformers and Bumblebee with his relationships with both Sam and Charlie. Along with the films action is hilarious bits of humor including several jokes regarding E.T being referenced. The scripts most compelling element, however, is the promise it fulfills in introducing the Beast Wars animal Transformers with the teaming up of Optimus Prime with Optimus Primal being exciting for fans.

      While it can be stated that the story sticks to the series trend of once again placing it's human counterparts front-and-center to the story, fans will be pleased to know that such a move doesn't harm the film as the main leads are likeable ones. Like Bumblebee before it, Rise Of The Beasts also proves that it's possible to blend excitement and decent human emotion to this franchise. Both sequels are full of heart and offer glimpses of a promising new future for the Transformers cinematic universe. It doesn't beat Bumblebee, but it proves that when you have capable filmmakers who can inject heart into their story while delivering high-adrenaline action, the results are richly satisfying ones.

Final Verdict: A must watch for both Transformers and action fans.

Images Courtesy Of Paramount Pictures

Pixar's Elemental Delivers Good-Hearted Romance With Groundbreaking Animation

       

     

      Has Walt Disney's Pixar lost it's touch? That's a question that hangs in the minds of audiences with the release of their newest 27th animated feature, Elemental. With the imaginative studio, the one thing that can be counted on is their consistent track-record when it comes to producing quality work that hits home in delivering powerful emotional messages that resonate strongly with audiences, while pushing the boundaries of groundbreaking animation work. This is especially true with their recent works which include Coco, Encanto, Luca, and now Elemental. While not as memorable as some of their previous masterful works, it stands as being an well-conceived effort that embodies enough positive traits from other Pixar works to make it operate on its own as being a solid effort that boasts stunning animation.

      Set in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic elements of nature, Elemental's plot has convenience store employee and fire element Ember Lumen meeting and falling in love with water element Wade Ripple when the latter is summoned by a plumbing accident at the store that's owned by Ember's father, Bernie. Realizing that the two share mutual feelings for each other, they find themselves coming to terms with the realization that opposites do attract. Billed as being a romantic comedy, It can be unequivocally stated that Elemental's plot is one that has its heart in the right place, despite the fact that many of its elements feel familiar to audiences. Although the story beats can appear to be lifted from other similar Pixar-themed films, Elemental takes what's already been used before and reapplies it here in a way that assists the world-building that's being beautifully done by the films creative team. It's not the most innovative or thought-provoking of Pixar films, but when it comes to delivering its poignant message regarding how differences should be celebrated, Elemental works its magic.

      As with any Pixar animated films voice ensemble cast, Elemental's delivers fantastic work with everyone giving pure devotion to their roles. Leah Lewis is terrific as the relatable and likable Ember, who clearly adores working at her family's convenience store, but struggles with controlling her explosive temper. Lewis plays her character as being strong and quick-witted with her shown to have different dreams and ambitions than what her father wishes. Mamoudou Athie equally shines as fun and sappy Wade Ripple, whose far more emotional than Ember and cries at almost anything remotely sad. Both Lewis and Althie showcase solid chemistry together with them making for an exceptional romantic duo. Lending them strong voice acting support is Ronnie del Carmen as Ember's father, Bernie, who plans to retire from the families convenience store and allow his daughter to run it, Sheila Ommi as Ember's mother Cinder, who distrusts water elements. Other additional voices include Wendi McLendon-Covey as Wade's employer Gale, Catherine O' Hara as Wade's widowed mother Brook, and Mason Wertheimer as young and street-smart Clod.

        In terms of the films visual outlook, director Peter Sohn gives audiences a new kind of animated world that's absorbing with them feeling as if the water shown on screen is coming directly at them (Especially if viewed in 3D). Pixar is always known for pushing the technological boundaries of animated storytelling with here proving to be no exception with the films animation amounting to being remarkable work once again. Elemental's world is shown as being vibrant and colorful with the films visual language speaking to the stories major themes. At 101 minutes, the story never feels slow-paced and moves along steadily allowing enough time for the main characters relationship to grow. The soundtrack proves effective in adding to the films different layers of emotion, while giving off a relaxed feel to it. With bringing the films visual world to the screen, Sohn does a noteworthy job of realizing a breathtaking animated world in which fire, land, water, and air residents all live together.

      As with any recent Pixar film, the stories all come with themes that carry a sense of relevance to the world surrounding them. Although strictly a girl-meets-boy romantic comedy, themes regarding immigration and the celebrating of one's differences are at the forefront of the story, as well as fitting into new areas, interracial romance, and the embracing of diversity being at play here and are effectively used. While the story makes admirable attempts to be progressive while combating xenophobia, it's bound by the fact that it relies on generic character and plot tropes, which have been done before in previous films with similar storylines. Whereas the story lacks in originality and innovativeness, it compensates with delivering serviceable characters who prove to be effective enough in conveying the films ultimate message regarding acceptance and love. The characters of Ember and Wade make for an ideal romantic pairing with clever plot twists inserted into their dynamic such as Ember not being able to touch water given that she's made of fire, along with Wade potentially evaporating from being exposed to excessive heat. The bit involving Wade appearing very emotional and crying at the drop of a pen adds a fun touch to the story with both characters ultimately providing it's soul.

       As far as Pixar films go, Elemental can't shake the fact that it often feels like a typical formulaic rom-com with the main twist besides being that the main characters are made of elements, therefore putting forth the traditional us versus them scenario that's been done before previously in Zootopia. Regardless of this fault, Elemental knows the story it wants to tell and does so with the full dedication and heart of its cast and crew. It's plot may leave a little to be desired, but the stellar voice performances from its cast, the gorgeous animation, and overall sincerity behind its storytelling is more than enough to make Elemental an endearing experience for audiences if they're willing to overlook the familiarity of its plot. To answer the question of whether Pixar has lost it's touch? They haven't but their newest effort feels slightly undercooked.

