Mission Impossible(1996) - Good Enough To Build A Franchise Around?

Darren: 00:00:00

The missions in Ocean's Eleven are more impossible than the missions in Mission Impossible.

And I probably would have said that his camera can be quite masturbatory.

Marc: 00:00:09

What do you mean by that?

Darren: 00:00:11

He just brings attention to himself all the time.

Look at me playing with my camera.

Marc: 00:00:26

Hello and welcome to Movies in a Nutshell.

With me, Marc Farquhar, myself, Darren Horn,.

Paul: 00:00:31

And I, Paul Day.

Marc: 00:00:32

Here's why you should tune in every week.

Darren: 00:00:33

We help you make better movie choices on films you haven't seen with quick spoiler free breakdowns to help you decide if they're your kind of movie.

Paul: 00:00:40

And we help you get more from the movies you have seen with things you missed and details you probably didn't notice.

Marc: 00:00:45

Plus there's movie facts, trivia and behind the scenes stories.

Paul: 00:00:48

There's also your chance to choose the movie.

Marc: 00:00:50

So grab some popcorn and let's crack open this week's movie.

Okay.

Welcome back to the show.

king about Mission Impossible: 1996

I chose it because I am fascinated by this.

I, I like the idea of this franchise, but I'd never seen any, so I thought that's crazy.

I've seen bits of Mission Impossible 2 because Metallica did the soundtrack for it.

Then I ended up watching parts of it and it was.

I remember it being on TV once and I watched like a section of it.

Paul: 00:01:23

But I thought you were gonna say you just saw the bits in the music video.

Marc: 00:01:26

I have seen parts of the movie and subsequently social media and stuff.

I've seen clips, but no, I've not seen.

This was my first taste of this.

But before we begin, the listener choice for October is now open.

So if you would like to suggest a movie for our listener choice for this month, send them in, we'll add them to our wheel of randomness and hopefully yours will be this month's pick.

We'll remind you again at the end.

Don't worry if you forget.

Okay, so Mission Impossible.

Let's start with the nutshell.

As always.

How do you describe this, Darren?

Paul: 00:01:56

I think I've got this one.

Marc: 00:01:57

Oh, God, Paul.

Paul: 00:01:59

It's a mission that can't be done because it's impossible.

Marc: 00:02:02

Oh, I see where you went there.

Paul: 00:02:04

Yeah.

It's basically nutshelled boom.

Darren: 00:02:06

Like a spy thriller noir.

It's.

It feels like a.

It feels like a 70s movie get.

Which is kind of nice because it's based kind of loosely on the TV show that was.

Was that.

I feel like that was 70s, so that might have been 80s.

Marc: 00:02:20

What the original TV show.

Paul: 00:02:21

Yeah, it was 60s.

Marc: 00:02:22

60S, I think.

Yeah.

I think it spanned both Martin Landau.

Paul: 00:02:26

And Cole, wasn't it?

Darren: 00:02:27

So, yeah, it's a spike thriller noir.

Now, you could also compare it to something like the Ocean's Thirteen, Ocean's Eleven series, rather.

Marc: 00:02:34

1996, Directed by Brian De Palma.

As he.

I never.

Until this, I'd never heard of him.

Darren: 00:02:40

He's part of the American New Wave, kind of brat pack of directors.

He came up with Spielberg and Scorsese and Francis Coppola and George Lucas and people like that.

Marc: 00:02:50

Okay.

Darren: 00:02:51

And he's got a. I'm sure he'd mentioned him before because I tend to.

Marc: 00:02:55

I think.

Yeah, I've heard the name before on here.

Darren: 00:02:57

Yeah.

And I probably would have said that his camera can be quite masturbatory.

Marc: 00:03:02

What do you mean by that?

Darren: 00:03:03

That he just brings attention to himself all the time.

Look at me playing with my camera.

Look.

Let's see if the camera can go over here.

It's just.

Marc: 00:03:10

Okay.

Darren: 00:03:11

It's any movie I watch of his, I'm like, okay, yeah, I know, I know, I know.

It's a movie.

You don't need to keep reminding me.

Marc: 00:03:18

Like De Palma.

I can see what you're doing.

Darren: 00:03:20

Yeah.

There's no kind of trying to let you get sucked into the movie and just forget you're watching a movie.

Marc: 00:03:24

So what else would he be known for?

As well.

As well as this?

Paul: 00:03:27

Lots of thrillers, doesn't he?

Darren: 00:03:28

Yeah.

Paul: 00:03:29

What's his main one?

The Untouchables.

Darren: 00:03:30

I would say.

Untouchables, my.

Well, Untouchables is a masterpiece.

But one of my favorite or guilty pleasures is Snake Eyes with Nick.

Yeah.

Paul: 00:03:38

Is that about gambling and stuff?

Darren: 00:03:39

Yeah.

Gary Sinise, it's.

Paul: 00:03:41

I feel I've thrifted it.

Always wanted to watch it, but never quite got around to it.

Marc: 00:03:45

I boiled this down to.

I've put this as a spy action thriller about secret agents, espionage, deception and betrayal.

Paul: 00:03:50

Yeah, that's good.

And let's not forget the fact that at this moment in time, if you say Mission Impossible, someone.

They think of Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.

But at this point, when this came out in 96, this was a remake of a TV show.

And it was very much in the vein of when they were remaking all the TV shows from the past.

So, yeah, Saint was around then.

Was that about 96 as well?

The Saint, the one with Val Kilmer, which is a guilty pleasure of mine,.

Marc: 00:04:15

Gotta say, that's a remake of the classic TV show.

Paul: 00:04:18

There was the Avengers.

Okay.

That is Pretty bad, I'll give you that.

With Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes.

Yeah.

So there was lots of remakes of classic TV shows coming out at this time.

So this was one of the big budget ones.

Marc: 00:04:32

And it was before.

Before, like the Born Identity or anything.

Any kind of films as well.

So.

Paul: 00:04:36

Yeah, way before that.

Well, I say way before.

It felt like it was way before back then, but 96.

I mean, I was gonna say it's.

Marc: 00:04:41

A long time ago.

Paul: 00:04:42

Four or five years before Born came out.

Marc: 00:04:44

30 Years ago.

Paul: 00:04:45

Oh, yeah.

Now it is.

Marc: 00:04:46

Yeah.

Wow.

Paul: 00:04:47

to: 9098

Oh, God, that film was miles after that one.

And then you look at the thing.

Marc: 00:04:59

Right close to each other.

Paul: 00:04:59

No, actually, Tom Cruise bashed out like 10 films in that period.

Marc: 00:05:03

Yeah.

Paul: 00:05:03

And now you think, I don't know, time speeded up.

Marc: 00:05:06

So should we go over the basic plot?

Paul: 00:05:08

We can give a rough idea, I suppose, without being too spoilery.

Marc: 00:05:11

So, like, an agent finds himself pretty much on the outside of his organization.

Darren: 00:05:15

Yeah, yeah, it's kind of a.

Well, it's a murder mystery, so.

Marc: 00:05:19

Yeah, there's a lot of mystery involved.

Paul: 00:05:20

Yeah, there's a murder mystery and there's also kind of a chase for a MacGuffin, as you would say, which in this case is some kind of list that would release things about information about spies to the world.

So they have to get hold of this McGuffin list, which is called the Knock List.

Marc: 00:05:36

It's a.

Well, Trav.

Path about the.

There's the thing that everyone wants that's gonna do this or it's gonna do that.

Like the list or the disc or the download or the.

Paul: 00:05:44

Or the jewel or the jewel or Indiana Jones films.

The Grail or something like any of.

Marc: 00:05:48

The state with the.

The disc or the footage of the.

The death that's trying to be covered over.

Paul: 00:05:54

Actually, that there's a lot of Enemy of the State in this.

It's.

It's got that kind of vibe, hasn't it?

And, you know, Enemy of the state was 98.

So we're very much in 90s thriller.

Marc: 00:06:02

With like espionage and corruption at the center of it.

But it keeps you.

It's another film.

It keeps you guessing.

You're not quite sure.

Paul: 00:06:09

Yeah, there's.

