When the need for certainty is absolute And the odds are deemed impossible The mission falls to him
Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt in the follow-up to 2023’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE and to start the week, Paramount Pictures has released a first poster and teaser for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING.
Official Synopsis: “Our lives are the sum of our choices. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.“
In 2024, Cruise appeared in the Paris 2024 Olympics closing ceremony to promote Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics, by jumping from the roof of the Stade de France stadium in Paris. He took the flag from Mayor Karen Bass and athlete Simone Biles to Hollywood.
As seen in the trailer, Cruise wears the same wardrobe as Ethan Hunt in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING that he did performing the epic stunt on August 11, 2024.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE sits at an impressive 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. The franchise has grossed over $4 billion worldwide, with MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT having the highest ticket sales with $220,159,104.
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, and produced by Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie, based on the television series created by Bruce Geller, composer Lorne Balfe returns to score the movie.
The film also stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga, Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Angela Bassett, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, Frederick Schmidt.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING opens in theaters on MAY 23, 2025.
Face front, true believers! We’re in the last few weeks of the year, so it’s time for family get-togethers, big feasts, and…one more excursion into the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Now this one is another virtual trek to a spot we’ve not seen in over four years. Mind you, we did lots of traveling in the previous MCU outings, from multiverses with Doctor Strange to outer space, and New Asgard, with Thor and his pals. Well, we’re pretty much back on “terra firma” now, although we’ll be diving into the lowest depths of the ocean to meet a new challenge. Did I mention that this is a follow-up to perhaps the most successful (in box office and awards) franchise of the non-group (those mighty Avengers) of the studio? But in those years a lot has changed. That’s because the returning cast is sadly incomplete for BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER.
As we open in that “hidden kingdom”, the unthinkable has occurred. Despite the determined efforts of beloved Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright), her mother Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) brings her the news that death has claimed brother T’Challa. And though the family mourns, the populace celebrates their fallen king. Life goes on as the story jumps to the following year. Ramonda addresses a meeting of nations. Its members are growing impatient with Wakanda as they want to get access to their precious Vibranium, which T’challa graciously offered to share years ago. At the same time, a mercenary band attacks a Wakandan research lab to take the metal. But instead, they find the elite Dora Milaje led by Okoye (Danai Gurira). And that’s not the end of the “colonizer’s quest”. At a mining station floating in the Atlantic, another team has detected Vibranium on the ocean floor with a new gizmo (seems that regular metal detectors don’t recognize it). As two divers descend in order to retrieve it something odd happens. The facility is under siege by fearsome warriors who rise up from the waves, led by a very strong airborne man. He later confronts Ramonda and Shuri near a Wakandan beach. We learn that he is Namor (Tenoch Huerta), the immortal ruler of the underwater kingdom of Talocan, who believes that they made the mining invention. After Ramonda assures him that they didn’t create the device, Namor issues an ultimatum. Bring him its designer or face his massive army. After he departs, the duo begins an expedition that will reunite them with US government agent Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and introduce them to young Cambridge University engineering savant Riri Williams (Dominque Thorne). But even with their assistance, along with old allies Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and M’Baku (Winston Duke), can Wakanda survive an attack from Namor’s formidable forces, without the leadership and strength of the Black Panther?
Wright is the first member of the royal family and is the dramatic focus of most of the film. Four years ago I remarked on how she almost stole all of her scenes in that first film. Here Wright ably embodies the heartbreak of her homeland as she struggles to forge ahead while dealing with”survivor’s guilt” and a sense that he’d be here if she only “pushed herself” further. Later we see her deal with an inner conflict of heroism and revenge, which Wright conveys with confidence. But that quality springs to mind when thinking of the “force of nature”, Bassett, as the grieving queen and “mother of us all” who will stand firm as the rest of the world tries to ‘steamroll” her legacy. She’s regal and majestic, but with her closest family and friends, we see her warmth. Though not introduced till the story’s midpoint, Nyong’o is compelling as the “almost queen” who deals with her loss privately but will step up to any enemy. And she (and the other Wakandans) have an intimidating foe in Namor, played with an otherworldly warrior’s grandeur by Huerta. When he softly issues threats to the royales, no bombastic blustering is needed. His intense glare shows that he’s not bluffing. And Huerta expertly handles the role’s physical requirements whether he’s digging his fingers into armored transports or hovering over his enemies. Comic relief is provided by the blustering Duke as the affable and arrogant M’Baku and Freeman as the befuddled and secretive Ross, who’s paired with a current comedic icon (no spoilers). Gurira still dominates the action sequences as Okoye, but she tempers the “ferocity” with a touch of sadness and her own regret as a new threat gets the “upper hand”.And Thorne is a terrific addition as Riri, a “fish out of water” who tries to temper her sense of wonder about the kingdom with the need to aid them and survive to create new scientific marvels (had to get that in).
