Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

'nother new film, 'nother new review. It's a slight change from the norm as I went to go and see this at the nearest IMAX cinema. It's the first proper feature film I've seen on one of those honking great screens and I must admit, it was pretty damn impressive. It's not more "immersive" though in the same way 3D isn't. I will concede that certain shots do have a considerable wow factor to them though. What I didn't like was the IMAX adverts beforehand, telling you how fucking special it all is. There's even some pseudo-scientific "calibration" bit, booming things like "Readying 12,000 watt digital speakers" and "Preparing audience for maximum enjoyment" like it was Space Mountain or something. At that moment, in a cinema in the fucking freezing Cardiff Bay, where a mishandled Coke cup had resulted in a sticky, wet sock-shaped dose of reality, this crap had no place.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

Quick! Name a spy series. If this question was asked in the street and not under a feckin' poster for the latest Mission: Impossible, you'd probably name the Bond films. After that? Probably Bourne. Chances are the Mission: Impossible franchise would be pretty low down the list, despite having three previous films,  each helmed by prolific directors and all starring perpetual A-lister Tom Cruise. Now, since I can't be arsed to write full reviews for the previous entries (for now) here's a quick rundown, so you know what to think when asked about them:

Mission: Impossible (1996)- A bit too convoluted for its own good. Betrayal a major theme. Has that super-famous scene where TC is lowered in like a Thunderbirds puppet with half its strings snagged on a nail. Entertaining enough. Tom Cruise runs away from: water in that bit where he blows up a fish tank

M:I -2 (2002) - Fun, but completely fucking ridiculous. Really decent action beats. Tom Cruise has distractingly long hair. Tom Cruise runs away from: a decent barber and doves in slllooooww moootioon.

Mission: Impossible III (2006) - Same notes as for M: I-2 except slightly less ridiculous, obeys most of the laws of physics this time round and Cruise has had a haircut. Philip Seymour Hoffman steals scenes.Tom Cruise runs away from: a massive bridge explosion, slamming him into a car.

"That's it. Next time, I get to seduce the rich guy."

After being framed for a bombing of the Kremlin, IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team of Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and the mysterious Brandt (Jeremy Renner) are disavowed and IMF are shut down. However, the team learn of some stolen nuclear weapons codes by a man named Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) and so have to race to stop him causing nuclear war, all without the safety net of backup. Whilst I liked the fact that the IMF team had to work without creature comforts like the masks etc (although they do still have rather a lot of impossibly cool spy shit) the plot was as hackneyed as they come. Countless films, books and games have covered the Russian nuclear war angle and I wish they'd have had a stronger, more original story to pad out the fun team dynamic and the action set pieces. Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise, Paula Patton was pretty good, Simon Pegg is funny, but nowhere near as funny as the film thinks he is and Jeremy Renner made me glad he's playing Hawkeye in The Avengers. It was also weird to see Blomkvist from the Millennium trilogy playing a bad guy.

Plot isn't exactly the M:I series' strength, but I liked the ambiguity of the Rabbit's Foot MacGuffin in the third film. This was all too laid out from the beginning, with no real intrigue. Plus, Hendricks' motivation is fuzzy. There's a video of him giving a speech explaining that nuclear war would level the playing field for the human race, but it seems a hell of a step to go from pie-in-the-sky, philosophical musing to actually stealing nuclear codes. I found myself only really paying attention when the team travelled to a location I'd seen in the trailers, and therefore knowing some shit was about to go down. The film opens strongly with a prison breakout that manages to kick things off nicely. The Kremlin infiltration scene is very well done and reminded me why I liked this series in the first place. It's slicker than your average spy fest. There's a great bit involving Pegg, Cruise, a massive screen, a camera and an iPad to watch out for too.