Marc: 00:06:10

Who can he trust?

Who's involved?

Who's not involved?

Who's on his side, who's against him?

Paul: 00:06:13

And this one more so than.

So some of the Listeners might have seen later Mission Impossible films or they might have seen bits of them like you.

I think the original idea was they were going to try and do a different tone with each one.

Marc: 00:06:26

Right.

Paul: 00:06:27

So the idea of this one was we'll get Brian De Palma in.

Let's have a thriller and an espionage and kind of recreate the.

Marc: 00:06:32

So does he not direct all of them?

Paul: 00:06:34

No, no.

So the.

The second one is John Woo.

Marc: 00:06:36

Oh, yes.

I do remember that he was the.

Paul: 00:06:38

Big action director at the time.

So it's all very much slow motion, motorbike chases.

It's all big on the action, which is very different to this one.

Marc: 00:06:47

Also had Limp Bizkit as the.

Paul: 00:06:50

Quite possibly.

Marc: 00:06:51

Yeah, the metal version of it.

That was good, that.

Paul: 00:06:56

Yeah.

So it all went quite big.

Blockbuster in the second one, which is often said as the weakest of the series.

Again, Gilly Pleasure, but.

And then J.J. abrams jumped in for Mission Impossible 3, which kind of brid the gap between the two.

And then I think by 4, which was Ghost Protocol, was Brad Bird, I want to say, kind of started getting a bit more like the first one again.

And then I think Chris McQuarrie joined after that one.

I'm doing all this off the top of my head.

And Chris McQuarrie, I think the first one he did was called Rogue Nation from.

Marc: 00:07:26

Yes, that was: 2015

That keeps coming up my Netflix at the minute.

Paul: 00:07:30

So Rogue Nation.

And then within Chris McQuarrie's first one, they start.

They started to get a rhythm that combined kind of the espionage of this one and the blockbuster of the second one.

And he stayed on for the rest of them.

So he did fall out and.

Oh, yeah, I forgot what the other one's called.

The Final Reckoning and the.

The final two part film finale that they're gonna do.

So, yeah, each film was gonna be slightly different.

But then they do kind of get into a bit of a groove and they all kind of lead on from each other.

So that's more about the history of the.

Yeah, the whole.

How many films is there?

Eight or something?

Marc: 00:08:03

There's a lot.

Darren: 00:08:04

Six or seven.

Marc: 00:08:07

Is anyone keeping a tally?

Someone keeping a tally?

Paul: 00:08:10

He loves it.

Marc: 00:08:10

It's like he's gone.

He's got an inside joke with someone on the outside that he's got to keep this going.

Someone set him a challenge, like he's one of his colleagues or his students.

Paul: 00:08:18

I reckon it's the same students who made us watch Velocipasta at this point.

Marc: 00:08:22

Yeah, they haven't I'm waiting for them to suggest Velocipasta 2 when it comes out.

Paul: 00:08:25

I might choose that at the end of this.

Who knows.

Yeah, so this is very much the first one.

So you're getting used to Tom Cruise because before this like he'd done a few action roles but this was his kind of foray into being an action star in inverted commas.

Marc: 00:08:39

Yeah.

Cuz like since Top gun he was 86.

86.

85.

Paul: 00:08:43

Yeah, 86 I think.

Marc: 00:08:44

Since then had he done anything like this?

Paul: 00:08:46

Well, he done Days of Thunder.

He does like that.

But he'd never really done the whole secret agent thing.

I keep want to say action hero in inverted commas kind of foray because you had like Bruce Willis doing Die Hard, you had Arnie doing stuff, Stallone.

Tom Cruise was kind of still doing all these character things and then he'd do a Top Gun and things like that.

Days of Thunder, which it kind of Rain Man.

Marc: 00:09:07

Yeah, yeah.

Paul: 00:09:08

So he's doing more dramatic things and then after this he kind of.

He always would then put in an action film in the middle of this.

So he'd go and do experiment.

Marc: 00:09:15

He likes to work.

Paul: 00:09:16

Yeah.

What's the one you like?

Magnolia.

Darren: 00:09:19

Not sure I like it.

I'm not sure if anyone likes Magnolia.

But yeah, a very interesting, powerful film.

Paul: 00:09:25

But you do like an experimental one like that and then you go back and do another.

Another Mission Impossible.

Darren: 00:09:31

Phenomenal in Magnolia.

Paul: 00:09:32

Ah well that's what I remember you saying, I think.

Darren: 00:09:34

Yeah.

Marc: 00:09:34

Yes, that's something.

Well, like the movie's not that great but someone in it can be amazing.

Darren: 00:09:37

The movie is great.

I'm just not sure why anyone would want to watch it.

Marc: 00:09:42

I don't even know what it's about.

Sir.

Darren: 00:09:43

I wonder if it's anywhere, see if we can choose it because it's split divide opinions.

Marc: 00:09:47

I think I like that idea.

Paul: 00:09:49

So my only other bit on the nutshell is it's very much.

If you like your Bond films.

Marc: 00:09:53

Yeah.

Paul: 00:09:54

Or your Bourne films.

Marc: 00:09:55

Yeah.

Spy kind of thriller.

I've listed some things that's got it.

Secret identities, gadgets, double crosses, high stakes missions and probably one of the most famous action sequences which I don't know if I could give it away but there's a certain scene which I, when it came on I was like, oh yes, I have seen this.

Paul: 00:10:10

I think I know you mean yes.

Yeah.

Marc: 00:10:13

So it's, it's within the genre that it is.

It's got the action, spy tension, paranoia.

Fast part of it are fast paced, bit of Mystery.

Paul: 00:10:22

They kind of built their own James Bond with Tom Cruise, basically.

Marc: 00:10:26

That's a good.

Yeah, kind of like that.

Paul: 00:10:27

They built their own James Bond franchise, but with Tom Cruise.

And he was a producer on it as well.

This was one of the first time I think he got into the producing world as well.

Marc: 00:10:34

He is a student of the game, isn't he?

Like.

Like, I've seen interviews where, like, it's just a normal interview.

Then someone asks him, like, a technical question and he's just off.

He just loves talking about it.

Paul: 00:10:44

Oh, he's intense.

He loves it.

Marc: 00:10:46

I like it.

I like that kind of passion in someone who's doing it.

Like, they actually.

You can tell they love what they're doing.

It's refreshing.

Paul: 00:10:50

There's people who hate him, but I say to them, you can't say he's not good at what he does.

And you can't say he doesn't love his job.

Marc: 00:10:56

He doesn't give everything to every role.

Paul: 00:10:58

Exactly.

Marc: 00:10:58

Okay, so have we gone through all the movies that can be compared to.

Darren: 00:11:01

Yeah, pretty much.

Marc: 00:11:02

Some of the ones I found here was the Bourne Identity, Enemy this Day, Goldeneye, and Day of the Jackal.

Darren: 00:11:06

Yeah, elements of that.

But there's also a bit of, like, the Third Man.

There's a bit of.

It's all kind of misty, foggy European countries almost, in my memory of it is almost that it's is black and white, even though it isn't.

Marc: 00:11:19

Yeah, like, it could be.

Yeah, totally noiri.

Paul: 00:11:22

The only other one I can think of is more recent one where Guy Ritchie redid the man from UNCLE with Henry Cavill and, oh, what's he called?

Army Hammer.

And that's obviously, again, taking an old series and making it into a new franchise.

But that didn't become a franchise because the first one didn't do that.

Darren: 00:11:38

Great.

Marc: 00:11:38

Okay, thank you, gentlemen.

That takes us on to part two, the unboxing.

Spoiler warning ahead.

We are in the unboxing.

There will be spoilers.

So if you feel like you want to do, go watch it before you continue.

You're welcome to do so and then come back and join us.

Okay, what did you miss?

I'm going to go to Darren first.

Darren: 00:11:58

There's very big hints of Hitchcock in this, and De Palma has always been a little bit like that.

Like, he's.

Well, all those guys that I mentioned, all those directors are kind of students of Hitchcock and how to build suspense.

