E Unit

Caught the IMAX showing this morning. Overall, this was very entertaining if not requiring a suspension of disbelief. Unlike stroszeck, I feel this deserves the positive buzz/love. I will agree the dialogue could have been trimmed down on the cheese, but it didn't completely take away from what was going on. I liked that Pegg was used a lot more in this, and not only for comic relief. Bird did a great job for his first time out directing live action. The sequences in Dubai and Mumbai was very well done. The gadgets used were very cool, if a bit silly, especially during the Kremlin sequence. The Dubai tower scenes made it worth watching in IMAX, and although Cruise did his own stunts in it, seeing him 1 mile above the ground just made it look unreal. And I never caught any "romantic" anything between Cruise and Patton's character's, except in one instance where it was intentional to get someone else to make a move. I'd rank this as my favorite, about par with the first, although the stunts alone trump that one.

Oh, and I'll keep it to just this regarding Dark Knight Rises, but the opening sequence in IMAX was pretty damn good. Unlike most who have been looking at the stuff online already, watching this in IMAX really hyped me for it. And yes, I could understand Bane, except for a couple of sentences.

Julie Walker

I saw this last night, which was a nice surprise since it wasn't planned originally and I didn't expect to see it until after Christmas with my busy work schedule. But I saw an ad in the paper for a theater showing it on their super large screen, and decided to take a chance on it being my birthday and all.

The funny thing is the ad only listed a 9 p.m. and midnight showing of the film, and yet the website also listed a 6 p.m. showing. So I went to the 6 p.m. showing and only a couple other people were there, and it was pretty cool having this huge theater nearly to myself since most people were probably unaware of the 6 p.m. showing. The price was also much better than the 'fake' Imax showing at an AMC theater demanding $16 for a ticket vs the $10 I spent at this other theater.

Anyway, the film was really entertaining and I had a good time and am glad I saw it. The action scenes were pretty amazing, and the Dubai tower segment was pretty impressive. And I highly recommend fans of the series to check the film out.

I'm not sure where I would place it in the series so far, but I've enjoyed all the films except part 2, yet still think the first film is the best. I'll have to revisit them all sometime and see if my opinion of part 2 changes for example, since I only saw that once when released and hated it at the time.

Speaking of the previous films. If anyone cares, the out of print Ultimate Missions set has shown up on both dvd and blu-ray at some Wal-mart locations, with the dvd set being $19.96. It's a much better deal(and more compact) compared to the similarly priced new trilogy set that lacks various extra features the ultimate missions set contains. I was planning to re-watch the entire series over a few weeks before seeing the new film, but I just haven't had time to get to them yet, and couldn't pass up seeing the new film once I had the chance.

Supermallet

Um, what? I don't think you were watching the film very closely. There is no romantic link between Patton and Cruise. He kisses her once to attract the attention of a mark in a mission.

Rypro 525

if non imax specialty screens means the AMC 'fake imax' then yes the aspect ratio does shift

edstein

Saw the IMAX show last night. The scenes at the hotel were amazing. Action sequences were all over the top but that's what I want in a movie like this. Apple and BMW product placement was a little overdone though. Overall very entertaining movie.

TheMovieman

Going to see this tomorrow in IMAX (my first one). It's a fake one but there are only a few in Oregon (and I'm not willing to travel 3-4 hours roundtrip to see this movie).

Giles

I'd assumed that fake imax would, how about Cinemark's XD screen and Rave's Xtreme screen? (since the latter two feature 7.1 discrete surround sound and IMAX doesn't)

Mittman

Just got back from a true IMAX screening. Loved it. Best of the entire series in my opinion. Absolutely worth seeing this season.

Giles -- I know you're a DC guy -- go all the way out to the Air and Space Museum in Chantilly. Seeing the Dubai scene in FULL IMAX is totally worth the drive.

bluetoast

Saw this in Chantilly earlier tonight...totally agree about the Dubai scene being worth the price of admission. I haven't seen the first one in years, but at this point I'd say Ghost Protocol is the best of the series. On the drive over, I was wondering if they would return to the "masks" from that movie, and was pleasantly surprised to see them attempting it this time around.

Solid Snake

The masks? They do that in every film...or what do you mean?

bluetoast

Oh I basically forgot most of the 2nd and 3rd movies, so I didn't remember that they were utilized. But going back to the new one, I want to say that yeah, like other reviewers have said, Brad Bird really knows his stuff when it comes to action sequences. Also the gadgets were pretty cool, I liked the projection in the Kremlin especially. And that explosion was really well done, it seemed better than recent movie explosions for some reason, if that makes sense. Was it model work, or maybe because it was crumbling and imploding as well...something about it made it seem realistic.