Hey Marvel maniacs, here’s Namor AKA the Sub-Mariner from over eighty years ago in the pages of Timely Comics as rendered by his creator, Bill Everett! Imperious Rex!
Also returning in the director’s chair is Ryan Coogler, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Robert Cole. It’s a true challenge that Coogler dives into, going from a nation in mourning to a high sea, high-stakes battle between the “hidden realms”.There’s still that sense of mythic pageantry as Wakanda remains a compelling clash of golden mythology and near-magic high-tech wizardry. But he doesn’t turn away from the intimate dramatic moments as the family tries to heal their still-fresh wounds. The big action “set pieces” aren’t neglected (they’re well-done, indeed), but they’re spaced out with long stretches of dialogue-heavy exchanges in too many locales that may test the patience of many viewers in search of the stunt spectacles of the original (does the final battle need multiple flashbacks). Yes, it has pacing problems that threaten to dull the story’s dramatic impact. Part of the problem is the need to tell the backstory of Namor, which could’ve been explored in a spin-off film or a streaming miniseries. Yes, the Talocans have some nifty “bits of business”, from whale-riding to a hypnotic siren’s call, and Namor’s hummingbird-like ankle wings (and he darts through the sky like the critter), but it may add too much to the bloated 161-minute runtime. It all does honor the memory of the late star of the original (the revamped studio logo sets a melancholy mood), but the somber sequences and stop-and-start addled plot momentum weigh the end of Phase Four” and sink it down into the murky depths when BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER should soar.
3 out of 4
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER is now playing in theatres everywhere.
So on the big day what do you plan on doing after the presents under the tree have been unwrapped (or as with my household, discovered as you enter the living room from your bedroom)? I mean after having breakfast or brunch, what’s next? How about opening a really wonderful gift via modern entertainment tech? In those pre-Pandemic days, Christmas afternoon and evening was one of the busiest times for the ole’ multiplex. Now several areas have shuttered their theatres, while many folks are still skittish about heading to ones still open (at least till those vaccines become more accessible). And so the fine folks at Disney are making the newest release from their subsidiary Pixar available to watch at home through their streaming service. But this is no “cutie-pie” family flick romp. No, this is one of the studio’s most ambitious efforts, pondering mortality, destiny, talent, and all that’s part of everyone’s SOUL.
The soul at the heart of this story belongs to temp inner-city grade school band teacher Joe Gardner (voice of Jamie Foxx), who really longs to be a jazz pianist. After the ear-splitting practice ends, the school’s principal gives him some good news along with his paycheck. He’s now a full-time member of the faculty. Joe half-heartedly thanks her and rushes off to share this with the one person who will be thrilled about this permanent job: his mother Libba (Phylicia Rashad), who runs a neighborhood dress/tailor shop. She’s been telling him to get “steady” employment for years. But just then Joe gets a momentous phone call from a former student, now called Curley (Questlove). He’s the drummer for the highly respected Dorothea Williams jazz quartet, which is now a trio after their pianist dropped out of tonight’s “gig”. Could Joe run down to the club for a brief audition? Of course, Joe is a blur as he dashes away from the shop. He’s a bit intimidated by Ms. Williams (Angela Bassett), but she’s impressed enough. Leaving the club, Joe’s floating on a cloud…until he falls…through an open manhole. When he opens his eyes he’s now a fuzzy blue blob on an inclined moving walkway ending in a bright white light. The other “whatzits” tell him that they’re “old souls” headed for “The Great Beyond”. A now panicked Joe starts hurtling in the opposite direction because he’s got the big jazz “set’ that night. He makes his way to “The Great Before”, the home of “new souls” who can go to Earth and get a body once they’ve found their purpose or “spark”. Through the counselors (all named Jerry) he learns that each new soul is assigned to an old soul as a mentor. Hmm, maybe he could grab a “back to my body” pass that way. Joe grabs the ID badge of a Nordic professor and is given the oldest and most difficult of the new souls, number 22 (Tina Fey). After an encounter with some “mystics without borders” Joe finds a portal back home, but 22 accidentally takes the plunge. This begins a mortal mix-up causing calamity on both the physical and spiritual worlds.