And I think we've talked about on the podcast before the Hitchcock kind of theory of the bomb under the table.

Marc: 00:12:14

Yes.

Darren: 00:12:14

And it's.

So if the audience knows the bombs under the table, that's how you have suspense or tension.

And if they don't know and it goes off, that's how you have a surprise.

And this has got a couple of times where they're basically doing that.

And there's a bit where he's up against the camera.

His name, the bad guy, I guess.

And they're in this restaurant with the biggest aquarium that I've ever seen that you can see from the outside.

And then he puts the magic chewing gum together to create a bomb.

Marc: 00:12:39

Red light.

Darren: 00:12:39

Red light.

And it's underneath, like, the table.

He's holding it under the table.

I said, that's a bomb under the table.

Oh, De Palma, you're doing it again.

I know what you're up to.

So that was a kind of nice nod.

Paul: 00:12:51

He can see what you're doing, De Palma.

Darren: 00:12:53

He knows, because at one point I was just like, why are you doing these awful, weird, extreme close ups with, like, a Dutch tilt, like the camera on its side?

And I was like, and that's also a little bit kind of Hitchcocky and doing the kind of the Dutch camel tilt.

And.

Yeah, but it.

But it takes me out the movie a bit because I'm just like, oh, I can see.

I can see you directing.

Does that make sense?

Paul: 00:13:15

Is that because you're maybe like.

Because you're an expert in film, though?

Darren: 00:13:19

I'm not sure I'm an expert.

Marc: 00:13:20

Well, you know what I mean, Aficionado.

Paul: 00:13:22

I'm calling you an expert in film.

You're gonna spot that more than maybe someone who isn't.

Darren: 00:13:27

Yeah.

Paul: 00:13:27

So someone else is gonna just be drawn into it, whereas you're like, oh, I see what you're doing with it.

Marc: 00:13:31

Yeah.

But this is.

What did you miss?

So people.

It's not go, oh, yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

But I just wondered if this is a unique perspective.

Paul: 00:13:38

Yeah.

I found it before.

Once you start thinking in that way.

Marc: 00:13:41

Yeah, I already do now.

Paul: 00:13:42

Yeah, you start seeing things.

Because I remember when I first started studying media at college, and they started saying, oh, what's in the scene?

And how have they shot it?

And all this.

You started watching films in that way, and you were like, oh, I don't want this.

I just want to watch it.

Marc: 00:13:54

Yeah.

I feel like I'm no longer a casual viewer anymore.

Paul: 00:13:57

Have we dragged you down?

Marc: 00:13:58

And I'm okay with that.

I'm taking more of what I'm paying.

More attention, I find, than I would have been previously.

Paul: 00:14:04

I feel Proud.

Darren: 00:14:05

Also, there's a lot of fourth wall breaking, so.

Because.

Because they've all got these glasses with cameras on, which are all the rage at the moment, except there's now a massive, big backlash and everyone's breaking them and stomping on them and stuff.

Paul: 00:14:17

Is that right?

Darren: 00:14:17

Yeah.

Marc: 00:14:18

Well, people are filming people when they should have no right to be filming.

Darren: 00:14:20

They're called Pervert Glass, and they don't know.

Marc: 00:14:22

And they don't know that they don't know they're being filmed.

So it's like.

Paul: 00:14:24

I always do think that was a bit weird.

Darren: 00:14:26

It's creepy.

It's just creepy.

Paul: 00:14:27

As I'm filming him as we speak, ladies and gentlemen, when.

Darren: 00:14:31

When they're obviously watching stuff through the glasses, it looks like it's point of view.

And that really made me feel like I was playing a computer game.

It felt like a cut scene in particular, like an older one, like, you know, when I know, wing Commander or.

Marc: 00:14:43

Something, or goldeneye double oh, seven.

Darren: 00:14:46

Yeah.

And I was like, oh, but that's okay.

You know, it's fine.

But then you get to this weird thing and, like, I'm not massively familiar with all of the Palmer's work.

Like, you know, I would struggle to name more than the two movies that we've mentioned, but he can be interesting.

And if I ever want to study film, I think, well, I'll take take a look at the Palm and see what he's up to.

Because it's interesting.

But there's this weird thing that's going on where this is a film, but I feel like it brings attention to the fact that it's a film and it's kind of about filmmaking because.

For a couple of reasons.

Firstly, this is probably one of my last points I would make is the mission start because some air hostess comes up and it's like, would you like to watch a movie?

Marc: 00:15:29

Yeah.

Darren: 00:15:29

And then.

And he's like, maybe something Ukrainian.

And then.

But she does it at the beginning as well.

And it's like we're about to watch a movie and you're saying, would you like to watch a movie?

So you're kind of saying the missions are movies.

And then at the very beginning, you see Emilio Estevez, which is.

I forgot he was in that.

That was cool.

Marc: 00:15:45

Yeah.

Darren: 00:15:46

Watching the tv, watching the mission, which is people acting as other characters on a film set, and then they kill the guy.

Oh, and he also.

And I think the girl says, did we get it?

And he said, yeah, we got it.

That's what we say.

Sometimes on film sets, it's like you look to the cameraman.

Did you get it?

So, yeah, we got it.

It's all good.

Let's move on.

Paul: 00:16:06

It's in the can.

Darren: 00:16:07

It's in the can.

Yeah.

Right.

So you've got that layer of.

It opens with a guy almost like he's watching the TV show of the Mission Impossible.

And then it just kind of keeps following that theme.

Just this kind of multiple references it to it being a film.

And then it becomes.

Hunt is like the.

I guess, the hero.

And then he's boss.

And we can assume friend Jim, played by John Voight, is the mentor.

Or in this case, he's the director of the Missions.

Okay.

But then at almost.

At the end, Tom Cruise takes control of the Missions and becomes a director because he puts on the pervert glasses.

Paul: 00:16:48

Because he's watching him.

Yeah.

Darren: 00:16:50

So he becomes the watcher, he becomes the voyeur, and then he kind of destroys the plan because he's got the.

Paul: 00:16:57

Perfect glasses on, as they will now be called from now on.

Marc: 00:17:00

And then glasses.

Darren: 00:17:01

Jim's whole thing is he makes a movie about him faking his death.

Paul: 00:17:05

Oh, it's movies within movies.

Yeah.

Oh, I like this because it's all.

Darren: 00:17:08

Point of view, and he kind of turns a gun on himself and it.

But he's making a fake movie just as they made a fake movie at the beginning.

Yeah.

For the other guy.

It's all just layers of craziness.

Marc: 00:17:18

Filmmaking.

Paul: 00:17:19

Oh, I like that.

Oh, I'm gonna watch.

Marc: 00:17:21

Yeah, it's good that.

Paul: 00:17:22

I've got some Brian De Palma films that were shockingly missed.

In fact, the most important one we didn't mention is he directed the Bruce Springsteen Dancing in the Dark music video with Courtney Cox.

Darren: 00:17:32

Nice.

Paul: 00:17:33

That needs to be highlighted.

But also Carrie.

Darren: 00:17:36

Oh, yeah, of course.

Paul: 00:17:37

1976.

There's loads here.

The Fury, Dressed to Kill.

Darren: 00:17:40

Yeah, I've heard of it.

Paul: 00:17:41

It's Scarface, probably.

Big one.

Darren: 00:17:43

Oh, Christ, I forgot I did Scarface.

Paul: 00:17:45

Ah.

83.

Scarface.

Body double.

Darren: 00:17:48

Yeah.

Paul: 00:17:50

Miss.

Marc: 00:17:51

Miss.

Darren: 00:17:53

I mean, Carrie.

I mean, it's not a movie I would go out my way to watch, but it is phenomenal.

It's an absolutely.

An amazing opening and amazing ending.

Paul: 00:18:01

93 Carlito's Way.

Darren: 00:18:04

I love Kaliyu's Ways.

Currently on my To Watch Again list.

Paul: 00:18:07

There you go.

And then two years after this, Snake Eyes was the one he did after Mission Impossible.

Darren: 00:18:11

And Scarface is just so over the top.

It is insane.

Marc: 00:18:15

Is that.

