This is a James Bond movie with a different name and character

Rating: 5/10 (26 November 2009)

I watched this the other day after several years of neglecting it. The only time I saw it was when I was younger and was interested recently in why people seemed to hate it.
Of course I was young then and thought everything was cool.
About an hour into the movie I wanted to fall asleep.
I realized suddenly that I wasn't watching a Mission Impossible movie.
I was watching James Bond.
Tom Cruise's sleek hair is even so Bond-ish. First he goes off on a mission, which isn't even fully explained other than "Oh, yeah, go get this girl and recruit her," and for the first hour or so Tom is flirting around with this Spanish chick.
This isn't Mission Impossible at all.
The opening missions were always set and clear. A complex plot right away.
And then there's the lack of continuity from DePalma's movie. I HATE lack of continuity. Isn't Ethan technically the chief now of the IMF force since Phelps is dead?
The slow motion scenes were too dramatic for this. No intense love was built up. I will give it credit for classic facemaker moments and action, but this is like Matrix mixed with James Bond.
The IMF team is pretty weak in this installment. It focuses more on Ethan kicking ass and blowing stuff up rather than have the team work as a whole, putting them on the side for comic relief.
The whole "hero and villain" metaphor throughout the movie was getting pretty annoying too, and didn't fit in with a spy movie.
So here's my break down
Pros -Cool action sequences -Classic facemaker moments
Cons -James Bond appeal -No build up to actually feel drama -Poor plot for the mission -Poor IMF team, so not as much fun