Of the numerous money scenes, the clear stand out is Ethan's scaling of the Burj Kalifa tower in Dubai aka the tallest building in the world. This scene in particular is where the IMAX shone, with the bigger screen giving a real sense of scale to the scene and giving me a real sense of vertigo. It's one of 2011's best action sequences and amazingly tense. The film also scores some originality points for being the first film (to my knowledge) to have a scrap in one of those futuristic automated car parks.

As for my famous nit-picking, I only have one real complaint. This film might as well have been called iMission: Impossible. I haven't seen this many Apple logos since last September's Pretentious Wanker convention. The mucky fingerprints of Apple product placement are all over this one. Almost the full range of Apple products are on display, with the aforementioned iPad, everyone having iPhones (although Ethan can apparently answer a call on one without needing to touch the screen at all), Benji having a Macbook and the film even ending with Ethan plugging in his iPod. This isn't the worst offender for product placement by a long shot, but as I stared at the illuminated 6 foot logo on the back of Benji's laptop (massive screen remember), I caught myself wondering exactly how much money changed hands for it to be there, rather than how our loveable team of rogues were going to avert nuclear disaster.

"This message will self-destruct in 5 seconds."

Anyway, Ghost Protocol is a perfectly fine popcorn flick. It hasn't got as much heart as the third one, but it's got a fun team dynamic and some real standout action scenes. It's reinvigorated the franchise and if rumours are to be believed, Paramount are already fast-tracking a Mission: Impossible V. See it in IMAX if you can too. Oh, and since I've now finished this review, let me summarise it like I did the others:

Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol (2011) - Fun, if lacking a decent plot. Dubai sequence truly amazing. Needs funnier Pegg lines. Tom Cruise runs away from: an exploding Kremlin and a sandstorm.

Puss In Boots

It's that awkward week between Christmas and New Year where the holiday season isn't quite over yet, but the end is in sight. It's also a week where parents cart their wretched spawn off to the cinema to keep 'em sedated for a bit, and with today's hessian prices, it's cheaper than drowning them in a sack. Speaking of which- Puss in Boots!

Puss in Boots (2011)

After driving the Shrek films into the ground with the godawful Shrek the Third and the slightly less awful, but still shite Shrek Forever After, Dreamworks Animation decided they haven't squeezed enough out of the topsy-turvy fairytale idea and decided to do a full film based on one of the series' most popular characters. Like everyone else, I like Puss.What I didn't like was the idea of a decent supporting character, with his appeal on the wane anyway thanks to the aforementioned celluloid warcrimes, being made into just another boring cash-in vehicle. However, this film has proved one thing to me. If you put time and actual effort into even the laziest of ideas, it is possible to make it good. Also, if the reviews have taught me anything, it's that people are being paid to write cat puns so simplistic and shit that not even a Christmas cracker would have the audacity to include as a "joke".

"Fear me, if you dare!"

Puss in Boots is a prequel to the character's appearance in Shrek 2. We see the heroic Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas) caught up in a plan, led by ex-childhood friend Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and the mysterious Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek), to steal some magic beans from the oafish, pig-raising married couple Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sudaris). The story isn't exactly amazing, but it's a good enough framework to support the rest of the film. Antonio Banderas is genuinely funny as Puss and the rest of the voice work is of your standard Hollywood animation high quality.

So, like it or not, the focus in on Puss and thankfully his charm doesn't wear off. If you love cats (and since you're reading this on the Internet, statistically you fucking love them) there's a lot here for you. What I liked about the film though is the fact that they didn't solely rely on "LOL, he's a cat!!1" jokes. Yeah, he orders milk and chases spots of light, but they're few and far enough between to actually be endearing rather than annoying. Plus, if you don't at least "aww" a little bit when you see Puss as a kitten, you're made of stronger stuff than I. Part of me wanted to leap up from my seat and hug the screen, sobbing. However, fear of being vilified for such a bizarre act in a screen containing my mother, my grandmother and about 30 kids and their parents kept me firmly in place. Since Puss in Boots is from the Shrek canon, there are a couple of adult aimed jokes- the most obvious one being a guard itemising Puss' belongings and finding a vial of catnip, to which Puss sheepishly replies "It's for my glaucoma". Unusually for this type of film there are very few pop culture references, which is like a breath of fresh air.

