Movie Review – Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

One way ticket to thrill

I read a comment somewhere saying, “Tom Cruise runs, rides, jumps, flies, clings to his dear life and does every possible stunt on Mother Earth. What else can he do in the grand finale?” But isn’t it the question which people have been asking since the second part, which at that time felt too good to be true. That’s what Tom Cruise can do. A true blue action junkie for the big screen. The one who makes everyone feel young and plausible. I’m sure no one who came out of the movie would have come home sane without raising the throttle at least once.

The movie begins with a submarine and a kind of superpower which was hidden in it. There was some sort of missile showing in the radar. They keep on stating that they’re invisible and don’t understand what’s that coming towards them. But the missile coming at them also becomes invisible. I thought the sequence would end then and there by Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) coming inside the submarine by being invisible and it’ll all be a little joke of the Russians but unfortunately that was the plot of the movie.

We get to the see the very first troupe of mask change at the start of the movie, followed by the template title cards. The mask scene didn’t work but the title card was lovely. In fact the best from what I can remember. Whatever the “Entity” is and what it does is not a problem for anyone because the director, Christopher McQuarrie, doesn’t let you think beyond it as an invisible villain. What a combination, McQuarrie and Tom Cruise are. Should be hailed as one of the best combos of Hollywood.

Hunt and his friends, Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) try to go after one part of the key first up but in turn get robbed by someone. It was far-fetched to see such an intelligent team getting robbed by a petty thief, Grace (Hayley Atwell), who was downright annoying, as opposed to an effervescent Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) from a much recent ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’. In fact when Hunt sticks on to her, tries to save her in a car chase and from White Widow (Vanessa Kirby), it was irritating. She couldn’t get the sympathy of me. Especially the scene where she handcuffs him to the car, was limits.

What follows is a series of Mission Impossible troupes, which keeps us engaged but feels repetitive and compulsory. There were high octane scenes of course and keeps us glued to the scene but there wasn’t any surprise element. None of the troupes give a wow moment. Be it the bike ride, the running, Benji being delirious etc. It was like watching a big star movie who does his trademark thing time and again. Fortunately or unfortunately it works but a bit of innovation would have been nice.

The other characters have nothing to do and apart from a series of action scenes there weren’t a single scene which people could connect. Thanks to the bad audio and no subtitles, audience started chit chatting and munching popcorn as soon as action scenes get over. The movie is worth the time, they forget the popcorn. But thankfully it was a whole lot of time.

Coming to the greatest action scene as advertised by the makers. It feels like the whole film happens for that. But to be honest, it happens too fast without letting anyone feel it. It’s just the one shot. The making felt lot better than the actual scene. With any other film, the train stunt post that would have felt unnecessary but the director and actors make that work too. We can see how they are seeing the film. It could have easily looked like a circus with people jumping like clowns here and there. But it’s the sincerity which propels the film to the next level. In fact god level. I don’t know whether I should be happy that everyone could feel the film as their own and root for the protagonist or worry about how the fans of certain actors could only wish that their hero makes such films.

See, in short, I can never write a good review for this movie, but I can never hate the movie. Mission Impossible series more than anything is a part of our life. It’s the last of something great. Like how, even if the final part of the Indiana Jones was a bomb, how the last book was unnecessarily made into two parts for Harry Potter, this too is one such series you can’t miss out. It’s to be watched in theatres and relished. Reviews are for another time.

Movie Review – American Made

A Scorsese style Tom Cruise quirkiness

A fairly unnoticed film which caught my attention when I was trying to watch something fun. The powder smeared poster of Tom Cruise in ‘American Made’ pretty much gives the idea of what to look forward in the movie. It’s a quirky story about a drug dealer. Unfortunately, you can’t help but compare with a Scorsese movie as it deals with drugs and personality. Probably for the ones who haven’t watched much of Scorsese, this film would have done wonders with the way it was made. But the Scorsese fan in me didn’t let me be so. Keeping that aside, the film promises a joy ride.

