Movie Review Black Los Angeles

BlackNLA Movie Reviews

*****THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*****

by Edwardo Jackson

BIASES: 30 (yikes!) year old black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3 (PG-13)

MOVIE BIASES: Pre. SOLD!

MAJOR PLAYERS: Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible 2), Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible 2), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote), Laurence Fishburne (Akeelah & the Bee), and co-writer/director J.J. Abrams (TV's "Alias")

After a teaser open to a ridiculously tense hostage scene, "M:I:III" (as it prefers to be called) deposits us in the middle of Ethan Hunt's (Cruise) engagement party to unsuspecting civilian Julia (Michelle Monaghan). Ethan is happy, semi-retired and posing as a DOT employee while secretly training spies for the Impossible Mission Force. Once he gets wind that Lindsey (Keri Russell), an agent he trained, has gone missing while on assignment, Hunt assembles a crack new team (Maggie Q, Jonathan Rhys Meyers) along with his old tech pal Luther Stickel (Rhames) to go rescue her. The rescue goes awry, plunging Hunt and his team into chasing after "invisible man" arms dealer Owen Davian (Hoffman) and the object of his next transaction, a mysterious, weaponized device known only as the "rabbit's foot." And if that weren't enough, the malevolent Davian decides to get personal with Hunt - real personal.

Kicking off the summer in grand fashion, "M:I:III" combines what I most love about big screen entertainment. Scored by Michael Giacchino (TV's "Lost" and "Alias" vet - more on that later), "M:I:III"'s music is pitch perfect, employing those similar,
offbeat "Alias"-like rhythms to heighten or underscore the action (I'd have bought the soundtrack by now, but it's not out until May 9th). Exotic locales? How does Berlin, Italy, and Shanghai strike you? The set design and art direction are incredibly slick, a gleaming, brushed steel and glassed-off world of our (okay, MY) childhood, spy fantasy dreams. And the action? Aided and abetted by second unit director/stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong (War of the Worlds), Abrams has staged some neo-classic action sequences, from a nighttime helicopter chase through a field of wind turbines to the balls out insane air strike on a caravan crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. These are the most spectacular explosions since "The Matrix
Reloaded" - maybe even more so. I could not stop smiling throughout, like a kid stuck on Christmas morning.

Enhancing my cheesy grin was the cast, an international All-Star squad. If anything, they were somewhat over-cast: like an All-Star team, everyone is so good, it's tough to find them minutes to play their best game. Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Match Point) and model-actress Maggie Q are attractive, versatile support who get brief moments to shine but, ultimately, hang back and play their position.
Ving Rhames, as the franchise's only other consistent presence, enjoys a nice, opinionated, banter-filled friendship with Hunt as Luther, a bachelor for life. Laurence Fishburne barrels in with strident, acerbic command as Theodore Brassel, head of IMF, who enjoys chomping on scenery and egos as much as he does getting his
sleep. Even Philip Seymour Hoffman's dictionary-definition sinister, composed villain Owen Davian lacks backstory and depth (like an old school, thinly-scripted Bond villain)- but boy does the screen burn when he's in frame.

Say what you want about Scientology-toutin', couch-jumpin', TomKitten-rearin' Tom Cruise, but the man can stake a tentpole. With so much intensity his sea green orbs almost freeze ice blue, Cruise effortFULLY powers through each scene like a jockey is riding him. If the man expended any more energy, he would dissipate into a gaseous cloud. To maintain his - and our - focus during such a special effects extravaganza is no small feat. And when this lusciously balanced script by "Alias" writer/producers Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman requires quiet, dramatic moments, dang if Cruise doesn't pull off some gentle, touching, bona fide ACTING.

Yet believe it or not, "M:I:II"'s $75 million man (Cruise's reported take as a producer and gross participant) is upstaged in "III" by his third round draft choice, "Lost" and "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams. After David Fincher and Joe Carnahan both ankled the
production, Abrams couldn't have been a bolder, more suitable choice for the job. Lugging with him his series' regulars in acting (Greg Grunberg makes a cameo), music (the pulse-pounding Giacchino), and writing (Orci & Kurtzman), Abrams executes a high-powered, sweeps-length version of "Alias" with a blank Hollywood check, every implausibly plausible technology and visual effect at his disposal;
it's like letting loose the Cookie Monster inside a Mrs. Fields. This movie is loud, brassy, techy, fast, and nonstop - and it all bears the unmistakable, intelligent action enthusiast's stamp of J.J. Abrams.

I complain a lot about the arbitrary, creativity-crushing nature of big, Hollywood studio development, and with good reason. Well here's a time when Hollywood gets it right: "M:I:III" is $165 million well spent. In a time when you need a small business loan to buy a full tank of gas, a ten dollar movie is a downright bargain. Especially when Cruise and J.J. give you so much bang for your buck.

@@@@ REELS
(FOUR REELS)
An urban legend/instant classic.

Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at ReelReviewz@aol.com!

Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com




			BlackNLA Movie Reviews ***THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*** by Edwardo Jackson BIASES: 30 (yikes!) year old black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3 (PG-13) MOVIE BIASES: Pre. SOLD! MAJOR PLAYERS: Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible 2), Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible 2), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote), Laurence Fishburne (Akeelah & the Bee), and co-writer/director J.J. Abrams (TV's "Alias") After a teaser open to a ridiculously tense hostage scene, "M:I:III" (as it prefers to be called) deposits us in the middle of Ethan Hunt's (Cruise) engagement party to unsuspecting civilian Julia (Michelle Monaghan). Ethan is happy, semi-retired and posing as a DOT employee while secretly training spies for the Impossible Mission Force. Once he gets wind that Lindsey (Keri Russell), an agent he trained, has gone missing while on assignment, Hunt assembles a crack new team (Maggie Q, Jonathan Rhys Meyers) along with his old tech pal Luther Stickel (Rhames) to go rescue her. The rescue goes awry, plunging Hunt and his team into chasing after "invisible man" arms dealer Owen Davian (Hoffman) and the object of his next transaction, a mysterious, weaponized device known only as the "rabbit's foot." And if that weren't enough, the malevolent Davian decides to get personal with Hunt - real personal. Kicking off the summer in grand fashion, "M:I:III" combines what I most love about big screen entertainment. Scored by Michael Giacchino (TV's "Lost" and "Alias" vet - more on that later), "M:I:III"'s music is pitch perfect, employing those similar, offbeat "Alias"-like rhythms to heighten or underscore the action (I'd have bought the soundtrack by now, but it's not out until May 9th). Exotic locales? How does Berlin, Italy, and Shanghai strike you? The set design and art direction are incredibly slick, a gleaming, brushed steel and glassed-off world of our (okay, MY) childhood, spy fantasy dreams. And the action? Aided and abetted by second unit director/stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong (War of the Worlds), Abrams has staged some neo-classic action sequences, from a nighttime helicopter chase through a field of wind turbines to the balls out insane air strike on a caravan crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. These are the most spectacular explosions since "The Matrix Reloaded" - maybe even more so. I could not stop smiling throughout, like a kid stuck on Christmas morning. Enhancing my cheesy grin was the cast, an international All-Star squad. If anything, they were somewhat over-cast: like an All-Star team, everyone is so good, it's tough to find them minutes to play their best game. Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Match Point) and model-actress Maggie Q are attractive, versatile support who get brief moments to shine but, ultimately, hang back and play their position. Ving Rhames, as the franchise's only other consistent presence, enjoys a nice, opinionated, banter-filled friendship with Hunt as Luther, a bachelor for life. Laurence Fishburne barrels in with strident, acerbic command as Theodore Brassel, head of IMF, who enjoys chomping on scenery and egos as much as he does getting his sleep. Even Philip Seymour Hoffman's dictionary-definition sinister, composed villain Owen Davian lacks backstory and depth (like an old school, thinly-scripted Bond villain)- but boy does the screen burn when he's in frame. Say what you want about Scientology-toutin', couch-jumpin', TomKitten-rearin' Tom Cruise, but the man can stake a tentpole. With so much intensity his sea green orbs almost freeze ice blue, Cruise effortFULLY powers through each scene like a jockey is riding him. If the man expended any more energy, he would dissipate into a gaseous cloud. To maintain his - and our - focus during such a special effects extravaganza is no small feat. And when this lusciously balanced script by "Alias" writer/producers Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman requires quiet, dramatic moments, dang if Cruise doesn't pull off some gentle, touching, bona fide ACTING. Yet believe it or not, "M:I:II"'s $75 million man (Cruise's reported take as a producer and gross participant) is upstaged in "III" by his third round draft choice, "Lost" and "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams. After David Fincher and Joe Carnahan both ankled the production, Abrams couldn't have been a bolder, more suitable choice for the job. Lugging with him his series' regulars in acting (Greg Grunberg makes a cameo), music (the pulse-pounding Giacchino), and writing (Orci & Kurtzman), Abrams executes a high-powered, sweeps-length version of "Alias" with a blank Hollywood check, every implausibly plausible technology and visual effect at his disposal; it's like letting loose the Cookie Monster inside a Mrs. Fields. This movie is loud, brassy, techy, fast, and nonstop - and it all bears the unmistakable, intelligent action enthusiast's stamp of J.J. Abrams. I complain a lot about the arbitrary, creativity-crushing nature of big, Hollywood studio development, and with good reason. Well here's a time when Hollywood gets it right: "M:I:III" is $165 million well spent. In a time when you need a small business loan to buy a full tank of gas, a ten dollar movie is a downright bargain. Especially when Cruise and J.J. give you so much bang for your buck. @@@@ REELS (FOUR REELS) An urban legend/instant classic. Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at ReelReviewz@aol.com! Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com © 2004, Edwardo Jackson