MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION: SPOILER-FREE REVIEW:

Many years ago Tom Cruise was asked why he was paid over $50 million for Mission Impossible III, he just smiled smugly and said, “because I’m worth it.” Regardless of how you feel about Scientology’s most valuable player, when it comes to Mr. Cruise, he is kind of has point.

Yes, Mission Impossible is back for a fifth installment. The movie series based on a TV series that was Americas answer to James Bond (well, until Jason Bourne came along) and once again, it is filled with crazy gadgets, crazier stunts and people telling Tom Cruise something is impossible only to prove them wrong in the next scene.

This Mission Impossible sees the formation of a new terrorist organisation known as “The Syndicate”, a rogue group of former agents looking to cause anarchy through highly funded and highly unregulated mischief. So the only way to stop said “syndicate” is to send another highly funded and highly unregulated team known as the IMF after them, that is until big balls Alec Baldwin, the new head of the CIA shuts down the IMF and force Cruise’s Ethan Hunt to go on the run.... Can’t the IMF Division ever just work in tandem in one of these films?

We have the return of Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames, which is great to see however; it is only Simon Pegg who gets any decent screen time. Jeremy Renner and Alec Baldwin are both criminally underused in the film for both their action and acting chops respectively, which is a real shame when you cast such talent. Both have their big moment, but they still feel very peripheral to the rest of the movie. Now films can live and die on a villain, Phillip Seymour Hoffman proved that in the third movie, unfortunately this time around the enigmatic villain is certainly a mystery but doesn’t make his presence felt in the film even when he’s on screen, which is a pity because Sean Harris can play a great part if the material is there. Thankfully, this doesn’t hurt the movie too much thanks to the addition of relative newcomer Rebecca Ferguson who really shines as a possible double-agent, maybe triple agent, could very well be a quadruple-agent based on the number of twists her character takes. As a female lead, this is new ground for the Mission Impossible series because we have a strong and complicated female character who could be a hero, or could be a villain. She’s like a British Black Widow, playing off against and matching Tom Cruise, which adds a great dynamic to the film, as opposed to being the usual eye-candy/love interest for ‘The Cruiser’.

We have the usual range of exotic and picturesque locations along with the huge stunt sequences, and this is where Tom Cruise’s worth really comes into play. Tom Cruise is famous for doing all his own stunts, he doesn’t shy away from letting people know this, but in this day and age, it’s rare to see an actor jump head first into such dangerous and jaw-dropping stunts that aren’t CGI f&*k-fests. Just look at the last two Die Hard films and see how unnatural Bruce Willis looks in all his big “stunt scenes”, it’s just green screen bullsh*t that defies logic, physics and gravity. Cruise hung on to the side of a plane as it took off and even trained to hold his breath for over six minutes. That’s why he is paid so much, because you always get that extra commitment to the action scenes.

The action is great throughout and definitely what you’ve come to expect from the series, but it’s the non-action scenes that tend to make the 2 hour and 10 minute run time drag. These scenes probably wouldn’t have felt so sluggish if the dialogue had more urgency or if exposition was handled on the move so that you didn’t feel like you were waiting for the next big chase or explosion. But going back to the action, it is also par for the course that many of the big action sequences end up being pretty stupid when you actually think about it. Often you find that after a thrilling chase or big over the top stunt that the ‘twist’ after the big action sequence makes the whole scene feel redundant - although it is fun nonetheless.

It's a franchise that has been running for 20 years and, to be fair, has not wavered in quality, and that's a pretty impressive feat considering that the first film was directed by Brian DePalma. It might not be the best of the series but even a lukewarm Mission Impossible film is still a good Mission Impossible film, hell, it's even still better than most action movies made today thanks to Tom Cruise’s charisma. 

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation gets Three and Three Quarter Stars out of Five (or Three and Three Quarter scene-stealing British Black Widows - that I may or may not have a little crush for)

ANT MAN: SPOILER-FREE REVIEW:

It’s official: Paul Rudd is really tiny. Not that kind of tiny, get your mind out of the gutter. Marvel Studios goes big with their latest movie Ant-Man which is the first new property since Guardians of the Galaxy and serves as the full stop to Marvel’s Phase Two. However, the big question is, has Marvel gone twelve for twelve, or have they finally come up short? 

 

When master thief Scott Lang is approached by Dr. Hank Pym to assist him in a dangerous but necessary heist, Lang must use an incredible shrinking suit that can make him as small as an ant but increase his speed and strength. The heist involves Paul Rudd’s character having to steal another shrinking suit that could very well be used for nefarious purposes by Hank Pym’s former protégé Darren Cross.  The movie is filled with all the humour you’ve come to expect from Marvel this film hits many of the notes of the original Iron Man movie and gives Marvel that much needed kick that made many of the Phase Two films feel a little stagnant.