Say hello to my little friend.

Yeah.

Darren: 00:18:17

Yeah.

Cleo's way is like a way more toned down version of Scarface.

The other thing I've got is it had this weird thing where it kind of seemed to be painting the.

Almost like the spies are the grown ups or.

And everyone else is just NPCs.

And it's almost like we're collateral damage and they're collateral damage, but also just we're the cow eyed masses, the proletariat, if you will.

And the reason I think this is they would do these missions and they know what's going on on the whole, as much as they can as spies living in the world of lies.

But then it would like almost every time cut to the news and the news would be bullshit.

It would just be total like fabrication of what had just happened.

Down from Ethan Hunt's parents being arrested.

Like these parents who.

And we're like, you know, we do that now we look at.

Oh my.

Oh dear, that's must be true.

I can't believe they did that.

Soak it up as though it's true.

And not edited and curated and designed.

Marc: 00:19:18

It's like even reading headlines.

Headlines can be just designed to get your attention.

Darren: 00:19:22

Most of the time they are.

Marc: 00:19:23

Yeah.

Paul: 00:19:23

The big mind blower for me was again in media class where they're like, well, you do realize that Rupert Murdoch owns all these corporations.

Darren: 00:19:31

Yeah.

Paul: 00:19:31

They're putting out this film from 20th Century Fox which is owned by Rupert Murdoch.

So.

Oh, the daily mirrors give it four stars.

And I was like, I never even saw that corruption.

I mean, I'm 17 as I'm learning this and I'm just like.

But you don't think of it here.

So most people go, oh, this is a good film.

And actually the corporation puppeteers in the background are just.

Yeah, edit that.

Put that.

Marc: 00:19:50

The poster's got those certain four or five stars on.

It's like, well, they own that company.

They own that company.

Paul: 00:19:55

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

You don't know what to trust anymore.

Darren: 00:19:58

Well, you can trust this podcast.

Marc: 00:20:00

Oh, absolutely.

There you go.

Paul: 00:20:02

Can we though?

Darren: 00:20:03

And Mark mode, I think he's pretty legit.

Paul: 00:20:04

Yeah, the news.

Darren: 00:20:07

Yeah, the news.

So, yeah.

Which I just thought was interesting because even down to.

We can talk about this all day long in terms of the news, but even down to the language they use, you know, it's like, you know, Israelis are murdered, but Palestinians are killed.

It's just framing it in two different ways.

So it was interesting to me that the movie was highlighting that.

I mean like the media is almost part of the spy network.

Marc: 00:20:29

Yes.

Darren: 00:20:30

Or the Government network.

Marc: 00:20:31

It's just there's an involvement somewhere.

Darren: 00:20:33

Yeah.

The last thing I think I spotted was Ethan Hunt is a spy, which I'm sure everyone spotted, please.

All right, so Mission Impossible is.

Surely you are the elite of the lead.

Marc: 00:20:46

You would imagine so.

Yeah.

Darren: 00:20:47

Like Top Gun.

And the fact that he got.

I get that he's.

That his team was wiped out, and I get that would have an impact.

But they're your team, not necessarily your friends.

And we don't know have any backstory on this, like how long you've known each other.

And they can't be the first time you've lost someone that you must have done dangerous missions before you joined the Mission Impossible team.

Marc: 00:21:09

I mean, they must have to put together a new team for every mission.

Darren: 00:21:11

Yeah, Right.

It's like you're literally Mission Impossible.

It's Mission Impossible.

You can't survive every mission.

Otherwise it would not be impossible.

Marc: 00:21:20

It would be classified.

Paul: 00:21:21

His entire team.

Darren: 00:21:23

So is it like last time, they wiped out four of them.

Paul: 00:21:25

Yeah.

Well, that's okay, because he's still got some others to carry over.

Darren: 00:21:28

I know the fight.

He got so emotional and so, like, angry and was.

Paul: 00:21:32

Well, they killed El Meo Estevez.

Marc: 00:21:34

Claire survived.

Paul: 00:21:35

I mean, you know.

I know, but.

Oh, suspicion on Claire for a while there.

Darren: 00:21:39

Yeah, I know.

That's.

I think that's everything I saw.

Paul: 00:21:42

Oh.

I was just going to say, is there anything in the religious bit of it, or was this that just the Bible?

Yeah.

The job, three, one, four.

Is that just part of the connection of the spy language?

Darren: 00:21:51

I thought that because the way that scene was framed, I was like, why the hell is this Bible in focus?

Like, you must have put that there on purpose.

So I was quite pleased when it did pay off.

And he looked up and I was like, okay, that's fine.

But I think it was just despite the spy.

I don't think they were saying anything.

I think that quote had any meaning.

There's some wrong.

Maybe it did.

Paul: 00:22:08

And then just the kind of the tension masterclass in the white scene and stuff.

Most of my stuff I'll come up in the facts, because there's quite a lot of facts for it.

Darren: 00:22:17

Who's that lady that I often go on about who I like?

Rebecca Ferguson.

Is that her name?

Paul: 00:22:22

Yes.

Darren: 00:22:23

Yeah.

I feel like Kristen Scott Thomas was the step before Rebecca Ferguson.

Paul: 00:22:28

I get that.

And.

And ironically, she turns up in the later Mission Impossible franchise.

Darren: 00:22:32

Rebecca Ferguson does.

Of course.

Paul: 00:22:33

She.

Marc: 00:22:33

Yeah.

Darren: 00:22:34

Nice.

They basically need the posh English person to hold all these missions together.

Paul: 00:22:38

Well, the other one does as well, who kind of does the Vanessa Redgrave part.

You kind of see these characters, but in different characters, as the franchise goes.

Marc: 00:22:46

The English thing also makes it seem very James Bondish.

Paul: 00:22:49

Yeah, I think they like that.

Marc: 00:22:50

Like, it's a.

Like, it's a mark of, like, sophistication and, I don't know, intelligence.

Paul: 00:22:54

Well, not with our accents, but not northern people.

No, no, no.

Can you imagine that, Mr.

Darren: 00:23:00

The girls don't really do anything, though.

So it's nice to have Vanessa Redgrave as Max, to actually have some clout.

Paul: 00:23:05

I think I read somewhere that was meant to be a male character.

Start with.

So it is quite nice that it's Vanessa Grove and she plays it in that way she does like, oh, you darling boy and all that.

That's all quite nice.

Makes a bit different.

I'm sorry, are you laughing at my impression of Vanessa Redgrave?

Darren: 00:23:19

No, the fact that you like it, you just want an older, wealthy lady.

Oh, my darling boy.

Would you make me some El Gray?

Marc: 00:23:28

But I had to go back and rewatch parts of it because obviously I didn't know anything about it really.

And I was like those.

I'm sure there's some signs in that intro in the opening operation where it all goes wrong, that gives clues as to what's gonna happen later on or who.

Who is in the frame.

Paul: 00:23:42

But then it flashes back to that to show it.

Marc: 00:23:44

So the first thing was the second T. The Bible, when he found the Bible.

So he discovers a Bible that Jim had with him in Prague, which has got the Gideon stamp on it from the Drake Hotel in Chicago, the hotel where previously Jim had previously been stationed.

So that.

That seems like a tiny detail, but if Ethan.

Ethan realizes that it's the same Bible it was used to communicate with Max.

So Jim has inadvertently left a physical connection between himself and the mysterious job and Max.

Paul: 00:24:13

I watched a bit of the behind the scenes on the Blu ray and they were talking about one of the favorite scenes of the filmmakers was the one where John Voight doing his whole speech around, oh, I did this, Ethan and I did that.

But actually Ethan's piecing it all together.

So Jon Voight's thinking.

What's he called a Jim.

Jim's thinking that, you know, ah, I'm selling this.

And actually Tom Cruise is going all through it in his head, like, and it's doing the flashbacks, isn't it?

Like, to the second team and the Bible and all that stuff.

Darren: 00:24:44

Also, John Voight's like 57 in this movie.

So he's close to retirement anyway.

So just shut up and work out your retirement and stop working your wife in.