A superb voice cast expertly compliments and even enhances the astounding visuals. Foxx is at his endearing best as Joe, a true everyman hero who often evokes the spirit of classic comedy icons. And he’s one of the few mature human protagonists of Pixar, though more excitable than Carl from UP and Bob Parr from the INCREDIBLES series. We hear the defeated resignation in his voice as he endures the band practice which quickly dissolves as one gifted trombonist momentarily lifts his spirit. Foxx conveys the quick shifts in Joe’s emotions, his nervous ticks, and unbridled joy in expressing his musical gifts. He has a surprisingly effective partner (who’d have thought of this comedic team) in Fey who balances her great “wiseacre” snark with a sour pessimism and a mischievous streak (you can’t turn your back on 22). There are some great supporting turns by two acting icons. Rashad and Bassett are tough taskmasters to Joe with Libba trying to bring him back to reality and Dorothea full of cool detachment as she demands his best. UK “chat show” host Graham Norton is a loony, loopy delight as the head “mystic’ always in the “zone”, Moonwind. Big kudos to the various versions of counselor Jerry (Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Wes Studi, Fortune Feimster, and others) and especially Rachel House as the “soul counter” Terry (“It doesn’t add up!”) who adds an extra layer of suspense and urgency to the frantic finale.
One of the frustrations of the Pandemic (although really minor compared to the loss of life and jobs) is the inability to see the incredible artistry of the various craftspeople projected on a huge screen (oh, for some IMAX please). Yes, it’ll look great in your home, I’m sure, but to be emersed in these created worlds would be pure film lovers’ bliss. Yes, both worlds are spectacular. The many scenes set on the city streets (thinking Brooklyn) capture the hustle and bustle in mind-blowing detail with crowded sidewalks and lurching traffic. But then the “soul scape” is truly out of this world with rolling hills and structures that defy space and gravity. Against these marvelous backgrounds are triumphs of character design. The “souls” (old and new) are part puffy clouds and cotton candy with a hazy “wispy” outline that still seems to have the proper “weight”. And somehow they work with the linear look of Terry and the Jerrys, two-dimensional beings that almost fold in on themselves who invoke the styles of Miro, Calder, and Picasso. But the human designs are just as delightful. Joe’s settling into “pear-shaped” middle age with his “bowling pin” body shape with little break between his head and neck except for this bump of a chin. We do get a funny animal character with the plump “support feline” Mr. Mittens who almost rolls from place to place. One particular standout character is Dez the barber whose head appears to be screwed into his buff T-shaped athletic build. All of these wonders are brought together by Pixar’s powerhouse Pete Doctor (of UP and INSIDE OUT) and co-directed by Kemp Powers, and both also wrote the nuanced script with Mike Jones, which delivers the laughs and “feels” while addressing so many adult (not “R” rated stuff) concerns and themes. Am I my talent? If I can’t get my dream job, then what? With the film’s setting in the world of jazz, the producers wisely got the piano superstar Jonathon Batiste to be Joe’s fingers and to augment the entrancing score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Some of the subject matter dealing with morality may be a bit heavy for the lil’ ones, but they’ll be entranced by the vivid visuals and the sweet playful “new souls”. At a time when lots of empty-headed slapstick promotes itself as family fare, Pixar again proves that true “all ages” entertainment doesn’t have to be “dumbed down” to the lowest denominator. It’s not merely a great animated film, but a great film, period. This is a gift that will propel your heart and SOUL.
4 Out of 4
SOUL streams exclusively on Disney+ beginning Christmas Day
Check out the new trailer from Disney and Pixar’s all-new original feature film “Soul,” which opens in U.S. theaters on June 19, 2020:
Joe Gardner is a middle-school band teacher who gets the chance of a lifetime to play at the best jazz club in town. But one small misstep takes him from the streets of New York City to The Great Before – a fantastical place where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before they go to Earth. Determined to return to his life, Joe teams up with a precocious soul, 22, who has never understood the appeal of the human experience. As Joe desperately tries to show 22 what’s great about living, he may just discover the answers to some of life’s most important questions.
