Tom Cruise does the Mission Impossible one more time...and hey it's the best one yet!

Tom Cruise returns as superspy Ethan Hunt for the fourth time in what I think may be the best Mission Impossible film yet. The film's opening has Ethan languishing in a Moscow prison before he is sprung by his IMF team of Benji (the returning Simon Pegg) and Jane Carter (a kick ass Paula Patton). Hunt gets to flex his muscles quick as he fights prisoners and guards on his way out with a Russian informant in tow. After Hunt is out, he is brought up to speed on the latest mission in which his skills are sorely needed. It appears a Russian extremist named Cobalt plans to launch a nuclear warhead at America once he has stolen the key components needed. It's up to Hunt and his team to stop him.

Jane and Benji waiting on Ethan

The first leg has Ethan and Benji going undercover at the Kremlin but that mission is compromised by Cobalt and a huge explosion is set off and Ethan is blamed for the incident. Now a rogue agent, Hunt is tasked by The Secretary of State (a nice uncredited bit by Tom Wilkinson) to stop Cobalt at any cost. Tagging along is analyst Brandt (played by Jeremy Renner) who gets involved in the action quite quickly. Soon our team has to do the impossible to stop Cobalt. Including a breath-taking sequence which has Hunt scaling the tallest building in the world in Dubai using nothing but suction gloves. It's been awhile since I seen a movie that has a scene where the entire audience is just gasping and looking at the screen in awe. The scene is flawless in execution and looks amazingly real. No CGI or another type of effect, just Cruise doing an unbelievable stunt. This scene is worth the price of admission alone.

Ethan having second thoughts about the whole climbing the world's

tallest building thing

And if MI4 offered nothing else for the entire movie, then that scene would be more than enough. But thankfully there are several more adrenaline pumping action scenes that follow. Including a foot chase which leads to a car chase during an unrelenting sandstorm; brutal fist fights with all team members, including a wicked woman on woman fight between Patton and a blonde assassin. And there is a doozy of a climatic chase and brawl as Hunt pursues Cobalt through a automated parking garage in India. All the time Ethan is pursued by a Russian detective who chases him all over the world. Reminds me of Tommy Lee Jones chasing Harrison Ford in The Fugitive.

Michael Nyqvist as Cobalt..looking to shake things up

What makes this new installment even better than the previous entries is that Cruise gets to show some vulnerability for a change. Gone is the cocky, never get hurt Hunt and now is a more patient and sometimes unsure Hunt, who still sometimes will take the risk. He just has to think about it a little more. Like when Benji tells him he has to climb the building in Dubai and should be a piece of cake. You can see the look in Ethan's face as he thinks..yeah maybe 10 years ago but now I'm a little older. Not as quick and my body has more wear on it. And let me be clear..Ethan gets banged up quite a bit in this one. I'm talking Bruce Willis Die Hard banged up. But he takes the punishment and keeps on coming.

The team in a heated discussion

Mission Impossible is directed with expertise by Brad Bird, who previously helmed the animated flicks The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Here he shows he can play with the big boys with it comes to heavy duty action and adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and now wait news when the next one will be announced. And trust me, there will be another one. I do hope that this entire team comes back as they gelled quite convincingly. Patton and Renner make great additions and Cruise and Pegg work magic once again.

Say something...I dare you!

So to all moviegoers, the mission should you decide to accept it..is to see one of the best films of this or any other year.
B+

Kind of busy right now..have to call you back

Ethan Hunt comes out of retirement for MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 (2006)

In preparation for the upcoming Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol hitting theaters in 5 days, I am re-watching the first three Impossible films. This is one of my favorite movie series and Tom Cruise is awesome as superspy Ethan Hunt.

Cruise returns for a third time as agent Ethan Hunt

In the third adventure, Ethan has actually retired from the spy game, occasionally teaching trainees how to be the best agent they can be. He has settled down and married a nurse named Julia (a fetching performance by Michelle Monaghan). Life is good until a former student of his, Lindsey (played by Keri Russell, who gets to flex some action skills for a change) is captured by some bad guys and must be rescued.

A rescue mission turns deadly

Hunt comes to her aid with his right hand man Luther (Ving Rhames, the only returning cast member from the first two movies), Zhen (Maggie Q) and Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). After a thrilling action sequence in Berlin, our team finds Lindsey but don't save her in time. Hunt makes it his mission to find the man responsible for her death. And that would be black marketeer Owen Davian (a super villainous turn by Philip Seymour Hoffman). Hunt and his team abducts Davian from the Vatican, of all places, to persuade him to tell them what the mysterious rabbit's foot is that Davian is trying to sell to a foreign power.

Philip Seymour Hoffman as bad guy Owen Davian

After a tussle or two, Davian escapes and now the tables are turned as he kidnaps Julia, forcing Ethan to return the rabbit's foot to him within 48 hours or Julia will die. Hunt is now a man on a mission.