This is 32 years old and is Emmanuel Bert is how you say her name be it.

Marc: 00:24:59

She's nice.

Darren: 00:25:00

Why are you even out of the house?

Paul: 00:25:02

Go home, Jim.

Go home.

Darren: 00:25:04

So there's one in life.

You've been a spy, you survived and you're married to Claire.

It doesn't get much better than that.

Marc: 00:25:12

The end.

The end.

It's not working.

Paul: 00:25:14

End of franchise.

Darren: 00:25:15

Yes.

Marc: 00:25:17

So the other thing was the.

Is it Krieger's knife?

Paul: 00:25:19

Oh, yes, that's right.

Marc: 00:25:21

So he realizes the distinction.

The knife carried by Franz Krieger matches the weapon used during the Prague killings that connects Krieger directly to the murders rather than the unknown attackers Ethan initially assumed responsible.

And suddenly Ethan has a link between Krieger, Prague killings and Jim.

Paul: 00:25:37

That's right.

Marc: 00:25:37

But I had to.

I had to.

Like, like I'm sure.

Did I miss that?

Paul: 00:25:41

A few twists and turns going on.

I've seen it a lot of times.

So it's happen.

Marc: 00:25:44

The last thing I noticed was like obviously Claire survival was.

Why was she.

Why did she survive?

Was she lucky or.

Darren: 00:25:49

She never really did that much.

She was a dead body at the beginning and then was fake dead for the middle part of the movie and then she wasn't dead at the end.

Marc: 00:25:58

But it's almost present.

Yeah.

But it's almost presented to Ethan as almost like it's miraculous that she survived.

She tells.

She tells him that Jim warned her that they were compromised, allowing her to escape.

So.

But on Rewatch, I knowing the truth, her survival looks a bit different.

I don't know if it wasn't simply.

It wasn't.

Look, she was part of it.

Paul: 00:26:19

This is one of them where.

Because I've seen it that many times.

Yeah, you kind of just ingrained.

But I don't know why you talking about.

It's reminding me.

I'm sure there was like a behind the scenes, not behind the scenes, an E. Red carpet interview type thing going on.

And I'm sure it's when Tom Cruise was still with Nicole Kidman and they were like, Nicole, what did you think of the movie?

And she was like, I find it quite hard to follow, but it was great.

So I'm sure it was Nicole Kidman that said that.

I might be misquoting Nicole Kidman.

Apologies, Nicole, if you didn't say that.

Marc: 00:26:51

But I loved the extra layer of tension and chaos when that rapture showed up right in the middle of that high stakes.

It's just like when you didn't do without that.

It's just like.

I don't know if that's a De Palma thing.

It's just this scene needs a rat.

Paul: 00:27:04

I think it's just the tension stakes.

Marc: 00:27:06

I like that.

Don looks confused.

You don't remember?

Darren: 00:27:08

No, I remember.

I'm just trying.

I've got a feeling something like that happens in Snake Eyes, but I might be wrong.

Paul: 00:27:14

Oh, interesting.

Marc: 00:27:14

Okay.

Darren: 00:27:15

Because I'm sure the actress loses.

I'm getting confused with another film.

Paul: 00:27:18

I think it's interesting though, that one minute the rat's there alive, and then the next minute, Jean Reed.

It cuts back and Gene Reno's clearly just taking it out.

Darren: 00:27:27

Or do you think that's a clue that he's a rat?

Marc: 00:27:29

Oh, nice.

Paul: 00:27:31

Brian De Palma.

In your face.

Darren: 00:27:33

Yeah, there's rats in the fence.

Paul: 00:27:35

In the fence.

Darren: 00:27:36

Jean Renault.

Marc: 00:27:37

That's good, Darren.

That is very good.

Let's move on to Paul's fantastic facts of the day.

Paul: 00:27:43

While filming the famous scene where Tom Cruise drops from the ceiling and hovers inches above the ground, Cruise's head kept hitting the floor until he got the idea to put coins in his shoes for balance.

Darren: 00:27:55

That's crazy.

If that's so.

Marc: 00:27:58

It was that finely balanced.

It like tiny adjustments made all the difference.

Paul: 00:28:01

Throwing some coins.

There you go.

The trick with the disappearing reappearing cd, like to Gene Reno, is not a camera trick or a visual effect, but genuine sleight of hand.

So Tom actually probably learned to do sleight of hand, knowing what it's like.

Not only is this the only film in the franchise where Ethan Hunt doesn't fire a gun, it's the only one not to have shootouts or gunfights.

I never even thought of that.

Darren: 00:28:25

Yeah, that was one of my notes.

I was expecting a big shootout out and fight at the end, and then there isn't.

Yes, there wasn't.

And I was like, oh, I guess John Voight is 57.

So Tom Cruise would tear that guy apart.

Paul: 00:28:37

And then of course, they made up for it in the next one where they got John Woo and said, john, just do your thing.

Slow motion the hell out of them.

Marc: 00:28:44

Needs a bit of woo.

Paul: 00:28:45

This Tom Cruise deferred his 20 million fee for a percentage of the box office takens and ended up taking a reported 70 million instead.

Darren: 00:28:55

70 Million.

Paul: 00:28:56

It's not bad day's work.

Marc: 00:28:58

And you still get checks every once in a while.

He will wow most of his movies.

You'll have done that.

It's Smart.

Paul: 00:29:04

So Paramount Pictures owns owned the rights to the television series and had tried for years to make the movie version, but failed to come up with a viable treatment.

Tom Cruise had been a fan of the show since he was young and thought it would be a good idea for a movie.

And he chose Mission Impossible to be the first project of his new production company and convinced Paramount Pictures to put up an 80 million budget.

Apparently they wanted it to be a bit lower, but he was like, no, I want Spectacle, damn it.

And he got it to 80 million because he used to produce with someone called Paula Wagner, and they used to produce quite a few films together.

And then eventually they parted ways, but he kept producing.

Don't know if she retired or just did her own thing.

But speaking of feeling how old we are, the this is the last motion picture from a major studio to be released for home video on Betamax video cassette.

I've never owned one before.

Marc: 00:29:51

VHS won the battle.

Battle.

Darren: 00:29:54

Because VHS used porn.

Actually, the porn industry used vhs.

Paul: 00:29:58

Okay.

Is that what won the battle?

Darren: 00:29:59

From what I remember, yeah, I used to.

From what you remember, because I used to teach about the VHS wars and then I taught about The Blu Ray vs. HD.

Was.

Marc: 00:30:09

It was slightly before my time.

I remember people talking about it, but I don't remember the war.

I don't even remember what.

Darren: 00:30:14

What's the difference why Betamax is actually better quality.

Marc: 00:30:17

Oh, so why did it lose out just because of Pawn then?

Darren: 00:30:19

Yes.

Marc: 00:30:20

Okay.

And then they'd already gone that way, so it was like, well, we got no choice now.

Darren: 00:30:23

Yeah.

And then Blu Ray One, because PlayStation 3 embedded in the PlayStation.

Ah.

Paul: 00:30:29

So according to Martin Landau in an earlier.

He was in the original series.

In an earlier treatment, the original plan was to bring back the entire original cast of the show just to kill them off in the first act, which I guess is what they did in the film.

But every member of the cast refused to participate.

Marc: 00:30:48

It'd be nice to just give them a cameo.

Just like hand over the baton, like.

Darren: 00:30:52

Yeah.

Paul: 00:30:53

Well, it sounds like they wanted to proper pan over the baton.

Marc: 00:30:56

Hit them over the head with the baton, beat them to death.

Paul: 00:30:59

Yeah.

Welcome.

God.

The director, Brian De Palma convinced Tom Cruise to set the first act of this movie in Prague, which was a city rarely seen in Hollywood movies at the time, which is hard to believe because it's in a lot of Hollywood movies now.

I went to Prague once, and one of the other facts.

Oh, here it is.

Which is the.

The scene with the water tank where it explodes and Tom obviously Runs over the thing.

It was shot in two different locations.

So the tank explosion and his jump through the restaurant window was shot at Paramount Studios.

And then the portion of the scene where he's running into the street with the water behind him was actually in Prague's Old Town Square.