The films mood is set right from the scene one, a smoky cockpit, a dozing Barry Seal (Tom Cruise), a cigarette in the copilot’s hand which was going to ashes and more importantly handheld camera to give the uneasy feel. Barry Seal shakes up his plane a little bit to wake up his copilot, in the midst waking up the entire flight. Goes home tired and dozes off while his wife would be waiting for some action. That’s pretty much his life. Mundane and boring. This very sequence could have been made either in depressing way like ‘Evano Oruvan’ or quirky like this. ‘American Made’ choses quirky and in that one sequence we get to know what to expect out of this film.

CIA Agent Monty Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson) meets Barry Seal with an offer he can’t refuse. The first scene they meet up was superbly made. We have the same reaction which Barry does. CIA is the last thing we could associate Monty with. I thought he’d be either a reporter or a low-profile drug dealer but he in fact was a CIA agent. It was fun. Going by the films nature and Barry’s character he immediately accepts the deal. No remorse. And that’s the beautiful thing. It’s not a film which deals with guilt and self-reciprocation. It’s fun and informal.

Post that it’s a typical Scorsese’s film with ups, more ups and down. Unfortunately seeing DiCaprio and Jonah Hill in a similar setup in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, this film was underwhelming. As much as I’d have wanted to enjoy the film. I kept on reminiscing the glory of ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. Which was in fact phenomenal, it was like a comeback film of sorts for Scorsese, it is up there as one of his best work or may be even his best. That constant comparison made me not like the film as much as I wanted to. Scorsese has setup a benchmark in the category of drugs and chaos.

Like any of the drug film, the hero was reckless, had a hot wife, a friend who’s a problem and more importantly a brother-in-law who blows up the cover and gets blown up in the midst of it. Loved the way his character was “taken care” by Medellin Cartel. It was fun to see the Drug Cartel during the early days when they were not big. Wish a little more of it could have been explored but its understandable that it’s not a film about them but about Barry.

The film ends on expected lines, I felt a teeny bit emotional, but it was intentionally made in a dark tone to not feel bad for the hero. In fact, it cuts the very next second from the frame. Overall, the film looked a little hurried, just like Seal’s character. The Films tone was restless and made so. Each film has a tone and this film stuck to the restless tone. Although it felt restless, there were junctures which felt boring and mundane in the middle. A much recent example which handles the tone of a film beautifully was ‘Uncut Gems’. The way it handles ‘anxiety’ made us both anxious as well as interested in the movie. We couldn’t move away from the screen even if it does so, like getting into a roller coaster, even though we know its not going to be a smooth ride. That’s the beauty!

Movie Review – Vanilla Sky

Nightmares of dreams

Wonder why this film is not as famous as a Mulholland Drive or any of those sick mind-fuck movies out there. Having a top star in these type of mind fucks is an added advantage because that is the last thing you expect out of it. Even though ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ is one of the movies of Tom Cruise, which was in a different world, it was not impressive when compared to other Stanley Kubrick products. However, if the Kubrick tag is taken out of it, it is still a great film by leaps and bounds. Throughout the film, I found some daring similarity between the two.

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The thing, which differentiates ‘Vanilla Sky’ from other film, is how it cleverly deceives the viewers through its storytelling technique. What starts as a jolly good film ends up in tatters at a later stage. The first twenty minutes or so is a pure Tom Cruise bliss. He is jovial, he is funny, he is everything that a man would dream of to be, and a woman would dream of. Then there is a sudden start. An accident happens all of a sudden and there is a sudden shift in the mood of the film. It again comes back to normalcy but it is not straightforward like before. The film wavers between both the worlds and only during climax, we get to know the reality.

It is not just David Aames (Tom Cruise) who is charming but Brian Shelby (Jason Lee) too. In fact, if there is one person who’d get my sympathy, it’d be him. Poor fellow, he is an artist and struggles to get girls but David gets them so easily without breaking a sweat. That includes the girls Brian likes and dates. Even though David fails the bro code, Brian does not. That is why he is a wonderful character. Sofia Serrano (Penélope Cruz) is a lovable character. May be a woman of dreams, maybe, that is why David constructed her in such way in his dreams. She is hot, funny and adorable. On the other hand, Julianna “Julie” Gianni (Cameron Diaz) is such a bitch. Not really a fan of her as such, so when she appears like a bitchy character, it fitted her to tee. Especially the scene leading up to the accident was amazing.

