Review by Bryce Zabel
We're taking a look at a couple of sequels to secret agent spy thriller franchises here. Think about this: if they numbered the Bond franchise the same way they number the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, "Die Another Day" would have been titled, "James Bond XX" because it is the 20th installment in 40 years (if you don't count "Casino Royale").
There's no question that this latest "Mission: Impossible" is the best film made in the franchise to-date. The first one's most impossible mission was asking the audience to actually understand what was going on. This one is pretty clear, and it's got the best sense of characterization to-date under director J.J. Abrams who, with "Alias" shutting down and "Lost" ramping up, is on a real roll.
"I may, possibly, have forgotten to mention that my job can be a little demanding."
Now a lot has been made of the new direction in the Bond franchise, but "Die Another Day" was the swan song for Pierce Brosnan as Bond, retiring him just around the time I started buying him completely in the role. No matter. Buying him completely in the role is not the same as buying into the franchise. Honestly, I'd started checking out on the absurdist Bond paradigm about five movies ago.
"You haven't lived until you've made love on broken glass. Martini?"
There is not a lick of reality in "Die Another Day" but there wasn't a lick of reality in any of the James Bond movies going all the way back to the days when Sean Connery wore the tuxedo. This is not to say that there's much reality to anything that happens in "Mission: Impossible III" either. The difference, though, is that "M:i:III" feels like there are real consequences to the things that happen. When people get tortured, you squirm. With Bond, it's always time for a wink and a humor line. Even the stunts in the "Mission: Impossible" franchise feel less like set-pieces to amaze (although they do that) but more like dangerous, death-defying acts taken under extreme circumstances. Bond's always anticpated larger-than-life stunts always seem like larger-than-life stunts and nothing more.
We have a different level of expectation for our spy films these days, too. "The Bourne Identity" and its sequel "The Bourne Supremacy" are closer in tone to "Mission: Impossible III" and that sense of authentic danger seems more in tune with our times. Bond seems like a throwback.
Also, if you put James Bond in a foot-race with Ethan Hunt, Hunt takes it by a mile. Man, can that guy run! Tom Cruise is in superb shape and he runs at a full-sprint through practically every location in this film. You can't fake that with a computer. I definitely need to get to the gym tomorrow.
Here's my bottom line. I'm just worn out on the James Bond franchise. It's tired, old and unbelievable. It's possible I may end up checking out Daniel Craig's new Bond for one of these reviews, but my heart won't be in it.
So this Smackdown goes by a wide margin to "Mission: Impossible III." The thing is, I do accept its mission. Go see this movie and you won't be disappointed.
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