Now, I'm such a nerd that I was randomly walking through Prague's Old Town Square, not realizing where it was, and I just stopped and was like, I know this view.

And realized it was that shot.

It was that shot where he runs away.

I'm like, I've seen this before somewhere.

Nerd points for me.

Anyway, the climactic train sequence took six weeks to film at the, ironically, the 007 stage at Pinewood.

And the filmmakers delivered this movie on time and under budget with Tom Cruise doing most of his own stunts, including that one where he was from the water.

But that became a signature of his kind of action films that he would always.

Marc: 00:32:12

Until a later when he broke his ankle or something.

Paul: 00:32:14

Oh, yeah.

Have you seen that?

Marc: 00:32:16

Yes.

Paul: 00:32:16

In that clip.

Yeah.

And then he tries to carry on.

He just carries on.

It's fine.

They just left it in the film.

Jim Phelps is the only character in the.

From the original series to appear in the movie.

And a lot of the fans of the original movie were a bit pissed off at Jim's treatment in this and probably thought, the same as you, Darren.

Like, you're married to Claire.

Go and retire.

Darren: 00:32:37

Yep.

Also, how long have they been married for?

Like, surely it's like seven years or so.

How old is she?

32.

Paul: 00:32:44

Okay, so that's doable, then.

Darren: 00:32:46

Well, it means that he was 52 and she was 20.

No, he was 50 and she was 25.

Maybe, if that's the timeline.

Just saying.

Marc: 00:32:55

Yeah, just saying.

Paul: 00:32:56

Very acceptable.

Darren: 00:32:56

Her brain was still forming.

You know, John Voight's not.

There's no chemistry between them or either.

It's like, there's more chemistry between her and Tom Cruise.

He's like, john, how do you do that?

That's the real mystery of this movie.

That's the real trick.

Marc: 00:33:11

That's the Impossible Mission.

Darren: 00:33:12

Yeah, that's.

That's exactly why.

How the.

Did John Voight get her?

Paul: 00:33:17

That's.

That's what we missed.

That's what we missed.

You'll like this one.

According to Elmio Estevez, the scene with the IMF team gathered around discussions discussing the mission that opens the movie was added at the suggestion of a George Lucas because he said the movie needed a spaghetti scene in inverted commas.

Basically a scene where they're all sitting around discussing what's next.

And the cast was brought back during the reshoots to film that scene near the beginning.

Yeah.

Where they're sort of discussing and all.

Marc: 00:33:46

Yeah.

Darren: 00:33:46

It was kind of clunky, though.

Paul: 00:33:47

Damn you, George.

Darren: 00:33:48

I mean, he's right.

But if he'd done it as well as the Coppola did or Scorsese did.

Because there's a spacing, I think, in Goodfellas.

Paul: 00:33:54

And I think that's probably what's getting at, isn't it?

Yeah.

This is the only MI film in the series to do the trademark mask removal scenes with entirely practical effects.

So they must have got more complexity going on.

There's loads of these, so I'm just gonna give you a couple more.

e vault scene was inspired by: 2001

One reason Tom Cruise and producer Paul Wagner wanted to make this movie was the gadgets.

Because Tom said, I felt like I was 10 years old again.

I thought, what would be the coolest thing to see?

Which is imagine how he would say it.

vie to have a release of over: 3000

Darren: 00:34:34

Guess, and would have been back when you've got to send film prints, which are freaking expensive.

Marc: 00:34:39

Oh, yeah.

Paul: 00:34:40

So 3,000 of them is gonna cost them a bonus.

Darren: 00:34:42

Yeah, yeah.

Paul: 00:34:43

There's quite a lot of other ones, but I'll leave you at that.

Marc: 00:34:45

Okay.

Thank you very much, Paul.

That takes us to hate it or rate it, and it's my choice.

So I get to go first.

And I enjoy the movie.

It was quite good.

It was pretty much what I expected it was going to be.

It wasn't doing anything out the ordinary.

I kind of.

I've seen.

I have seen the TV series, so I knew the basic premise of that and it didn't.

I mean, you get a mission.

It's not impossible.

It's not impossible.

It's difficult.

Paul: 00:35:14

That's the fun of it.

Marc: 00:35:15

Unlikely that you're going to complete it.

But these are.

These are supposed to be.

Apparently these are the top of the top of their game, aren't they?

Isn't Tom Cruise?

Isn't he?

Paul: 00:35:21

Yes, but.

Marc: 00:35:22

Yeah, it was fairly.

It was a fairly standard start.

Like.

Like maybe a little bit on the slow side.

But there were some extremely tense moments, which I. I'm all for tension.

And the.

That knife drop in the.

When he was hanging down that genuinely.

Because I didn't know, obviously, I Knew this.

I'd seen the scene, but I just.

I didn't know.

I forgot that was coming.

I was like.

I just genuinely made me, like, gasp out loud when he was like, this is all over if he drops that.

Darren: 00:35:44

I just thought, you bunch of amateurs.

Paul: 00:35:48

Of course you did.

Darren: 00:35:49

Was it work experience day?

Paul: 00:35:52

Bring your kid to work day.

Come on tomorrow.

Marc: 00:35:54

Yeah, I. I enjoyed that.

I enjoyed the tension.

I enjoyed the.

The espionage and the.

The spy sort of element to it.

It had a bit of a retro, obviously, is.

30 Years.

Is it 30 years ago?

Paul: 00:36:04

Yeah, 96.

Marc: 00:36:04

It was good for the time.

Yeah, I really enjoyed.

I thought it was good.

Good.

Good setting.

I like.

The Prague setting was good.

It.

It moved around quite well.

The cinematography was good.

Soundtrack was good.

I like that.

I like.

I like some of the music in it.

Do we know who did the music?

Was it.

Is anyone.

Is it, like a famous scoring person or.

No.

Paul: 00:36:21

Bono and the Edge did a remix of the thing, but it was meant to be your mate.

I read this as a fact, but I didn't say it.

It was meant to be your mate, Alan Silvestri, but he ended up not doing it.

Marc: 00:36:32

Oh, it would have been.

Sounded very different.

I thought it was a bit clunky in places with some of the characters and the way he's certainly the team when he's trying to work out who was involved, who's not involved.

I thought, especially going back to the opening scene, it was.

It was a bit.

I don't know, I found it clunky.

I didn't find it.

Even when I went back and I watched it again, I was like.

I wasn't.

I didn't find it very convincing, but I still enjoyed it.

I still did really enjoy it.

Paul: 00:36:56

Danny Elfman.

Darren: 00:36:57

Oh, yeah, I knew that.

That's weird.

Paul: 00:36:59

Danny Elfman of Tim Burton fame.

Yeah, it's gonna say every Tim Burton film pretty much.

And beyond.

Marc: 00:37:06

So I'm gonna give it a 6.3.

Over to you, Paul.

Paul: 00:37:11

Okay.

other went to Alton Towers in: 1996

I think it was called Utoxa.

I think that was the name of the general area.

I don't know, someone will write in and tell me I'm wrong, but whatever.

It was in this, like, small village, bit like Penrith, but in the middle of nowhere.

Went down the road, me and my brother on an adventure and we found a cinema and we watched Mission Impossible.

We both love Tom Cruise.

That is no, no mystery there.

We.

Yeah, we're both kind of big Tom.

His.

His wife always teases him like, oh, you love Tom Cruise.

I do love Tom Cruise.

Shut up.

But so for me, it's.

It's got that baggage with it.

Marc: 00:38:00

Yeah.

Paul: 00:38:01

In that when I watch that film, it takes me back to the summer of 96, going to Alton Towers, road trip, Me and my brother watching Mission Impossible.

And we both came out like buzzing, like so for me, it has that.

So when I rate it highly, you'll.

Then Darren judges me.

You'll know why.

But as a film, because of that.

I just really enjoy watching it because it takes me back there.

But I just like it as a film as well.

I think there's better ones in the franchise.

Marc: 00:38:28

Okay.

Paul: 00:38:29

When you're getting the later ones, I think it's better.

