Fantastic Action Movie

Rating: 9/10 (22 June 2006)

Along with Bad Boys II and M:i-2, this movie is one of the greatest action movies of the millennium. The problem with most new films is their level of complexity. For example, V for Vendetta left you thinking if terrorism is right or not. And that's great. It's propaganda, really. Why not send a message to kids via their favorite form of entertainment- an action movie? That's all good and all, but Mission Impossible is a die hard action movie (no pun intended). Instead of making you pondering like a woman, this film makes you go "whoa". I won't lie, it's straight up kicking ass. What action movies were made for.
The scenery is far from bland. You will travel to Berlin, to Shanghai, to Suburbia, and to the Vatican. The action is phenomenal. From jumping off buildings to dodging missiles to good ol' fashioned shootouts and fistfights, Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt does every feat desired in an action flick, but done in new ways and shot in a unique fashion, due to director JJ Abram's contemporary style.
The entire film seems like "24" meets the TV show "Mission Impossible". The scenes in IMF (Impossible Mission Force) mirror 24's CTU (Counter-Terrorism Unit) and some of the combat seems like it was on 24 before; the way the missions are accomplished in this one feel like they are of the old show. The entire squad uses one another to get the job done. In the first and especially the second Mission Impossible, the entire mission seemed to be carried out by Ethan Hunt. The camera tricks Abram uses also feels like the old TV show.
Since I want to be spoiler free, I'll leave out some juicy details. But let me say a few words- the acting is fantastic, although some characters are complicated. Laurence Fishburne and his assistant really shine, and Tom Cruise pulls some tears. From his face, not mine. But nevertheless, a decent job done by the cast.
Then there are some bad issues. It gets pretty unrealistic. The opening scene is out of place (literally), and I don't know why. The opening credit's rendition of the theme song sucked, and the credits were really, really fast. Maybe two seconds per card. For some reason, we let immigrants work at IMF. There's an Australian (or something) working at the HQ, and a Chinese woman as a field agent.
Overall, I give this film an A.