Final Verdict: A must see for Disney and Pixar fans.

Images Courtesy Of Disney and Pixar Animation Studios

Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny Gives The Franchises Titular Hero A Respectable Though Flawed Send-Off

      

Note: This review contains no Spoilers.

      A heroes journey must end at some point, even ones as iconic as Indiana Jones. First exploding onto the big screen with 1981's Raiders Of The Lost Ark, the popular action-adventure franchise has experienced its share of ups and downs with its peak moments being both Raiders and The Last Crusade with its downs being the excessively dark Temple Of Doom and the hugely divisive Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. With Disney's Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, the hope is that the fifth and final entry in the series with Harrison Ford retiring as the franchises main lead will give its  hero a fitting sendoff. Their efforts ultimately prove to be a mixed bag with Dial marking a considerable improvement over its predecessor, though still struggles to match the franchises previous glory days. 

      Set in 1969, Dial has Indiana Jones and his estranged goddaughter Helena going on a new adventure in hopes of trying to locate a device that could change the course of history before a Nazi-turned-NASA scientist, Jurgen Voller, can take it for himself and alter the outcome of World War ll. Right off the bat, Dial Of Destiny aims to reverse some of Crystal Skull's controversial moves such as the glaring omission of Shia Labeouf's character Mutt Williams, and the ommitting of aliens with the franchises previous enemy, Nazis. As a story that's meant to give its star a fitting end at playing the role, it serves as being an respectable finale that leaves the series in better place than it was previously, although fans won't go crazy over it.

      With Dial's cast, the ensemble brings their A- game with delivering strong performances which demonstrate a clear enthusiasm for being apart of the series. Harrison Ford proves he's still got it as the legendary titular hero with his performance serving as the stories heart. Here, he nails it at playing an aging hero whose reflecting on his past adventures and mistakes as he faces retirement. Joining him on his latest adventure is Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Jones charming and flip-flopping grifter goddaughter, Helena, whose also the daughter of an old friend of Jones, Basil. Bridge makes the most of what she's given and holds her own alongside Ford. Mads Mikkelsen proves to be brilliant as German scientist and former WWll Nazi, Jurgen Voller, who seeks to use the Apollo moon landing program for his own gain. Mikkelsen is commanding as a sinister Voller, who desires to carry the Nazi's mantle. The rest of Destiny's cast shine including Antonio Banderas as Jone's loyal old friend, Renaldo, the return of John Rhys-Davies as Jone's old ally, Sallah, Toby Jones as Jones ally and Helena's father, Basil Shaw, Ethann Isidore as Helena's young Moroccan sidekick, Teddy Kumar, Shaunette Renee Wilson as US government agent, Mason, Boyd Holbrook as Voller's trigger-happy right-hand man, Klaber, and Karen Allen as Jone's divorced-wife, Marion Ravenwood.

      Taking over the franchise directing reigns from Steven Spielberg is Logan director James Mangold who delivers some impressive set-pieces. He manages to keep intact the adventurous spirit of the previous installments, while taking a more personal approach with the character. With the films violence and moments of peril, he keeps things moving frequent with intense sequences showing characters being thrown from moving trains and in-flight planes with the occasional fist fight being accompanied by conveniently large explosions. Some of the films key moments involving heavy usage of CGI including a thrilling sequence involving Jones riding a horse through a parade or a thrilling 25-minute opening sequence involving a de-aged Indy fighting Nazi's on a train with the latter making for some of its best usage yet. At 2hrs and 34 mins, Dial moves at a steady pace that never makes it feel too slow nor as masterfully paced as Raiders. The films costume and set design  are stunning with the Moon landing celebration parade making for stunning background scenery.

      With Ford's final outing as Jones, it's only appropriate that Destiny's story explores the concept of an aging Indy facing his twilight years. Key themes including teamwork, family, loss, grief, and how doing the right thing ultimately comes with its rewards are prevalent here with the plot making for more of an emotional journey involving Jones character than previous films. One sequence, in particular, that effectively shows Indy reflecting on his past failures has him admitting what he would change if he had the ability to do so. Such a moment is beautifully acted while showing the grief and loneliness that his characters experienced over the years. When the story revolves around Jones, it works well, but runs into trouble when attention is directed towards other characters who aren't as well-written. Indy's goddaughter, Helena, comes across as being awkward and unlikable given that her character feels inconsistent in terms of the way she's written that audiences won't find themselves caring much about her by the end of the film considering that she chooses to betray Indy at every opportunity presented. Voller's character had potential to be a fantastic Nazi villain that the series deserved, but comes across as feeling underdeveloped. The films side characters all show potential to be good, but aren't given enough time to properly shine and ultimately make Indy feel somewhat of a side character in his own story.

      Overall, Dial Of Destiny marks itself as being a reasonable improvement over its predecessor and can even be considered as being a decent movie, but its nowhere near the level of previous entries and further supports the notion that the series didn't need to be continued after how perfectly The Last Crusade ended things. Then again, audiences wouldn't be treated to the heartwarming reunion that happens at the end of the film that feels fitting for the character and his legacy of uncovering lost treasure and battling Nazi's. It's not the near perfect finale that fans wish for it to be but as a send-off to an actors legacy with playing the role, it's an honorable one. 

Final Verdict: An honorable send-off for the character that's worth watching, largely due to Harrison Ford's emotionally charged performance. 

Images Courtesy Of Disney