Featuring the voices of Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Phylicia Rashad, Angela Bassett, Ahmir Questlove Thompson, Daveed Diggs, “Soul” is directed by Academy Award® winner Pete Docter (“Inside Out,” “Up”), co-directed by Kemp Powers (“One Night in Miami”) and produced by Academy Award nominee Dana Murray (Pixar short “Lou”). Globally renowned musician Jon Batiste will be writing original jazz music for the film, and Oscar®-winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (“The Social Network”), from Nine Inch Nails, will compose an original score that will drift between the real and soul worlds.
Oh no, those dreaded “back to school” commercials and sales flyers are suddenly popping up everywhere. Action film fans must realize that the Summer movie season will be over in a few short weeks. Serious cinema will be on its way post Labor Day. SKYSCRAPER was weeks away, while the return of Denzel as THE EQUALIZER may be too brutal for the pre-teen date crowds (it”s rated “R” for “really rough”). The superheroes have packed away their tights and capes for a few months. How about some spies, instead? Well, we won’t be seeing the “JB” duo, Bond and Bourne, anytime soon. So, blockbuster thriller fans will have to rely on another franchise, now in its 22nd year and its sixth installment. And all from a broadcast network TV show, which had a pretty good run of seven seasons, along with one of the greatest opening title music tracks ever (as instantly recognizable as Monty Norman’s 007 intro riff). Of course having one of the biggest movie stars of the last four decades helps. Multiplexes may need to install safety belts to their theatre seats as Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt to lead his IMF (Impossible Missions Force) in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE-FALLOUT.
This mission begins with Hunt (Cruise) getting his latest assignment via the signature device (a compact reel to reel tape deck) from the TV show (the second best holdover from the series other than Lalo Schifrin’s iconic theme). If course it’s “tricked-out” with a video projector and a pop-up needle to grab a blood sample ID (ouch). Hunt learns of the underground terror organization known as “the Apostles” and its mysterious leader “John Lark” (a phony name for an individual whose face is unknown). They plan to change civilazation through chaos (“the bigger the war, the bigger the peace”) and are targeting three cities with great religious significance (naturally). Seems that three globes of plutonium have been smuggled out of the former Soviet Union, and Lark has plans for them as part of three portable explosive devices. Ethan accepts the mission (was there any doubt) and soon his team, Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg), are posing as buyers for the globes. Unfortunately an unknown third party disrupts the dark alley deal, and the globes are “in the wind”. After a nifty bit of deception pulled on a radical scientist, the IMF learns that the globes are in Paris, the property of a lauded philanthropist/secret arms provider known as the “White Widow” (Vanessa Kirby). But just as Ethan’s boss, former CIA head Hunley (Alec Baldwin), is about to send Hunt to a meeting with the Widow, the current CIA director Sloan (Angela Bassett) arrives on the tarmac with her number one operative August Walker (Henry Cavill). Sloan informs Hunley that the president is tired of the IMF’s “Halloween” games, and since they lost the globes, the CIA will now take over. After some fast negotiations, the operation becomes a joint mission between the two agencies with Hunt and Walker now a team (the two are most reluctant ). The men continue to butt heads during the Paris meet, even as they are suddenly joined by a former acquaintance of Hunt’s, MI-6 agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), who we saw in the last film MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION. The quest for the deadly globes soon involves a former IMF foe, master terrorist Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) from MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL, and even Hunt’s former wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan). Perhaps the film’s subtitle should’ve been “Homecoming”.
The “golden boy”, who’s now 56, bounces back from his last two action flick disasters (AMERICAN MADE was a character “dramedy”, while THE MUMMY and the second Jack Reacher debacles stopped two franchises dead in their tracks), much as Ethan seems to bounces off any surface with the slightest of injuries (a limp that lasts seconds till he’s back to full flexibility). His ability to “sell” a stunt or “action gag” is still a marvel, but Cruise is no mere “mint” action figure toy. We get to see a bit more of what makes Hunt “tick”. Yes, he’s a confident, always charging (primo Cruise running meme material here) dynamo, but there’s an inner conflict. He doesn’t want to harm an innocent, or “civilian”, no matter the stakes . He’s paying a big price here for his humanity. His “missions” have cost him a new romance (with Ilsa or even the sultry Widow) and his former wife. Plus there’s the continued frustration of having his loyalties doubted via a really elaborate “frame”. Cruise shows us Hunt’s physicality and conflicted soul, which gives all the shooting, jumping, dangling, and punching an extra “oomph”. As for his teammates, Rhames also shows his warmer side, being more than just “the man in the van”. Unfortunately the gifted Pegg has less opportunity to showcase his comedic gifts in this outing, but he gets in on the stunts a bit more. Ferguson still generates some sparks with Cruise, as his female counterpart whose motives always seem questionable. She’s out for herself, despite the helping hand she offers. Baldwin’s an endearing “hard case”, who goes from strict taskmaster to supportive father-like mentor. Harris is pure dead-eyed evil, his words spitting from his beard like a snake’s venom-tipped tongue. Bassett is “cold as ice’ as the smooth, demanding rival. The great surprise here is Cavill, the man from Krypton who’s truly playing against type as the arrogant, back-stabbing (literally) ruthless Walker, almost the “anti-Ethan”. With his glaring eyes and thick mustache (no CGI there), he’s the bullying jock as ultimate blunt force weapon. Even though he’s on “our side”, he’s just as dangerous as any of the thugs and assassins.
Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie is another returning IMF vet having helmed the last installment (he’s the first director of two MI flicks). He keeps things moving at a brisk pace, improving on his work in ROGUE NATION (though the series best remains MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL from INCREDIBLES 2’s Brad Bird), making sure the time between action set pieces is brief. This is one film that requires you to get your snacks (and do your bathroom business) before it begins, so as to not take a chance on missing some incredible stunt work. As for the script, it doesn’t feel as though the plot was shoe-horned into said stunt scenes, rather it has a more natural flow. But, as with many entries in this franchise, there are a few too many double, triple and quadruple crosses, stretching plausibility for the team to predict and prepare for any outcome (one character actually says something close to “Why must it always be so difficult?”). And as said earlier, we just have to believe that Cruise and company have endless stamina and Wolverine-like healing abilities (if the FAST AND THE FURIOUS series can ignore the laws of gravity, then…). After all, audiences return again and again to see what crazy bits of derring-do will try and top previous installments. McQuarrie and crew promise thrills and they certainly deliver, along with gorgeous exotic locations and impeccably tailored heroes and villains. Right now, the biggest “bang for your buck”, action-wise is the sixth, but far from final dangerous assignment, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT. Somewhere the spirits of those first film action stars, Fairbanks, Keaton, and Lloyd must be pleased to see that the “thrill’ spectacles live on.
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 12: Tom Cruise attends the Global Premiere of ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ at Palais de Chaillot on July 12, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Kristy Sparow/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
An early review says, “Mission: Impossible — Fallout is one of the best action movies ever made.”
– David Ehrlich, IndieWire
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT had its premiere in Paris. France last week.
Stars Tom Cruise, Vanessa Kirby, Angela Bassett, Michelle Monaghant, Henry Cavill and Simon Pegg attended the Global Premiere of ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ at Palais de Chaillot on July 12, 2018. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 12: General atmosphere during the Global Premiere of ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ at Palais de Chaillot on July 12, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
Global Premiere of ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ at Palais de Chaillot on July 12, 2018 in Paris, France.
Watch the stars walk the red carpet at the world premiere of Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
Experience Mission: Impossible – Fallout in theatres, RealD 3D and IMAX on July 27, 2018.
The best intentions often come back to haunt you. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong. Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Vanessa Kirby also join the dynamic cast with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returning to the helm. Music is by Lorne Balfe.
ENTER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A PASS GOOD FOR TWO!
Date: July 23 at 7PM in the St. Louis area.
Answer the following:
What actor played IMF leader Jim Phelps in the original TV series?
Add you name, answer and email in our comments section below.
NO PURCHASE REQUIRED. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house.
Some missions are not a choice. Watch the official featurette from MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT starring Tom Cruise where he completes a High Altitude Low Open skydive jump from over 25,000 feet while the plane is travelling at 165mph.
It’s an insane stunt, but Cruise pulls it off – awesome!
The best intentions often come back to haunt you. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise – “Top Gun,” “American Made,” “The Mummy”) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin – “Saturday Night Live,” “The Boss Baby,” “Beetlejuice,” Simon Pegg – “Star Trek,” “Ready Player One,” Ving Rhames – “Pulp Fiction,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson – “The Greatest Showman,” ”The Girl on the Train,” Michelle Monaghan – “The Bourne Supremacy,” “The Heartbreak Kid”) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong.
Henry Cavill (“Justice League,” “Man of Steel”), Angela Bassett (“Black Panther,” “American Horror Story”), and Vanessa Kirby (“Me Before You,” “The Crown”) also join the dynamic cast with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie (“Jack Reacher”) returning to the helm.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT is in theatres July 27, 2018.