David’s love for movies is evident from the various posters, which adores his screen, and building each character in his dream through the inspiration drawn from these films is a great idea. I found Dr. Curtis McCabe’s (Kurt Russell) character to be similar to that of Dr. Sean Maguire from ‘Good Will Hunting’, even though it is not inspired from ‘Good Will Hunting’. Acting wise too, he was prolific. During the confrontation, the way he looks so confidently at David as if the mask is not a concern at all was terrific. Wonder how the whole thought process would have gone into making this character because it is actually his fragment of imagination. Even though he is said to be a character who cares for David, he first comes out as a person who cruelly investigates him and only then shows concern. That is how we want people ideally, right. It is like us writing screenplay for people around us.

The high point or the main factor of making any of these mind fuck movies is to see how unsettling and dark it can be made without spookiness and jump cuts. It is about creating an environment as if we are drugged. The film achieves it by the opening scene and carefully emancipates itself every now and then. There were times when I was truly engrossed in the film and come out of it with a start. Experiences like these are why we watch movies for, which lures us into the films completely.

Movie Review – The Last Samurai

A satisfying war epic

It’s been quite long since I watched a proper war film and even if I did, got satisfied with it. ‘The Last Samurai’ fit the bill perfectly. It in fact exceeded my expectations. This along with ‘Seven Years in Tibet’ was in my wish list for quite a long time. As ‘Seven Years in Tibet’, I thought this movie which features a white man in foreign land, would be of same type too. But there were some really great moments which had me hooked to the film for the entire duration.

Don’t know why, but throughout the movie I was reminded of ‘Blood Diamond’ but only after watching the movie I got to know that ‘Blood Diamond’ too is by same director. I guess the director is really good at making films with a white western guy in non-western world. Even though I don’t exactly remember ‘Blood Diamond’, that too was fine film. A proper commercial film which involves brains too. Just like how ‘The Last Samurai’ was. But if I’ve scrutinize and pick one, I guess I’ll go with ‘Blood Diamond’. Even though ‘The Last Samurai’ too was equally good and entertaining.

The topmost trio consisting of Brad Pitt, Di Caprio and Tom Cruise, seem to have done a film each with this concept and its difficult to choose who emerges the winner because every time I see their hit films, I don’t get irritated by its mindlessness unlike top heroes masala flicks in Indian cinema, but only look at in awe of it, to see how well its crafted. This movie would have been even more lovely if one hasn’t been exposed to much art films, it’d have been a truly emotional epic. Wish I had watched it back in my college days. It’d have been lovely.

The best part about the film is that it doesn’t overdo and keeps it simple. Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) who repents because of the war atrocities which he committed is a man who’s resorted to alcohol. He goes to Japan for money and while trying to fight against Samurai’s, get brutally defeated and taken as a Prisoner of War to their village. He gets to know about their culture and way of life which changes his persona. Any film which takes this route, where we see rising of a man, this is the best part. It was so pleasant, as if a day in hill station without any plans. We feel as if it’d extend forever. Even though it doesn’t, the film doesn’t lose its tempo and makes us eager to know what’s next.

We have to be appreciative of the fact that Tom Cruise played second fiddle in the film. Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu (Ken Watanabe) is undeniably the hero of the film. Ken Watanabe is terrific. And thanks to the way we’re used to Nolan films. As soon as we see Ken Watanabe, it feels like a Nolan film. Such a sincere actor who gets overlooked so often. I feel like watching Nambiar when seeing him act. So mature and so calm.