I saw the film in eye-massaging 2D and nothing was lost. Like in Kung Fu Panda 2, I could tell it was made to appeal to glasses-wearing saps, due to the choice of camera angles during chase sequences, but it really doesn't matter how many bloody dimensions you see it in. The set-pieces are great, including a fantastic bit with a beanstalk and an exciting carriage chase with Jack and Jill. What I liked most though was the fact that the whole "blending of fairytales" seems somewhat fresher this time and the characters are well-rounded. The character of Humpty Dumpty for instance, is extremely well done (no pun intended). His arc is believable and yes, surprisingly moving too. That's right- I found myself sympathising with a cartoon egg. I'm prepared to accept the consequences of what that bold statement will bring.

"You are not as good as they say you are, Miss Softpaws. You're better."

I was surprised by how much Puss in Boots entertained me. Maybe it was the mental adjustment of expectations beforehand, but y'know what? It's fun. It's colourful, it's genuinely funny at times and it has a real charm that I wasn't expecting from a spin-off to a series that has already whored itself out for three sequels, a musical and countless other pieces of tie-in crap. Whilst I know in my heart that Dreamworks have franchise plans up the wazoo for Puss, it doesn't stop this film from being good. It's a fun family film that features lots of dancing cats. You know you want to see it.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

After avoiding the cinema for a while, only the promise of more Holmes fun could convince me to pay £2 for a small bottle of Coke. The game's afoot!

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

So yeah, after the highly enjoyable, if flawed first film I was pumped for the sequel. Especially since it transpired that Holmes' arch-nemesis, Moriarty, was going to appear. If you can't be arsed to read that easily clickable link I put in the first sentence, one of my main problems with 2009's instalment was the fact it had quite a generic villain in the form of Mark Strong's Lord Blackwood. Now we've got Professor Moriarty, evil genius and Holmes equal. Fuck yes.

"If we can stop him, we shall prevent the collapse of Western civilisation. No pressure."

So, after investigating seemingly unconnected murders and bombings, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) believes mathematics genius Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris) to be behind it all. He intercepts a note meant for gypsy girl Sim (Noomi Rapace) and with her in tow unfolds the true extent of Moriarty's diabolical plans. Meanwhile, Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) is still trying to get married to Mary (Kelly Reilly) despite Holmes' objections. Put simply, this is what the franchise needed. Whilst the story veers away from the occult theme of the first, we get a proper globe-trotting adventure this time round. RDJ and Law still have the chemistry that made their Holmes and Watson dynamic work so well back in 2009. I also liked the fact that Kelly Reilly got more to work with this time round. Of the newcomers, I found the idea of Stephen Fry as "Sherly"'s brother, Mycroft to be funnier than he actually is in the film. It's perfect casting- don't get me wrong and he is actually funny, it's just I could have done with seeing more of him (in terms of character, not nudity- there's plenty of that). The gorgeous Noomi Rapace, previously known for her role as Lisbeth Salander in the original Swedish version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (and its sequels) is rather wasted here in the thankless role of Sim. No problem with her acting chops though and it was fantastic to see her in her first English speaking role. Predictably, the standout here is Jared Harris' Moriarty- a genius as evil as he is bearded. This is Batman/Joker territory here where the villain is as entertaining to watch as the hero is. He's fucking fantastic.

I must admit, I didn't like the opening bits of A Game of Shadows. Whilst the opening action scenes were great and it was good to see Rachel McAdams' Irene Adler again, when the bread-and-butter Holmes/Watson interplay started it struck me as a bit too forced and contrived. I often find this in sequels such as in the other Downey Jr. super-sequel, Iron Man 2. With that film, I felt that because the audience now expected certain behaviour from Tony Stark, it was written with that in mind, if that makes sense. What I'm saying is, I often find the "wackiness" factor is significantly upped in sequels, sometimes to the point where the fan-favourite character becomes a cartoon of themselves. Luckily (to get back on point) this ebbed away after a while and the banter fell back into familiar, funny form.