The new character posters for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT have arrived. Stars Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby and Alec Baldwin are featured.
The best intentions often come back to haunt you. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong. Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Vanessa Kirby also join the dynamic cast with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returning to the helm.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT is in theatres July 27, 2018
Paramount Pitures has released a killer new trailer for director Christopher McQuarrie’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT, starring Tom Cruise. Check it out below.
The best intentions often come back to haunt you. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong. Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Vanessa Kirby also join the dynamic cast.
The latest chapter is produced by Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, Jake Myers and J.J. Abrams.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT is in theatres July 27, 2018.
What’s all the commotion rolling out of the hallways down at the multiplex? Could it be a celebration? Well definitely, since it’s the first new Marvel Studios release of this year, a much earlier release than ever, just a touch over six weeks into the new year (a long way from the first weekend of May, usually considered the start of the Summer movie season). That’s sure to bring a smile to theater owners, who know that this is the start of Marvel Studios’ tenth year. In 2008 IRON MAN blasted out of that old white and red logo to usher in a new age of superhero spectaculars. And which one of their beloved characters is leading the big 2018 parade? Those trumpet blasts can only mean one thing: royalty. Not content to repeat themselves (although Marvel’s the new leader in tent pole franchises), they’re branching into different genres and settings. ANT-MAN was a buddy heist comedy, while DOCTOR STRANGE delved into magic by leading us through lots of weird, “trippy” dimensions. And those “a-holes”, the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, expanded the Marvel Universe even further by taking us on a pop-tuned filled adventure in the cosmos. Well, we’re not reaching for the stars this time, but we’re exploring a fantastic land hidden from the rest of planet Earth. And our hero is indeed royalty, a man we met as a supporting player nearly two years ago. Next stop on the Marvel movie express: Wakanda, a country governed and protected by T’Challa…the BLACK PANTHER.
The story begins with a father telling a story, one thousands of years old. The land of Wakanda in Africa is fought over by four feuding tribes until a meteor crash lands. At its core is the mysterious substance known as Vibrainium a source of technological wonders. The rock affects a local plant which produces a serum that gives the enhanced abilities of the panther. The head of the royal family drinks the serum and becomes the land’s guardian, the Black Panther, who brings peace to the different tribes. The Panther role is passed on, generation to generation, over the centuries. The story jumps forward, not to today, but to Stockton, California, USA circa 1992. An angry young Wakandan, N’Jobu (Sterling K. Brown) is amassing an arsenal in his run-down apartment, with help from his friend James (Denzel Whitaker). A flash of light and suddenly the current Black Panther, T’Chaka, along with two of his elite security guards, known as the Dora Milaje, face the stunned duo. This tragic confrontation will have repercussions in the present day. Speaking of which, we’re back in the present as the new Black Panther, T”Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is on a secret midnight mission with the leader of the Milaje, Okoye (Danai Gurira). Their cloaked flying battleship is tracking a truck convoy filled with kidnapped Wakandan women. But one of the taken is a highly trained spy, Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), who’s also a former flame of T”Challa. This occupies his thoughts along with the recent death of his father T’Chaka at the hands of master terrorist Zemo (which put events in motion that played out in 2016’s CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR). At the mission’s end they return to Wakanda for the ceremony that will crown T’Challa the new king.
The first appearance of the Black Panther from Fantastic Four #52, 1966
Across the globe, in a London museum, Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) is causing a scene at a display of tribal items from Africa. This distraction is put of an elaborate robbery by Ulysses Klau (Andy Serkis) and company (you may recall his painful encounter with Ultron in the second Avengers epic). They escape with a hammer head made of Vibranium. Word gets back to T’challa, and soon he, along with Okoye and Nakia, is headed to Korea to stop the piece’s purchase and bring Klau to justice. At a shady casino they encounter undercover CIA agent Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), who insists that T’challa’s team stand down (Ross had met him two years ago). Klau arrives, mayhem ensues, and, after a wild chase through the streets, the criminal is captured. But not for long. Turns out that Killmonger was using Klau to achieve a more lofty goal. The young master assassin is on his way to Wakanda to challenge T’Challa for the throne. Despite his skill, can T’Challa defeat the American mercenary and retain his title?