Ethan and his beautiful wife Julia (played by Michelle Monaghan)

Mission Impossible 3 is my favorite of the series so far as it is loaded with cool action scenes and great performances by the entire cast. Notable action sequences include a super charged shoot-out on a bridge between the IMF team and Davian's men. And a high speed car chase through the streets of Shanghai. Cruise is perfect once again as Ethan, and even gets to show a more tender side as he is now a married man. Hoffman rocks it as the bad guy. A truly memorable performance. Laurence Fisburne is also top notch as IMF's new boss. Also look for Simon Pegg as tech guy Benji. All in all MI3 fires on all cylinders, never making a false step. And now I can't wait for Ghost Protocol when it hits theaters next week.
B+

Shoot out at the bridge

Ethan doing his thing

Maggie Q as Zhen

Ving Rhames as Luther

The IMF team striking a pose

Action Movie For The Day - THE LAST SAMURAI (2003)

I know I haven't been posting my action movie for the day in about a week now. Sorry for that. But here to re-start things again is my favorite film from 2003. The Last Samurai.

My personal favorite film from 2003. It came out the same time as the last Lord of the Rings- The Return of the King. And I actually found Samurai to be the better film. With a solid performance by Mr. Cruise, an excellent story, and terrific action scenes The Last Samurai delivers. Ranks right up there with Braveheart and Gladiator.

Knight and Day is one hell of a fun summer movie

Just went and saw the new summer movie, Knight and Day starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. And I thought it was an exhilarating and fun movie. For all the doubters and naysayers who loathe Tom Cruise now for whatever reason, this movie shows why he is a true movie star. Cruise plays American super spy Roy Miller (think of Miller as a kind of off kilter Ethan Hunt, Cruise's character from the Mission Impossible films). He runs into June Haver, a restorer of classic cars (a vibrant Diaz) aboard a plane flight to Boston. The two meet cute and make small talk before things get kinda crazy. This flight happens to be full of agents who want this new energy device that Miller is trying to keep safe. So while June is freshening up in the bathroom, Miller goes ballistic on the agents in some intense and cool fight scenes. He even has to fight the pilot which leads to the next problem, flying and landing this huge 747 passenger plane without killing himself or June. This all happens in the first 20 minutes and it sets the tone for the rest of the film. After a semi successful landing, Roy explains to June what has happened and then drugs her. She wakes up the next morning back in her home like last night's events never happened.

Well, the FBI tracks her down led by the wily agent Fitzgerald (played with all smarminess by Peter Sarsgaard) who question June about Roy. They are transporting her to a safe location to debrief her when Roy literally comes flying in to land on the vehicle. That begins another wild chase and shoot-out that is cool as hell.  Roy has to shoot the bad guys from the hood of the car that June is driving down the interstate. Awesome. And it appears to be all good old fashioned stunt work and not CGI. Soon Roy and June are being chased by his own people and the bad guys who want this new technology. Oh and Roy has to keep the inventor of said device safe as well. The trio end up being whisked from a tropical island hide out to a train bound for Austria, which features a brutal fight between Roy and a would be assassin. Things get all wrapped up in Spain during the running of the bulls. Knight and Day is like a throwback to those 60's spy films with a light tone, gorgeous locations, fun filled action and a jazzy sound score. This film is not too serious like the Daniel Craig Bond films which I also love. But here Knight and Day moves wonderfully thanks to the charisma of Cruise and the charm of Diaz. It also shows that Mr. Cruise still has what it takes to handle this type of film. He can still kick ass with the best of them. I had never seen him in so may fight scenes in one film before and he's awesome. I actually like his character of Roy more than I do of his other super spy character Ethan Hunt. While Hunt is logical and straight faced, Miller is more humorous and more dangerous. And he is very good at what he does. Diaz is an engaging presence as June as she at first doesn't believe Roy but then can't leave his side. They form a solid relationship and keep the movie going at a fluid pace. We enjoyed this film from the opening scene and I can't understand all the bad reviews by critics and fans. This is what a summer film should be: exciting, fun, and showcasing the talents of a true movie star. And I love the catch phrase that Roy always says doing tense moments..."I got this". Amid all the explosions and chases, Cruise also manages to sneak in some subtle acting in the quiet scenes he spends with June. Good stuff. I actually enjoyed this more than I did The A-Team and Iron Man 2. Knight and Day actually has tons of action, more than I thought it would have. And to all the people that dislike Cruise for their own personal reasons because of his recent off-screen antics, I say forget that stuff and just look at the actor and enjoy his films while he is still making good quality work. After all this is the man who has on his resume Top Gun, Risky Business, The Firm, A Few Good Men, The Last Samurai, Collateral, Jerry Maguire just to name a few.
B+