There has been criticism about historical inaccuracy of the film. But that’s not really a point here because whatever we see is convincing and the screenplay is gripping. Action sequences were superbly choreographed. Guess one of it was an inspiration for the transformation fight in ‘Viswaroopam’. It works better in ‘Viswaroopam’ than here but original is original anyways. Tom Cruise too is convincing but that mainly has to do with slick editing and terrific cinematography techniques. Music needless to say would always be terrific, especially when you give this much canvas to a man like Hans Zimmer. All in all, it was a truly satisfying film.

Movie Review – Collateral

Why doesn’t Kollywood make thrillers like these

‘Collateral’ is a dream thriller which gets you wooed right from scene one. Michael Mann is the man when it comes to movies like this. He’s one of the directors who exactly knows what he’s doing. And when you have Tom Cruise in salt and pepper get up which would make even men go weak on their knees, you’ve an outright winner.

Everything about the movie is fascinating, right from the poster design, Tom Cruise’s looks, a believable human sidekick, a super intriguing screenplay and an unsentimental climax. The film grows exactly in the order. First the poster will evoke interest, next it’ll be Tom Cruise who’ll make us want to watch him in the movie, once the movie starts and we get to know the other actors and their storyline, it intrigues us and finally the tight screenplay which at no point falters. Together it’s a brilliant thriller material.

The film opens with Vincent (Tom Cruise) meeting the Airport Man (Jason Statham), a nice little ‘Transporter’ reference, and exchanging the briefcase. Parallelly we see a cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx) taking a customer, federal prosecutor Annie Farrell (Jada Pinkett Smith). It’s an extended setup in the cab with they both talking. It was both, shot well and acted really well by both the actors. The whole sequence is interesting. Even though it’s a thriller, the setup between the two is so soothing to watch. And within minutes, quite coincidentally, Vincent gets into the same cab and smooth talks the driver to take him around the entire night. When he leaves his briefcase in the car, I thought it’s a ploy to get to the driver, where he’ll escape and Max will follow him. But the story took a different turn after the first killing.

Now that Max discovers what has happened, he tries to escape but Vincent holds him back. It’s not that he keeps a gun pointed to the head always to make it work. They somehow become allies without even realizing. Tom Cruise is terrific as Vincent and completely owns the movie. Jamie Foxx plays a practical person, it’s his character which is tougher to write. He could have easily been made as a scared to death person or a comic character but the practicality of the movie is kept in tact with both the writing and acting. Even for Vincent’s character, Tom Cruise doesn’t appear unnecessarily broody, overtly cool or a morbid character. He’s not marred with guilty too. He too is a practical person. He doesn’t come out as a Buddha. That’s exactly why the movie works wonders.

This is exactly how ‘Kadaram Kondan’ should have been made but directors like Rajesh. M. Selva have no clue as to how to make Neo Noirs. They only claim they make Hollywood like films but miserably fail at it with the movie being neither here not there. I don’t think an unsympathetically straight noir movie would ever come in Kollywood. At max Sriram Raghavan could make a film like this but he too gets philosophical beyond a point and doesn’t make an out and out thriller.

As much as it’s a movie where certain events unfold within a night, look how well it happens, with the first character being final victim and everything else happening in the middle. There exists a certain chemistry between Vincent and Max. When the first killing happens, Max wants to know why, Vincent doesn’t answer it but says he’s a bad man, which is quite convincing, in a way making him a hero, hitman with a heart. But as the movie progresses, we get to know he indeed isn’t killing bad guys, he’s the bad guy. But again, he doesn’t become a supervillain, he’s just a normal assassin, it’s his job. As simple as that. That’s another trajectory which is superbly made, which doesn’t get overboard. It’s all these minute details and prolific writing which makes the film a treat to watch.

The climax too doesn’t get blown out of proportion and I’ve a doubt there too. Vincent being someone who could make two shots in sternum and one shot in scalp even in the busiest of junctions (take that club scene for example where he kills a Korean, he takes an extra two second to aim. When have we last seen such detailing in an action film), he fails to kill Max. Maybe he intentionally doesn’t shoot at the glass and shoots at the iron door in the middle? We never know but the film doesn’t end up being a dramatic one with a close up shot of Vincent but just moves across without giving much time to whine. Michael Mann, you beauty.