Boseman, finally getting to play a fictional film hero (Jackie Robinson, James Brown, and Thurgood Marshall comprise a terrific trio), brings a sense of humanity to the protector king. T’Challa has changed quite a bit from the grieving son thirsting for the blood of the Winter Soldier, maturing into a leader seeking justice rather than revenge. Boseman handles his action sequences with great agility and a dancer’s grace. But his king is a man much like all of us. He stammers around his former love and agonizes over his homeland’s role in the world. Nyong’o is dazzling as that rekindled love who’s a skilled champion in her own right. Her ultimate goal isn’t sharing the throne with T’Challa, rather she wishes to explore and right wrongs. Her Nakia has a sly sense of humor that enhances her compassion. Plus she’s a terrific partner not only to T’Challa, but also to Gurira’s Okoye whose retorts are nearly as sharp and deadly as her teched-out spear. While leading the Dora Milaje, she a most fearsome force of nature. Though she spends most of her time in the lab, the most essential woman in support of the king may be his younger sibling Shuri played with charm and energy by the scene-stealing Letitia Wright. She’s up for any challenge, always enthusiastic about some new gadget she’s crafted from the multi-purpose Vibrainium (Flubber’s got nothing on it). And her scenes with Boseman truly crackle with good humor. It’s as if James Bond’s tech wiz was his teasing kid sister, who beams with pride as she delights in “taking the piss” out of him. As for the other members of “Team Wakanda”, Angela Bassett projects a noble dignity as widowed Queen Ramonda, while Forest Whitaker is a most patient sage advisor as Zuri, uncle and consul to the king. GET OUT’s Daniel Kaluuya is impressive as W’Kabi another aid to T’Challa (and husband to Okoye), who doesn’t always see eye to eye with old childhood friend.
Opposing T’Challa and his team is Jordan as the menacing Eric Killmonger, full of swagger who strikes out unexpectedly like a springing poisonous snake. His casual air, boasting like ambitious rap star, masks his lofty aspirations and hides the pains of his past. When his dead-eyed stare erupts into a snarl, Jordan makes a villain worthy to challenge the hero. Although he doesn’t appear to be having quite as much fun as Serkis as the gleeful poaching pirate Klaus. He’s a party animal out for profit, destroying anything in his way via the sonic Vibranium cannon that replaced his left arm. They guy just seems to love his work, especially as he thumbs his nose at those who would stop him. Aside from T’Challa that’s mainly the always wonderful Freeman as the prickly, exasperated Ross, a by the book lawman who’s irked by these super-folk. Later on, he proves a valuable ally and a good audience stand-in as he gasps at the wonders of this hidden high-tech paradise. Speaking of surprising allies, kudos to Winston Duke as the imposing and hilarious leader of the “ape tribe”, M’Baku.
Director and co-screenwriter (working with Joe Robert Cole) Ryan Coogler has crafted an action-packed thrill ride fantasy, that, as the best of the Marvel Studios movies, has a lot to say about our modern world. The film’s hero is determined and more than a tad conflicted. Should his land join the planet or remain hidden, their achievements only benefitting its citizens rather than saving lives outside its holographic walls?Isolationism isn’t generally a theme in popcorn superhero flicks, which adds to this story’s emotional heft. And it doesn’t detract from the spectacular stunt work and bracing battle scenes. I was surprised to feel so uneasy during the last act “throw-down” because I truly cared about the people of this fictitous country, they weren’t merely toys to be tossed about the jungle. In addition to the superb cast, script, and director, the many artists that created this world deserve a lion’s share of laurels. Unlike the dark and murky films from another super-hero studio (the “Distinguished Competition” as Stan Lee would say), the visuals here truly dazzle the senses, the colorful costuming gives new meaning to “eye candy” (it may have sparked a new hybrid, “Afro-futuristic”). I can imagine pausing the eventual Blu-ray to savor all the gowns and sparkling jewelry. And the towering cities of the country are as awe-inspiring as any part of glorious Asgard from the Thor series. Wakanda now joins Shanga-La and Middle Earth as cinematic “dream destinations”. Though it’s early in the movie year, I can’t imagine the production team not getting a well-earned Oscar nomination for their inspired work that’s a great tribute to the art of comics co-creator Jack “King” Kirby. Along with a majestic soaring music score from Ludwig Goransson, the newest Marvel entry shows the studio moving forward, never content to merely rest on their impressive previous hits. And from the trailer for the next Avengers extravaganza, looks like we’ll have to wait just months rather than years for another adventure in the astounding world of Wakanda and its ruler, the BLACK PANTHER.