I was really impressed with the action beats. We still have the super-slo-mo Holmes fighting, but there are twists on the formula. It's certainly more action packed that its predecessor. All the action is awesome without exception. My personal favourites being a fantastic scrap with a would-be assassin and a forest sequence that truly amazed me. Also, the not-quite fight sequence between Holmes and Moriarty is incredible. It's powerful stuff, make no mistake. I'm genuinely finding it difficult remembering the last film I had so much fun watching.

As you've probably gathered, Moriarty is the boy. Every scene he and Holmes have is a battle of wits and one-upmanship. There's mutual respect which makes the scenes all the more interesting. There's a brilliant spoken game of chess (it'll make sense when you see it) that had me grinning like a buttcrack enthusiast at a builder's convention. Whilst simultaneously being on the edge of my seat. Thank Christ cinemas are dark. I can't even imagine how unsettling that would look to a bystander.

Serious spoilery stuff now, people. So skip to the end if you haven't seen it yet. (Invisotexted, highlight to read). I was quite disappointed by Irene Adler not lasting that long. I know it's so we see how callous and evil Moriarty is, but I wanted her to stick around for a bit. As for the chess/waterfall bit. Fucking hell. Having only a passing knowledge of Holmes, as soon as I saw there was a waterfall, I guessed this might be the actual end. It isn't but I almost wish it was.  Since it looked like that's where the film was going, I was all ready to applaud the film. No, I didn't want Holmes dead, but it would have been a completely unforgettable ending. I would love a sequel to this, but I'm always in favour of leaving people wanting more. From that point of view, I felt the ending was a slight cop-out. So, I still feel torn about it. 

"Your clock is ticking."

So yeah. I had a blast with Game of Shadows. It's louder and more confident than the first and finally pits Holmes against a worthy adversary who almost steals the show entirely. If you liked the first, you're in safe hands. Even if you didn't like the first, you may be surprised by this one. Highly recommended.

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

Yup, I finally get to remove this Star Wars shaped monkey off my back and finish the saga. As Vader himself once said in A New Hope : "The circle is now complete. Now fuckin' die you bearded tosser."

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) 

I've got a proper love/hate thing going on with Jedi. One the one hand, it has some of the trilogy's best scenes, on the other it's clear that this was where things started to become less focused on telling a kick-arse story and more on how many new merchandising opportunities could be introduced. It's also the film that's suffered the worst additions, be they from the Special Edition or the recent Blu-ray tinkerings.

"I see you have constructed a new lightsaber. Your skills are complete. Indeed you are powerful as the Emperor has foreseen."

Anyway, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is still frozen. Luke (Mark Hamill) is still not a Jedi and Leia (Carrie Fisher) has gone to rescue Han from the clutches of gangster slug-thing Jabba the Hutt (Susan Boyle). Meanwhile, the Empire are in the process of building a new Death Star and the Rebels led by Solo and Lando (Billy Dee Williams) plan to attack before their weapons are functional. The story's a decent end to the Star Wars trilogy, it's just a shame it had to involve Ewoks.

So, where to begin? Well, the first hour of Jedi rocks the shit. We go from Jabba's Palace to an old school monster smackdown with a Rancor and then we're whisked off on Jabba's sail barge to a sequence taking place in the desert over the Pit of Sarlaac- a fantastic creature that eats men whole and digests them slowly over 1000 years. From there we've got Luke saying his goodbyes to Yoda, the great speeder bike chase through the forest of Endor and then...we hit a brick wall in the form of Wicket W. Warrick (Warrick Davies) a cuddly space teddy bear. Nothing against Davies at all, but the Ewoks are shit. Yeah, it's predictable that I was going to pick on the Ewoks, but they stop me enjoying the film. Despite the baffling Blu add-ons and the crusty anus of a musical number "Jedi Rocks" (which reported cost Lucas a cool $1 million to add to the film back in '97), it's classic Star Wars. It's clear the Ewoks were added to appeal solely to kids. Lucas knew the sweet dollars were from gullible parents who would buy their screaming sprogs any old bit of fuzz to shut them up. This is when Lucas turned. He's more cash machine now than man.