Marc: 00:38:31

Yeah.

I'm looking forward to going through it.

Paul: 00:38:32

Yeah.

Some of.

Some of.

What's my favorite one?

I'd say fallout's probably up there, but yeah, Ghost Protocol is very good.

I like them all.

So I'm rubbish person.

Marc: 00:38:42

You're an easy man to please.

Paul: 00:38:43

I'm an easy man to please.

The opposite to Darren to Mission Impossible films.

But yeah, this one sets it all off.

I can see what you say.

And that bit's clunky and that bit's this.

And whatever Darren's gonna say, I'm not quite sure.

But yeah, for me, I enjoy the suspense.

I enjoy the fact that it's got Jean Reno and all this sort of stuff going on.

It feels quite 90s.

I like the Saint, though, for God's sake.

With Val Kilmer.

So it's very much in the same vein and year as that.

Marc: 00:39:08

That.

Paul: 00:39:09

So I like a good spy.

And goldeneye.

Was that 96 as well?

95.

Marc: 00:39:13

95, I think.

Paul: 00:39:14

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

So I was all over that as well.

So.

Right.

On my.

What will I been 11, 12, whatever.

So I'm gonna give it an eight.

Marc: 00:39:25

Okay.

Paul: 00:39:25

I can see Darren going, what, over.

Marc: 00:39:28

To the horn section.

It's not that.

Darren: 00:39:30

It's.

It's just.

It's it's just dated.

It's just.

Marc: 00:39:36

Oh, yeah.

Paul: 00:39:36

So.

But do you not like that 90s sort of vibe?

Darren: 00:39:40

No, because it's.

It's not.

It's not that.

It's like a 90s movie.

It's just dated.

Like the technology is not that awe inspiring like pervert glasses.

That's your cutting edge spy technology.

Marc: 00:39:53

Well, I mean they've only just, they've only just wearing them now.

They've only just come out now.

Really.

Darren: 00:39:57

Yeah, yeah, I know.

So it's now dated.

Marc: 00:40:00

No, it's very current.

Paul: 00:40:03

He just goes on his list.

He's like dated now gone.

Yeah, that's it.

Darren: 00:40:07

Yeah.

And I don't believe any of these cast members hang out as friends outside of this film.

I don't think they.

There's no lack of chemistry at all.

Marc: 00:40:17

What do you mean?

Paul: 00:40:17

Emilio Estevez and Tom Cruise are mates.

That's why he did it.

Darren: 00:40:21

Okay, but then Emilio Esters character in this dies and I don't care.

Other than ah, a spinning a kid.

Like it's only.

I mean there's other movies that make me kind of semi don't want him to die because I'm like, I like stakeout, don't die.

You know.

But other than that I'm just like.

I don't believe any of your friends, do you?

There's no charisma, there's no chemistry and there's no fun.

And you know, I recently watched Oceans 11 and 12.

I don't think I watched 13 or maybe I did.

And you know I.

They don't massively wow me.

But the cast chemistry and the characters and just how fun they are.

Like the missions in Ocean's Eleven are more impossible than the missions in Mission Impossible.

Paul: 00:41:06

I'm sure.

Read somewhere.

Clooney was considered for potential doing Mission Impossible but he turned it down to do One Fine Day.

Darren: 00:41:13

Wow.

Because he got to meet Michelle Pfeiffer.

Paul: 00:41:14

Yeah, it's a good movie.

Like I like that one.

Darren: 00:41:18

So I.

It just didn't land for me.

I do quite like this almost like advert sensibility that it's got going on with the kind of European streets and the fog.

It's got a nice style.

Marc: 00:41:29

Yeah, it's a stylish movie.

Darren: 00:41:30

And the Palmer can direct.

He's a fun director.

There's some interesting stuff.

But on the whole I was like, I just don't care.

I don't care about any of you.

And I'm kind of done and then it just kind of ends.

The helicopter thing was ridiculous anyway.

Mission Impossible, you've got this like 57 year old guy calling along it like you're 57.

That was your escape plan.

I did not see you doing weights at any work point in this movie.

You did not go to the hotel gym.

Paul: 00:41:58

Maybe they were cut scenes, you know.

John V. Just doing weights for 20.

Darren: 00:42:01

Minutes and then it's like so he Then climbs on it.

That was your climb on the helicopter.

What are you doing?

And then Tom Cruise explode in the helicopter.

And surviving just.

Yeah, I'm just going to fly through the air like this and survive with no injuries.

It was just dumb.

And I didn't.

And then it ended and I looked up like, wait, was that the end?

And it was the end.

Then it all starts again.

Paul: 00:42:24

Is that the whole point of it?

To be like beyond, like realistic?

Because it's Mission Impossible, though it didn't.

Darren: 00:42:30

Feel Mission Impossible, it just felt Mission Absurd.

Okay, so the head of just gonna go into the tunnel because.

Okay, fine.

Paul: 00:42:40

Spectacle.

The spectacle.

Darren: 00:42:42

And everyone was.

Just didn't seem to be good at their jobs.

Like even Vanessa, like Max, his character wasn't the head of the.

Whatever spy agency they were in.

Whatever his name was Finnegan or whatever.

Just everything was a bit lame.

Paul: 00:42:56

I do agree that she waited a bit too long before they decided to move.

When he's like, yeah, they're going to be tracking you.

And she's like, yeah, right.

And then the.

Darren: 00:43:04

Literally, why is she exposing herself like that?

Believe I'm gonna go meet this possible double agent or whatever.

Whatever.

Anyway, so, yeah, I didn't enjoy it and I was pleased that it ended.

And I probably won't watch another one.

Marc: 00:43:16

So what are you gonna give it?

Paul: 00:43:17

You're judging the whole franchise on one.

Darren: 00:43:20

Yeah, because they're gonna get stupider.

I fear it.

Paul: 00:43:22

Have you not seen any of those?

Darren: 00:43:24

I think I've seen one or two, but I don't know which ones.

Paul: 00:43:26

Don't know what you miss.

Marc: 00:43:27

So we're gonna give it.

Darren: 00:43:28

I think I was gonna give it two point something, but now I've just angered myself.

So I'm gonna give it 1.8.

Marc: 00:43:34

Not impressed.

Darren: 00:43:35

Really?

I mean, I'm impressed that it happened in 96 and that was good.

And 1.8 and mission impossible, you know, it launched a franchise.

And in the 90s it was probably quite entertaining how you painted stuff more.

Paul: 00:43:51

Than this and give it more than a 1.8.

Darren: 00:43:53

What kind of stuff?

Paul: 00:43:54

I don't know.

There was one last week you were like, that was ridiculous.

That was.

I'll give it 2.2, 1.8.

Darren: 00:44:01

What was that?

Paul: 00:44:02

I can't remember, but good Lord.

Okay.

Darren: 00:44:05

There must have been something redeemable that I liked.

Paul: 00:44:07

I like the fact you pitched probably four.

Darren: 00:44:10

Yeah.

Maybe before had cleavage.

We talked about this.

Paul: 00:44:15

I'm gonna drive home screaming to myself, 1.8.

Darren: 00:44:20

Good Lord, that'd be a cool T shirt.

Marc: 00:44:22

1.8.

Gigawatts.

Darren: 00:44:23

Like, do you guys.

Did you actually.

I mean, I get with Mark a bit because he.

If you hadn't seen it before, those scenes would.

If you didn't know what was coming.

Marc: 00:44:31

Yes, I did have the element of surprise.

I mean, if I.

If I watch this three or four or five more times, I probably will start seeing holes in it.

And it was the first time.

Watch.

It was.

Paul: 00:44:41

I like the feel of it, though.

Darren: 00:44:43

Right.

Paul: 00:44:43

You know, whether.

Like.

Oh, no, it doesn't.

Worse than you think.

Didn't.

There's a vault and there's a thing.

And there's a.

We have to get over the laser thing and then distract them and get through the.

I mean, it's ridiculous.

I wrote.

It's ridiculous.

But that's the whole point.

That's why.

Marc: 00:44:56

Anyway.

Anyway.

Paul: 00:44:58

Okay.

