Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)
I was really not sold on this. I'd seen the first "Mission Impossible" movie when I was younger. I don't know if I saw it in the cinema or not, but it was pretty forgettable. The only thing I really remember about it was the extra-fast French TGV trains going through the channel tunnel which never happened back then and still doesn't now. I suppose this was a sci-fi element, but in general I don't remember the first film seeming terribly futuristic. The second Mission Impossible film definitely had James Bond-esque sci-fi in the form of neat little gadgets, but some of the stuff involving masks just got ridiculous (though naturally that's before we mention the bizarre motorcycle fight).
By the time it reached the third film I really wasn't interested. I probably wouldn't have realised it was showing if I hadn't been irritated by a bunch of young teenagers loudly chatting while I tried to watch "Ice Age 2" at the cinema. When the showing of "Mission Impossible III" started in a different screen they went to switch screens (because it's too high a certificate for them to just simply buy a ticket for) and funnily enough one of them was trying to argue (unfortunately arguing from all the way across the aisles) that he'd rather stay and watch "Ice Age 2" instead. Eventually they all left and that was the end of that.
Even when the trailer was released showcasing the dramatic stunts and effects, I still wasn't interested. Heck, "MI:2" hadn't been lacking in stunts or effects. It was lacking in plot and interesting character developement. There was also the presence of Simon Pegg, but Pegg doesn't guarantee that a movie will be good, even if he always gives a great performance. (Sadly his recent starring role in "A Fantastic Fear Of Everything" recently hasn't stopped a torrent of negative reviews for that film.)
Having now seen the film, I must say that Simon Pegg is pretty good (as expected). The dialogue is actually a bit pants and the story is as meandering as ever. What really works, however, is the direction. There are great set pieces. "So what?" you might ask, after all MI:2 had John Woo providing great set pieces and little else, but the thing is that even the talky scenes feel like set pieces where everything fits together neatly and stylishly.
The plot feels a bit by the numbers but the way everything unfolds is undoubtedly expert and there's a great sense of fun throughout. Still, there are particular action scenes which are quite remarkable not because of the level of firepower involved, but because of the way complex movements are portrayed clearly and simply. The most obvious example of this takes place in an automated parking lot with lots of moving parts, views from wing mirrors, long drops, etc. All the time, the camera gives us the best view of the action, seemingly swooping into the best spots as opposed to quick cutting like a Michael Bay film. However, the scene that really impressed was where we have a chase scene in the middle of a sandstorm. Surely we should be able to see nothing at all? Yet we see everything we need to see and it is absolutely gorgeous too.
Another aspect which I thought was really good (which allows for the swooping cameras and clear portrayals of the action) was the CGI. At one point a building blows up that cannot possibly (trust me) have been blown up in real life. I felt it was absolutely convincing. First the apes in the opening scene of ROTPOTA and now this. More and more often I am finding that I cannot tell the difference between CGI and real life and though perhaps that has been a long time coming, we seem to be finally reaching that stage. CGI seems to be in a very exciting time right now and perhaps it's not surprising that it is an animation director like Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles) exemplifying the potential useage in live action film like this.
While I said earlier that the plot was a bit daft, I must say that most of the film was so much fun that I didn't care. Tom Cruise often bugs me and perhaps the only other film where I haven't minded him is "Minority Report". It's not always obvious why certain things are happening. The female member of the team is expected to seduce a rich Indian business tycoon in a building they are infiltrating at one point and it felt kind of unnecessary and a little forced. But in other cases the confusion is part of the fun, particularly when key gadgets start to go wrong at extremely important moments.
I should probably mention the storyline though I could just as easily say "think of a James Bond movie, it's kind of like that". We start off with Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) sitting in prison. The film doesn't stay there, in fact the setting varies dramatically over the course of the film. Nukes are involved. And Russians. And a terrorist group. Ooooh and disguises too! Well, that about explains all that. As for the title "Ghost Protocol"? That means that their actions aren't acknowledged by their organisation and they will be denounced as rogue agents if they are caught. Doesn't that happen in EVERY Mission Impossible film?