The Blu-ray changes here are unforgivable. It's like a middle finger from Lucas that we had to pay for the privilege to receive. When I heard the rumours of the Blu-ray changes, I dismissed them as a joke. After all the addition of "blinking Ewoks" and "a larger door to Jabba's Palace" sounded like just the sort of thing Lucas was infamous for, but just out there enough to be unrealistic. However, it was all true. All of it. Even the shit that didn't make sense and just raises further questions. That door for instance- wouldn't have noticed it before. Now the perspective's fucked and it looks as fake as hell. Why is he doing this to us?

The worst change though is in the climactic scene with Vader, Luke and the Emperor. Palpatine is frying Luke with Force lightning and Luke tries to appeal to his father beneath the machinery.Vader looks from his dying son to the Emperor, who has a look of pure hatred on his face. We sense the conflict in Vader, despite his face being covered. Suddenly, Vader picks up the Emperor and heaves him over a railing to his doom, redeeming himself and saving his son in the process. It was one of my all time favourite Star Wars moments. I hate to sound like a whinging fanboy here, but Lucas ruined it for me. For some fucking bananas reason he decides to echo one of Vader's lowest points (excluding this debacle) and having him shout "Noo!" a bunch of times. This is proof to me that either Lucas doesn't understand his own creation or he hates his fans. I'm not sure which one is worse.

I didn't want to finish my Jedi review on a sour note though. The film is mostly great. It's the weakest of the three, but still a lot of fun. As I said, it contains some of my favourite trilogy scenes. The speeder bike chase is great, the all out space battle is awesome too. My favourite of all though is Luke's showdown with Vader. It's pitch perfect and Luke's slow realisation that the Emperor is turning him into a Vader replacement is so fantastic I'm genuinely having to fight the urge to stop typing these words, stick the film on and skip to that bit.

"And now, young Skywalker... you will die."

 Star Wars has meant and still means a considerable amount to me. As a kid, it opened my mind to fantastical planets, aliens and adventure, as well as inspiring me to strive to be as heroic as Luke is. As an adult, it shows me that great films can remain so, despite outdated effects and corny ideals. As a fan, I've learned that I'm done with George Lucas, who continually disappoints all but his completely feckless fans by trying his best to sully what little good there is left in the Star Wars name. The film's still good despite the inherent Ewok problems and the added nonsense, I just wish it was left alone for me to enjoy.

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

2011's pretty much over and I've still got shit to write. Better get some actual work done. Let's get this whole Star Wars thing knocked on the head, shall we?

Star Wars : Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

 A New Hope is good (well, fantastic actually), but of the "proper" Star Wars flicks, Empire is my favourite. Why? Well, ignoring the deeper story and numerous feckin' terrific scenes, it all boils down to the fact that The Empire Strikes Back does everything a sequel should. It takes the well-established characters of the source material and expands on not only them, but the universe they inhabit. Most sequels can manage only one of these two elements, but what truly makes a sequel special in my book is doing both those things in a way that seems organic to the original. I'll come back to that in a minute, once I've typed out a pointless plot summary.

"The Force is with you, young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet."