Look, to be fair, this film had lots of issues in the lead up, with Edgar Wright leaving just before the beginning of production and Marvel Studio struggling to find another director, with quite a few directors turning the film down. Even though Ant-Man is a founding member of The Avengers, he is still a relative unknown and a bit of a B-grade hero so this film did have the potential to be Marvel’s first big failure. However, with all this working against it, how does it size up?

Now it is a tall order to expect this film to not be bogged down with lots of Marvel Cinematic Universe baggage but this film does stand on its own two small feet as a standalone film. Sure there are plenty of Marvel easter eggs layered throughout and some subtle and not so subtle references to the expanded universe but everything seems to work so well in Ant-Man. What makes this even more surprising is the fact that the film has four writers: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay and Paul Rudd however this has really worked because each writer has played to their strength. You can see the elements of Wright’s influence on pushing the narrative forward in inventive ways and Paul Rudd’s ad-libs really give the movie some genuinely funny moments that don’t feel like a Joss Whedon quip-fest.

Some of the other great elements to the movie are the supporting cast. Michael Douglas brings real gravity to the character of Hank Pym and delivers some huge plot points with that fantastic voice of his. Evangeline Lilly plays Pym’s daughter and it is great to see Marvel bringing in some more strong female characters, her role in future films should be something to look forward to. The villain of the piece, Corey Stoll, is actually interesting, and for once, a developed villain - probably even more so than Ultron - admittedly, it did take a little while to get past his not snorting lots of cocaine and paying for hookers. However, it is scene-stealer Michael Pena that will put the biggest smile on your face with so many energetic outbursts that you’ll want to see the film a second time just for him.  

Visually, this film is really stellar with the crew utilising special macro-cinematic photography that really brings the world of the film to life. Many scenes may look like they are CGI-enhanced, however the crisp and clear imagery from these cameras give you perspectives of bath tubs that you are never likely to see in your life and the detail in computer motherboards and servers look like their own self-contained vibrant city-scapes. This is used brilliantly to brings us down to Scott's level, however it also provides some great visual gags in the film when the moment needs it.   

The most refreshing thing about this movie is that Ant-Man has finally broken the rut that Marvel found itself in with regards to climaxes. There is no “death from above” trope and the final battle, though on a small scale by comparison, actually has much more personal stakes involved for our hero. This feels more like Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man film or even The Dark Knight or The Wolverine with regards to climaxes that character driven - here’s hoping Marvel can bring this feeling into future films.

Small talk aside, Ant-Man is a real breath of fresh air for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and in combination with the “heist-movie” themes, this will easily keep the comic book genre from becoming stale.

Ant-Man gets Four out of Five Stars (or Four out of Five puns about size - which there are plenty in this film)

Spoiler-Free End Credits Note: Without spoiling things, the two end credit stingers for Ant-Man both have genuine meaning for future films, which once again is refreshing to see after all the jokey-stingers within Phase Two. In addition, the Civil War stinger will leave you wracking your brains for how it fits into next years Captain America movie. 

MAGIC MIKE XXL: SPOILER-FREE REVIEW:

Man, I need to go to the gym more often... and stop drinking, and eating burgers, and chips, and ice cream, I’ve at least got to start doing some sit-ups; these are many of the thoughts that will be running through your head as a guy when you watch Magic Mike XXL. Now where’s that popcorn again? 

Essentially this is the sequel to the highly successful male version of Showgirls but with a better story, better actors and a whole lot less weird dolphin-style lap-dance-sex-scenes, although there is one very violated feeling Pepsi fridge. Channing Tatum and many of the original cast are back from the first film sans the McConaissance but this time the gang are making their way to a stripper convention, so the guys load up on leopard print thongs and so much baby-oil and chapstick that it’s bound to have carcinogenic-effects and hit the road.

Now look, I don’t need to sell this movie to women. They’re already seeing it now as I speak. All women need to know is that Channing Tatum dances for some reason and takes his shirt off for possibly a completely different reason plus there’s a couple of other guys taking their shirts off and shut up will you Channing Tatum is dancing shirtless. However, even though this does satisfy all the necessary quotas for the intended target audience, there is actually a lot for guys to enjoy here too, if they can get past the whole male-stripper-thing.

O.K. now bear with me here: if this film had been called Entourage, guys would have been lining up around the block to see this film. Much like the first film, Magic Mike has all the same things that the Entourage movie and TV show had: drug-taking, banging chicks, drinking, bro-talking, talking about banging chicks, pool parties, beach parties, women in bikinis, cougars, lesbian innuendo, excessive amounts of money and lots of bro-bonding. It just happens to involve guys stripping. As a matter of fact the parallels between Magic Mike and Entourage extend even further than that: remember that Magic Mike is based on the life experiences of Channing Tatum, much like Entourage is based on the life experiences of Mark Wahlberg.... So you know, maybe we shouldn't be so uptight about a movie featuring a bunch of male strippers.  

