[NoHo Arts District, CA] – This month’s movie and TV reviews by Mike Peros are on Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning and The Phoenician Scheme.
Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Sometimes, a movie series can leave you wanting more—and sometimes, not. (The Godfather, Part III immediately comes to mind.) In the case of Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning, from director Christopher McQuarrie (who co-wrote the screenplay with Erik Jendresen) one can honestly hope this is it. It’s not that it’s a bad valedictory, it just drags, especially in the first half which intersperses the occasional action scene with plenty of veneration for the indefatigable Tom Cruise/Ethan Hunt. (The first ten minutes, with its clips from previous movies in the series, reminded me of John Wayne and The Shootist in its establishment of the hero’s moral fiber.) There’s also plenty of contemplation and philosophizing over past misdeeds, painful consequences, loyalty, and accountability—which would be fine if it were gracefully incorporated into what should be a suspenseful, pulse-pounding scenario. However, these grind the action to a halt (the movie depends on the notion that you have a lot of love for these characters) and things don’t really get going till the second half.
The plot, such as it is, involves Cruise’s Ethan coming in from the cold to prevent the Entity (AI gone seriously awry) from accomplishing its goal of mass destruction. There’s a key in Ethan’s possession, the smiling villain (Esai Morales) who wants the key to control the Entity, some impatient government officials with a grudge, the President (Angela Bassett) who has faith in Ethan, and not the least, Ethan’s team (effectively played by Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Hayley Atwell, and Pom Klementieff) who remain invaluable and loyal (even if they could be given more to do, and a little bit more humor and substance to do it with). The early action scenes are staged well enough, and an underwater sequence begins well, but like the thrilling airplane sequence that provides the film’s climax, feels protracted, thus diluting its impact. So I say, if this is indeed the Final Reckoning, let it remain final—so as to conserve Cruise’s energies for the next Top Gun.
The Phoenician Scheme
Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, with its surfeit of bright, strikingly composed shots, stylized filmmaking, quirky humor and deadpan performances (from an all-star cast including cameos from Anderson stalwarts Bill Murray and Willem Dafoe), proves an agreeable way of spending roughly 100 minutes. Benicio del Toro stars as Zsa-zsa Korda, a tycoon/profiteer with a crate of hand grenades at his disposal (for gifts—and whatever), and is in the middle of finalizing the biggest scheme of his life—albeit a life that is on the brink of being ended at any moment, as he is the eternal target of assassination attempts that he has a knack for surviving. Mia Threapleton plays his religious daughter Liesl (as in a nun) who is prevailed upon by Dad to take over his empire—one in serious jeopardy once the government actively sabotages his finances, creating shortfalls which Korda to meet with each of his partners/investors (including Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Jeffrey Wright) to salvage the “scheme” and enable Korda to emerge with his wealth (and scheme) still intact. But “it don’t come easy” as the attempts still continue (a running gag has Korda assure everyone they needn’t worry—followed by possible catastrophe). There are several humorous, offbeat scenes, such as the competition that del Toro’s Korda proposes to persuade Hanks and Cranston’s characters to comply, and some good work from del Toro, Threapleton (whose character convincingly grapples with internal conflicts regarding faith and family), and particularly Michael Cera, as a fumbling, earnest tutor with a theatrical accent and a secret of his own. What gives the movie added weight is how the film deals with mortality and redemption, as Korda (who no doubt has done a number of damnable things in his past) is gradually changed by Liesl’s inherent goodness (and a number of near-death experiences) to embark on the road to redemption. In the context of the ‘anything goes’ atmosphere of the movie, it fits well enough. I’ll let you be the judge.