So, after blowing seven shades of intergalactic shit out of the Death Star at the end of A New Hope, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has become a bone-fide rebel hero and has been made Lieutenant Commander for his troubles. However, after getting a visit from the ghostly Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) Luke travels to the swamp planet of Dagobah to meet with a Master Yoda and continue his Jedi training. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) end up travelling to a city in the clouds, Bespin, to meet with Han's old friend Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams). All the while, the presumably very dizzy Darth Vader has become obsessed with finding Skywalker and the possibility of turning the young Jedi to the Dark Side. The plot is darker and more complex than A New Hope's and it works well. It's hard to imagine the "big twist" being a surprise, but it's still a rightfully classic moment. The actors are all great and major new addition Billy Dee Williams adds some effortless and much needed cool to the Star Wars universe.

As an example of what the hell I was talking about in the first paragraph, I'm going to (some would say unfairly) compare Empire with the second Pirates of the Caribbean film, Dead Man's Chest. Both films were made to capitalise on a surprise hit film, both go for a "darker" tone than the first one and both have a soppy lead character and a much more entertaining cooler-than-thou character in tow. Now, was it just me, or did the Captain Jack in Dead Man's Chest seem like a pale photocopy of his full strength Curse of the Black Pearl form? Well, no, it isn't just me. I know that. I just wrote that so you as the reader feel there's a semi-interactive element to all this dogmatic opinion-yelling. He is a pale photocopy of himself. It isn't up for debate. It's what happens when writers actively try and make a character act like themselves rather than focusing on what makes sense for the character. Han Solo is the antithesis of all this. After becoming BFF's with Luke in the first film and helping him destroy the Death Star, this Solo really feels like the same Han we grew to know in A New Hope but with some of the corners sanded slightly. Most of this is due to his burgeoning relationship with Leia. This love story is handled extremely well and is not contrived in the slightest. It feels real. She resists him for a long time, he can't put aside his alpha male swaggering to tell her how he feels and the pair share a stolen kiss in the Millennium Falcon. It's so much better than the standard movie hookups we're still expected to buy into these days. He chucks acid into the head honcho's face, saves the day and then she decides that yeah, he's worth a tumble in the hay and then they kiss, credits roll and I fashion a shiv out of what I found down the back of the sofa and stab myself in the thigh.

Empire arguably set the precedent for having a "darker" sequel. It certainly ends on a rather sombre note, with Han frozen and Luke's wanking plans thrown all out of whack thanks to his new robotic hand. It also has one of my favourite scenes ever, where Luke faces off against Vader for the first time, culminating in that scene. I'm also pleased that the Yoda training sequences hold up, despite my cynicism and ability to spot puppets having increased tenfold since childhood. I'll tell you the one thing that blew my mind more than the Vader father thing when I originally saw it- the fact that the Jedi Master Yoda is a short, old green thing with big ears (his species has never been named and even the mighty Google can only hazard a guess). This revelation spoke volumes to me about the ways of the Jedi and the mysticism of the Force. As Yoda himself said: "Size matters not", something which my really-small-for-my-age child self took to heart. This is part of the reason why the whole midichlorian bullshit in Phantom Menace is so fucking infuriating.

What I really like about Empire is that it really delivers on the "war" part of Star Wars. A New Hope can act as a stand-alone experience. The Empire gets their collective arses handed to them and despite Darth Vader conveniently not dying, the story's all done and dusted. Empire smartly decides to just have the destruction of the Death Star as a minor setback and shows you the extent of the Empire's reach. Christ, the Rebel Alliance can't even go on a short skiing trip without some fucking huge plodding machines showing up. I love the design of the AT-ATs too. They are truly iconic creations and one of the first things I think of when I hear the words "Star Wars" and filter through the top level of seething hate for recent Star Wars films and changes. Oh yeah, this is kind of a Blu-ray review as well, isn't it? Well luckily, they didn't change too much in Empire. Certain effects have been altered or modified, but nothing that dragged me out of the film kicking and screaming. The most heinous changes are in Return of the Jedi, but we'll get to that soon, dearies.

 

"Do or do not, there is no try."

So, The Empire Strikes Back is amazing. I could type reams about certain scenes and why the whole thing meant and still means so much to me. I've typed enough now. Bye bye.