So outside of that, there are lots of quality laugh out loud moments that come from the placement of particular songs in scenes, to the way the guys banter with one another, to simply getting a smile from a depressed gas-station attendant. There are also many quality performances from people in smaller supporting roles and cameos such as Jada Pinkett-Smith, Elizabeth Banks, Andie McDowell and my personal favourite (because I’m completely biased when it comes to this guy) Community’s Donald Glover. But it’s mostly Joe Manganiello turn to shine in this film with some of the funniest moments of the movie that had the audience rolling around with laughter - my wife seriously turned around to me and said during one of his scenes, “This is better than Gone With The Wind”.... and she loves that movie.

Now the film is not without its flaws. They once again have failed to provide Channing Tatum with a believable or interesting love interest as they have cast an incredibly beige lead with Amber Heard. Some of the characters that are part of the stripping crew don't really get much screen time or character development, which does make you wonder why they are in the film in the first place besides just additional eye-candy. Kevin Nash returns for another serving in the film and whilst he has some funny moments, it is clear that he is very immobile so he looks very out of place amongst all the other back flipping, knee-popping, bumping and grinding. The climax, no pun intended, is also a little uneven and may not necessarily be to everyone’s taste, no pun intended there either, and the ending itself feels a little empty as nothing is really explained or resolved.   

Ultimately, Magic Mike XXL is going to bring in the ladies, but the big question will be, are you man-enough to sit down and watch this movie with your wife, girlfriend or partner considering they always sit next to you every time you drag them to see another Avengers movie? 

Magic Mike XXL gets Four out of Five Stars (or Four out of Five pregnant Pepsi fridges)

INSIDE OUT: SPOILER-FREE REVIEW:

Finally, Pixar has made a movie that teaches kids to listen to the voices in their head. However, jokes aside, Pixar’s new movie Inside Out teaches kids, and adults, a whole lot more than that.

So much like an animated version of ‘Herman’s Head’, the film takes place almost entirely in the head of a young girl called Riley, who is struggling with moving to a new city and adjusting to a new school and friendship groups. To help her adjust to such big changes are the personifications of many of the emotions we feel on a daily basis including Anger, Fear, Disgust, Sadness and Joy, who is voiced by the energetic and endearing Amy Poehler. Things become complicated in young Riley’s head when Sadness begins messing with her originally positive memories causing trouble for Joy and the others.

The voice cast really is fantastic and the character of Joy seems like a role that Poehler was born to play because if anyone else had played such a character you would most likely punch them in the face; but Poehler has this amazing ability to keep that kinetic energy at a level that is infectious without being nauseating. There’s also great performances from The Office’s Phyllis Smith as Sadness whose energy is the polar-opposite to Joys. We also have the ever irrational Lewis Black playing Anger and using his trademark deep, gravely voice to spew some great lines, plus we have Riley’s former imaginary friend Bing Bong, played by comedic actor Richard Kind who has some of the best emotional moments in the film. 

Amidst all of this is one of the great supporting players in the movie that helps these characters really flourish: Riley’s mind. Pixar have been so inventive at creating a world inside the mind that takes on both literal and figurative meanings. There is a literal thought-train that travels through the mind, whilst dreams are organised by scriptwriters and produced in a studio, the subconscious can be a deep, dark cavern that house some pretty creepy clowns and long term memories are stored in a massive labyrinth library that will occasionally shoot back something long forgotten to the forefront of your mind.

For a film about complex feelings that is aimed at kids it really does hit a lot of marks and most admirably, teaches both kids and adults alike important lessons like it is OK to cry in order to feel better. Some of the concepts may go over young children’s heads but the beauty of it is that when they are older they will be able to appreciate the lessons on a whole new level. To be honest, that’s what makes Inside Out such a great achievement and you can completely understand why it is receiving so much praise once you’ve seen it: it really is for everybody. Young children can watch this and learn how to deal with their emotions, teenagers can watch this and reflect on what they are going through, adults can watch and relate to their childhood, but especially for me, as a first time parent, you discover new ways to educate your child on how to handle their feelings.

This movie will make you shed a tear more than once because for all the fun that you’re having, it still knows how to bring you back to reality by, as an adult, reminding you of your own childhood and remembering the importance and power of a hug. It is a coming of age story in many ways, but this is presented through the visuals of so many of life’s important pillars such as family, friendship, honesty and playfulness and it shows us how these can be shaken to their very core when facing tough life decisions.

Now this may sound dark, but thankfully it’s not because, much like most Pixar movies, the emotions are handled very well and if you’ve ever wanted to teach your children about emotions, or want to learn how to control your own emotions, Inside Out is a great place to start.

Inside Out gets Four and Three Quarter Stars out of Five (or Four and Three Quarter candy-shaped tears)