Great, not perfect

Rating: 7/10 (3 January 2010)

One might worry that J.J. couldn't do a full film. Sure, he can make a TV episode exciting, but what about a movie of two hours? Ironically, it's the other way around. He's used to contending with the remote and the rest of the networks, so he doesn't dial down the intensity any, and while the frenetic pace is spot-on for 42 minutes(plus commercial breaks), it gets to be excessive and overstimulating when it's almost three times as much. It's too fast, and it gets to be a little straining. The other thing caused by this being his debut on the silver screen is that it simply does not feel as grand as it should; it feels like he shot this for TV. The editing and cinematography are expertly done, they simply feel as if it was made on a much smaller budget, and there are so many tight, close angles. Frankly, at times we can barely tell what exactly is going on, because of the speed and the (often hand-held)camera flat-out refusing to give us a broad enough image to let us know where things are in relation to one another. I mean, this has a lot of production value... why not show it? The action is well-done and effective. This has Tom acting more than in the first two, and he does remarkably well. Seymour Hoffman shines, as expected. Most of the rest of the cast aren't given much to do, particularly noticeable in both of the new team-mates who don't have enough personality between them to fill a matchbox. I guess he couldn't get used to this not being in serial form, and thus the characters(in spite of being well-written and credible) tend to be severely underdeveloped. Pegg is hilarious, in the short time he's in this. He is pretty much Marshall, and that's just one of the million ways this is like Alias. For some reason, the director also channelled Felicity(!) here and there. The plot is fairly engaging, if the ending is unsatisfying in a couple of ways. It is arguably excessively similar to the 1996 one, and I think the trilogy unintentionally reveals how few options you have when trying to make the spy thing work for a Summer blockbuster. Dialog and humor are good. The score is marvelous. There is a little sensuality, infrequent mild to moderate language, and a bit of violence and disturbing content in this. The DVD contains a funny and informative commentary track with Abrams and Cruise, a making of featurette that I will review on its page, deleted scenes and a tribute to the star. I recommend this to fans of those who made it. 7/10