I Think My Standards Were Too High

Rating: Null/10 (12 September 2012)

Coming into this movie, I didn't quite know what to expect. To give some background, I've loved Mission: Impossible ever since I was seven years old. I really loved the first movie, despite some of the elements that have been criticized. I also still love the original TV series with Peter Graves and company.
Now on to the actual movie, when I first saw it, I was a bit nit-picky and expecting a lot more out of the whole plot and tone, and now after letting some time pass, I think I was a bit too harsh. Brad Bird is a capable director and I thought it was pretty neat to see his name in the credits, and it even gave me some clue as to what to expect. Many of the big action scenes were well done and exciting (the building scaling scene was really great, as well as the prison scene.) I suppose my main complaint was that the characters seemed almost invincible. Like when Ethan is using his rappelling rope to swing back into the hotel room and smacks his face. I think it's pretty safe to say that he would be unconscious or, at the very least, have some serious bruises. That scene, combined with the other numerous times where he probably would have been seriously injured, are what most caught my attention.
You might say that those things are common in action movies, and you're right, but compare it to the first movie where there is almost no huge epic action scene (save for the train scene, which is also highly implausible, but you still feel the tension and suspense of it.) My point is, there aren't a whole lot of scenes where he gets injured and quickly recovers. Case in point is where he gets in a fight with Phelps and is knocked down after getting hit only a few times. But in spite of that, I guess that doesn't really matter because in terms of action, the Mission: Impossible movies never really had a consistent style to the plot and tone (and yes, I realize that MI: 2 was definitely the worst of the series.) This one was done more tongue-in-cheek and with more humor, and I guess I wasn't quite expecting that. That doesn't make it a bad movie; it was a pretty fun experience, not to mention the gadgets and stunts were great as usual. Like I said, I probably shouldn't have been so strict, and I should have just enjoyed it for what it is: A decent movie with good scenes and worth the price of admission.
So, my verdict: I recommend going to see it once or twice, or perhaps more. If you like action movies, you'll most likely like this one.