Solid Snake

Ah.

Dr. DVD

Saw this in IMAX and overall really liked it. My only gripe was that you could tell when a major sequence was going to happen because the IMAX screen suddenly got all full. Also, like many action movies, this seemed like a bunch of pre-planned sequences with a plot created to tie them together as opposed to the other way around.

Patman

This is a big action flick with some bits of personal motivations sprinkled throughout to keep us invested in the newly put together IMF team. It's filled with spectacle and moves rather briskly, almost too briskly, but I still appreciated the pacing as it could have settled into a maudlin tone otherwise. I saw it on IMAX and the larger IMAX footage on the screen does work to bring you along right into the various action sequences and the sound system delivered on the kinetic and dramatic impact of the audio from explosions, and collisions.

Director Brad Bird has a nice visual eye and it shows in his live-action debut by appreciating the scope of the perilous situations and giving the viewer enough visual evidence to heighten the dramatic tension. Tom Cruise brings his reliable portrayal of Ethan Hunt, and the script saddles him and his team (Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg) with challenges that rarely go as planned, a final objective that is nigh impossible to achieve, and that keeps things flowing.

It's sheer movie entertainment, delivered on its promise and premise of the Mission Impossible franchise, and will be a crowd pleaser for the holiday audiences.

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.

asianxcore

Saw this on Saturday with my g/f in IMAX. We both loved it.

It was over the top but that's what we wanted

TheMovieman

Yep, fantastic movie. Loved the opening credits showing select shots from the movie (they hadn't done that since the first MI), the call back to the original series at the end and just the all around action was intense. Good choice bringing in Bird and hopefully he, as well as the rest of the cast, come back as well as they had great chemistry.

4.5/5

Throwing Copper

Sorry to interrupt the thread, but I've never been to an IMAX theater before.

What is the difference between the MI4 we'll see on a regular screen compared to the IMAX version.


Is it just a wider screen/lens where you see more of the action?

thanks in advance.

Patman

For the non-Imax footage, the film will be displayed in the regular aspect ratio as the regular theaters, but when the Imax footage is being projected, the top and bottom parts of the displayed image will fill the screen for a more immersive image on the Imax screen.

fumanstan

I watched it in the "real" IMAX theater here in Irvine and it was definitely worth the $18 ticket. I think #1 is still my favorite in the series, but I've enjoyed them all, even #2. Some of the negative stuff that kept it from being my favorite was already mentioned previously, specifically the lack of an interesting villain and decent motive for everything that was happening, which to me was capped off by a somewhat poor end. Some of the action scenes go on a bit too long like the sandstorm chase, and they're definitely over the top, but nothing too distracting or pulls you from the movie.

Still, like everyone else said the IMAX screens absolutely breathtaking; the Dubai scene on the tower is worth the price of admission, and watching the pans as Ethan climbs the tower in the large IMAX screen and aspect ratio was pretty much the coolest thing i've seen in the IMAX theater, and i've caught a ton of movies there in the past. Loved the opening credits as well, that was really well done.

As for Cruise/Patton

Toddarino

I plan on checking this out but it's gonna be a while. Is Ving Rhames in the movie at all? I liked his character in the first three, but I haven't seen his name mentioned anywhere.

E Unit

Giles

so, um... I'm confused, for the 15/70 IMAX screens - the IMAX shot scenes fill the entire (4:3 aspect ratio) screen or did Brad Bird shot those scenes in 1.85 (which would result in the image having black borders above and below the image) ??

bluetoast

The IMAX shot scenes (in 15/70) filled the entire IMAX screen. When those scenes ended, the aspect ratio switched back to 2.35:1 (what was shot on 35 mm). There was one scene near the beginning where the black borders "slid into place" on the top and bottom (instead of a straight cut), and the aspect ratio slowly changed to 2.35:1 that way, and I'm guessing they still used the 15/70 stock for that.

Throwing Copper

My own mother, who doesn't like action movies, but used to love going to see anything with Tom Cruise.............said I really can't stand him now, he'll ruin the movie.

Look, he's probably just another good dude that fell in with the wrong crowd (aka: a batshit religious cult).

fumanstan

Religious cult always sounds like an oxymoron to me.