Tag / bruce geller

by Jaime Rebanal

An Alternate Take: Mission: Impossible – Fallout is Exhilarating from Start to Finish

The “Alternate Take” indicates an instance where another writer on our behalf also wants to share their thoughts on a film previously reviewed on the site. You can read Chuck Winters’s review right here.

✯✯✯✯½

Six films already into the Mission: Impossible series and they may have already hit their peak – something I don’t really know if I can say I would have expected. It’s one thing to be impressed with how Tom Cruise still manages to remain as extremely physical as he does, but in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, he already manages to find a way to take this to a new level as he reunites with writer-director Christopher McQuarrie (his second film for this franchise) – and somehow what they already managed to create is perhaps the most exhilarating result out of what could have been made with the stories that the Mission: Impossible films could have set up. It already seems like a near-impossible feat, but given as all the stakes in Mission: Impossible – Fallout are raised as high as they can, it just makes the ride every bit as satisfying as you can imagine.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – Review

✯✯✯½

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation continues going along with the good path that had been paved for the Mission: Impossible films thanks to Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and while it may not hold a candle to the preceding film, there’s still enough fun to be had with what is left with Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. It’s a ton of fun from beginning to end and while it falls short of achieving what Ghost Protocol had set for the franchise, there’s still enough service to provide some truly good popcorn entertainment, all in all being good fun. Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Review

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For once, I’m gladly impressed with a Mission: Impossible film, for after having been left bitterly disappointed by Mission: Impossible III, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol not only is a huge step up from its predecessor but it’s also the first that I would gladly be able to truly call a good film. Given what potential the films had, it’s finally rather nice to see that by the time Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol had come along, the series had realized what it was capable of, and uses that to the very best of its own ability. Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

Mission: Impossible III – Review

✯½

Many people cite Mission: Impossible II as the worst film in the series yet I’ve always had a specific dislike in regards to Mission: Impossible III. Where I admire Mission: Impossible II to an extent for John Woo’s own self-awareness to the silliness which he presents on the screen, I stand by a specific belief that Mission: Impossible III is the worst of the bunch as I find that when compared to the previous two, it’s so much more of a lazy effort. Mission: Impossible III just starts off promisingly but soon after that, everything that follows turns extremely frustrating and by that point, I simply don’t care anymore for the direction it goes.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Mission: Impossible II – Review

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Often cited as the downfall of the Mission: Impossible franchise, I’m probably amongst the few that don’t hate Mission: Impossible II as much as the general public appears to, for at least what’s offered in Mission: Impossible II feels much less restrictive compared to the overtly convoluted nature of the first film. In spite of said weaknesses in the first, Mission: Impossible II is also not a film without its own faults for while it may be a rather slight improvement from the first, there’s not enough on the inside that can create a good enough film worthy of a recommendation. Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

Mission: Impossible – Review

✯✯½

One of the most notable roles in Tom Cruise’s career as well as one of the most successful box office hits of Brian De Palma’s filmography, both for reasons I never understood completely. That’s not to say Mission: Impossible is a bad film because it’s very far away from that, but the trademarked name seems to be from what I’m seeing is the only reason to remember it but what about it makes everything a standout? As a particularly big Brian De Palma apologist, I’ve always struggled with the reputation that Mission: Impossible had formed. At least given its success the fact it managed to spawn a franchise is understandable, but is the original really as special as some say so? Continue reading →