For the most part I was really going along with this film and enjoying the hell out of it. I wonder whether my final score for this movie wouldn't be higher if it wasn't for one final scene at the end. The film was essentially over but there was one final sub-plot to resolve. The way it's resolved felt so easy and was so cheesily done that I wonder whether that was the ending the director originally intended. In the final scene Tom Cruise has become exceedingly smug in that obnoxious style of his that he'd somehow avoided earlier in the film.
"Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" is a rollercoaster ride of an action movie and has a fantastic sense of fun. The action is set up properly with some good humour and genuine chemistry between the characters. I'm not sure that the female member of the team is really ironed out as a character as well as she could be, but she certainly gets plenty to do. While everything is a bit silly, the direction is good enough not to give you time to worry about the flimsy-but-seviceable overall plotline, instead giving you rather more interesting character-driven set pieces to keep your mind occupied.
If it weren't for the final cheesy scene at the end I might well think of this the same way as "Salt" (be sure that you are watching the director's cut of that one btw). I absolutely adored "Salt" because it didn't take itself seriously (as this doesn't), yet it still had me caring about the characters as it pulled me along. However, as with "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" and possibly even moreso, if "Salt" had ended with a smug scene with everyone patting themselves on the back, that would have ruined everything. Endings matter and "Ghost Protocol" severely messes that up. Still, it's not a complete disaster. In fact, the film as a whole is really good fun and more than worth your time.
B+
Another Earth (2011)
I'd been looking forward to this one for a while, but there've been rather mixed reviews. Even those singing its praises are rather more keen on "Sound Of My Voice", which also stars Brit Marling (and which I'm quite looking forward to).
The premise is quite simple, a young woman crashes into a car containing a family (this happens fairly early in the movie). She was even drunk driving at the time. She is incarcerated for her actions and comes out of prison feeling very withdrawn and borderline suicidal. Alongside all of this is the eponymous 'other Earth' which the protagonist first sees in the sky before her big crash.
Over the course of the film, 'Earth 2' as it comes to be known, can be seen larger and larger. Some have even noted that it gets so big that it ought to be really screwing up our gravity and generally causing chaos. However, the film is not really about Earth2. It's mainly about the protagonist's search for redemption. The other Earth is explored mainly in terms of its philosophical significance and, as such, the film somewhat relies on only limited contact with Earth 2. Still Earth 2 is a very pretty background object which does a great job of giving weight to the central storyline.
While Earth 2 looks pretty, the film itself is generally filmed in what can sometimes feel like a documentary style. In one scene in particular, I felt the camera was far too wobbly and it's only based on the rest of the film that I'm presuming that wobbliness was intentional rather than a sign of amateurishness. The poster is rather misleading in showing the beautiful shot with Marling looking glamorous in the foreground. In actual fact, there's a contrast in this film between the beautiful shots showing Earth 2 hanging in the sky and the more typical and grim experiences of our guilt-ridden protagonist who is anything but glamorous.
The ending is very important and prior to seeing this I heard that the ending was "shocking". I didn't really find it shocking, but I DID find it to be an excellent use of ambiguity. On the IMDB boards different people seem to have different views on what the ending means and can sometimes be pretty insistent on their own interpretation. Personally I feel that's a good sign. This is a film that really makes you care and while the pacing isn't spectacularly fast, the characters keep you interested.
I would discuss what I think is the most important of the philosophical questions raised, but I think that might lead to me telling people what to think. Needless to say, I think one of these philosophical questions is vitally important to the ending. A lot of the stuff we hear on the tv in the background of the movie about the philosophical implications of Earth 2 feels a bit overdone, but then again that's television for you. I felt very pleased with the way the central focus remained on the protagonist and her more down to earth concerns leaving Earth 2 as a mystery. If the film had spent a lot of time on the surface of Earth 2 I don't think it could really have lived up to the ponderings people had about it (and that may be part of the point). Needless to say, I'm not desperately seeking a sequel (and perhaps it's for similar reasons that I'm not desperately hoping for a sequel to Prometheus either).
Also, this is another film where the Nintendo Wii makes an odd appearance. I felt this made it seem a lot more natural than in "Win Win" where it was shoved in almost like a set of commercial breaks. That said, if it really was product placement here, it doesn't seem anything like as trendy on this occasion.
"Another Earth" was a great little philosophical sci-fi piece which felt remarkably grounded. I enjoyed it a great deal and would highly recommend it.
A+