Marc: 00:44:59

Okay.

So that gives.

That gives Mission Impossible: 1996

6.

16.1.

Which puts you in 66 out of 91.

We're at 91 movies.

Paul: 00:45:11

Wow.

Marc: 00:45:12

Imagine that.

It's just ahead of fall: 2022

It's got 16.

So it's 0.1 higher than 4.

And it's also 0.1 ahead of sliding Doors.

Darren: 00:45:21

Yeah.

Marc: 00:45:22

Stole Christmas and charade,: 1963

Darren: 00:45:27

Oh, poor charade.

Marc: 00:45:28

There we go.

Interesting.

Paul: 00:45:30

Who's Charade?

What about all the other ones?

Darren: 00:45:33

Yeah, they were good.

Marc: 00:45:33

Calm down, Paul.

Calm down.

Paul: 00:45:35

Oh, our scoring system.

Marc: 00:45:36

Just an opinion.

It's just an opinion.

Paul: 00:45:37

Someone once asked us about our scoring system and we tried to explain how random it was.

Marc: 00:45:41

And that just highlights.

Paul: 00:45:42

It just gets randomer every week.

Marc: 00:45:44

Right.

So that's what we thought.

We'd like to know what you thought of the movie, if you go.

If you want to give it your own personal rating and give us your opinion, send them in and we'll read them out on the show.

What else in our back catalog, what movies do you think would go along with.

I think probably the two that we've already mentioned, which I'd made a note of is the Born Identity.

Paul: 00:45:59

Yeah, yeah.

Marc: 00:45:59

And Enemy of the State.

Paul: 00:46:00

Yeah, that's probably.

Marc: 00:46:01

There wasn't.

I looked back and there wasn't many other films that would kind of be a good follow other than anything direct by the same director.

But I don't think we do have.

Paul: 00:46:08

Maybe the Net, but.

Yeah, you're better off with Born and Enemy.

Marc: 00:46:12

Let's just tell you now, the Net's not very good.

So just look at the Legend League.

Darren: 00:46:17

It's not great.

Marc: 00:46:18

We're not gonna we're not gonna waste your time with that one.

Paul: 00:46:20

I may have bumped.

Marc: 00:46:20

Still a good listener but still a good listen.

The episode is funny.

Paul: 00:46:23

Sandra.

Marc: 00:46:24

It's got Sandra Ball.

Thank you gentlemen.

That takes us into part three, the inbox.

So we had a message from Ben Smith who came to the last cinema Social.

He's just recently moved to the area.

Paul: 00:46:42

Yeah.

Marc: 00:46:42

So we are now his new friends.

Paul: 00:46:43

Our new buddy Ben.

Marc: 00:46:44

Yeah.

So he also after we were stood outside the cinema and we saw the signs that were for other films he went to see Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.

Paul: 00:46:53

Said he was gonna go and see that.

Marc: 00:46:55

So he's put really enjoyable and not what at all what I was expecting.

Not that I knew what to expect.

It's an OTA 70s and 80s slasher films directed with a real knowledge and passion for the genre.

But also dips into body horror.

And a big nod by or not to David Cronenberg's video drone.

I don't know what that is.

The goal is completely over the top.

The scenery screams B movie, but that's all part of the charm.

It's a film that would be benefit from a repeat viewing because there is much more going on than just a run of the mill horror film.

8 Out of 10.

He's put bonus point for Julian Anderson who is fantastic throughout.

Darren: 00:47:27

Nice video drum.

Was this weird.

From what I remember it was like a.

It's basically like a film show.

Like movies, games and videos or something like that.

Or Movie Watch but with Alex Cox who's kind of a rubber faced, kind of indie film fan.

So it would just be just under the radar movies from what I remember.

Marc: 00:47:48

Okay.

Paul: 00:47:48

Yep.

Marc: 00:47:49

Yeah.

Darren: 00:47:49

Kind of like remember when Kim Newman had his show as well?

Just talking about really niche horror films.

Marc: 00:47:55

Cool.

Rob Walker messaged in about Field of Dreams.

He's put high.

Lads.

I just listened to the episode of Phil Dreams regarding Kevin Costner where someone said they might have seen Kevin Costner in a uniform.

I think it was Darren.

You had an image of him in a film.

He's put.

I believe that relates to no Way out who he co starred with Gene Hackman and Demi Moore.

Darren: 00:48:12

Right.

Or am I totally wrong?

Marc: 00:48:13

Again, not sure.

Darren: 00:48:15

Yeah.

No way out.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yep.

Thanks.

Marc: 00:48:18

There you go.

I just thought I'd help you out there.

Darren: 00:48:20

Cool.

Marc: 00:48:21

Helen Romanus, also on Field of Dreams.

The Field of Dreams podcast was excellent.

Darren: 00:48:25

Oh, high praise.

Marc: 00:48:27

Despite thinking the movie was a snore fest.

When I watched.

When I watched it back in the day.

What?

Sorry.

Despite thinking the movie was A snowfest.

When I watched it back in the day this time around, I found it quite moving.

Mind you, I did find that the old, the old 36 element.

Hard to comprehend.

That's what you said.

Paul: 00:48:42

We all had a meltdown.

Marc: 00:48:43

Feeling old in your mid-30s off.

I've genuinely never felt more excited about life and the future at 56.

Ray needs to get a grip.

Paul: 00:48:50

Get a grip, Ray.

Marc: 00:48:51

There you go.

Darren: 00:48:52

Nice.

Marc: 00:48:53

Okay, that is this week's inbox.

Let's move on to next week's movie, which is over to Mr. Horn.

Darren: 00:49:01

Hold up.

That's me.

That's you.

So I'm still pissed off about the shit show.

That was Dog Stars.

Paul: 00:49:10

See again, I can back you with that one.

I'll let you off with that one.

Darren: 00:49:14

So I feel like we need to go see something right with this, actually.

Good.

Paul: 00:49:17

You've just given Mission Impossible less than Dog Stars.

Marc: 00:49:21

That's.

Paul: 00:49:21

That's the one I was starting to think of where you're like, this is load of shit.

I'll give it two Dog Stars got.

Darren: 00:49:25

Better near the end and it felt like it was trying to say something, even though what it was saying was quite depressing.

Marc: 00:49:30

And I've been said many times before.

Darren: 00:49:31

Yes, yeah, exactly.

That was the issue.

So I just want to go Blade Runner.

Marc: 00:49:35

Oh, that's a film that's been on my to watch list for a long time.

Paul: 00:49:39

No arguments here.

Marc: 00:49:41

Are you obviously both really familiar with it?

Many times, yeah.

Darren: 00:49:44

Seen it a lot.

Paul: 00:49:45

A lot.

Marc: 00:49:45

Cool.

I know it's referenced a lot in like filmmaking and people always hold it in high regard.

Excellent.

is the original Blade Runner: 1982

Darren: 00:49:55

Yeah.

There's five versions of Blade Runner.

So.

Paul: 00:49:59

Yeah, this is what I want to specify here.

Which version are we going for?

Darren: 00:50:02

Whatever one's on Netflix, I guess.

Paul: 00:50:04

Okay.

Marc: 00:50:05

Is it Netflix or Prime?

Darren: 00:50:06

It's on one of them, yeah.

Marc: 00:50:08

But it's the original version.

Paul: 00:50:09

Yeah, I mean, I. I've got.

Darren: 00:50:10

It's not a big difference with directors because it's the voiceover and the tacked on ending.

Paul: 00:50:15

Yeah.

There's a few slight shifts and things, but it's mainly the voiceover.

Marc: 00:50:19

nd out all about Blade Runner: 1982

Okay, that brings us to the end of the show.

Thank you for listening to movies in a nutshell.

If you want to help us, the best thing you can do is spread the word, tell someone, tell a fellow movie loving fan about the show, send them a link, send us an episode or do a social post.

On social media that would greatly help us.

Thank you very much.

This episode is officially over.

This is Mark saying goodbye.

Darren: 00:50:41

This is down saying goodbye for now.

Paul: 00:50:43

Kittredge, you've never seen me very upset.

I tried to do things.