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PaperclipPerfector  9mo ago (text post)   2505 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 14, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Saw Mission Impossible 7. It was a good movie but I did not like it as much as John Wick 4 or the previous MI movies, maybe it is just action movie fatigue setting in. I sorta have been finding it harder and harder to actually find any joy in most activities but still recommend that others watch the movie. Cruise is in his 60s and still performs some of the most dangerous stunts one can, that too without having the need to do them. Have to respect that immensely. I saw the movie on the first of its release and did enjoy it. It is a two part finale so they left it on a sort of ambiguous ending.

I will also meet a few friends for coffee this Sunday. Has been a while since I have had coffee, the place I kinda intern at has an instant automated espresso maker of sorts and I have to admit that I quite like the taste of it so looking forward to visiting a coffee shop. I just avoid going to any and all places in my town as my mind just hates me for taking time off and enjoying life because of how far behind I am thanks to my bad habits so hopefully I will be able to enjoy a peaceful Sunday and recharge myself.

It was a good movie but I did not like it as much as John Wick 4 or the previous MI movies, maybe it is just action movie fatigue setting in.

I thought it was noticeably worse than 6 and 5. The plot did not seem compelling and was hard to follow. The character decisions were bizarre, specifically the sidelining of a quite captivating female lead character in favor of a less interesting and more annoying substitute. The spectacle at least was fun, so there's that, but overall it was missing the other factors that make Mission Impossible feel like a fun adventure you get immersed in, rather than just a sequence of cool set pieces you're looking at.

the sidelining of a quite captivating female lead character in favor of a less interesting and more annoying substitute.

Who said it was their choice? That person has at least two major roles I can name off the top of my head that may have conflicted with filming either this movie or the sequel. I don't think Cruise would just throw that character overboard without a good reason.

Also, that new character's type can so often fail but I actually enjoyed her this time.

I think the difference is that the "annoying" character is both competent but also shown to be out of their depth. The driving sequence really sold this. TBH they probably should have sold it more (she's implausibly successful at many other points where she shouldn't be) more but it was enough that their constantly annoying behavior (in another movie she'd basically be the teenager the Rock had to care for) didn't bother me.

Yeah, I thought maybe it had something to do with scheduling conflicts so I don’t mean to be too critical of the filmmakers on that. Just ended up being kind of disappointing and felt oddly executed. But I’m really looking forward to Dune and something has to give, I’m sure.

Trying to stretch a movie into two did it no good either.

I’ll join you in not being nearly so into action movies as I used to be. TBH I suspect it’s that these movies are simply bad: illogical, no real coherent plot, terrible character development, and really, what exists of plot and characters is barely brought up in transit between highly choreographed and improbable CGI heavy fight scenes that make no sense.

I am sick of all modern media in general. Music, movies, tv, comics etc everything feels worse than before and I enjoy reading older things more now it seems. We have an overabundance of entertainment at this point, that alongwith internet surfing probably just raises ones expectations enormously.

I think because of the CGI available and the ability to do showstopper stunts, more action movies seem to skimp on writing. Star Wars: A New Hope really had no choice but to be well written simply because the special effects available in 1977 were not all that great and were much more expensive (because they were all practical effects requiring miniatures and matte painting and sets that actually blew up. If you didn’t have a strong plot and interesting characters, rotoscoped swords and miniature ships weren’t going to save it. Leía, Luke, and Han made it. The characters came alive, and you wanted them to escape, you wanted the Death Star to explode. The writing was tight enough to give everyone stakes in the outcome and to make you care. What forced that was that you had no choice but to tell a story. If you’d take Rise of Skywalker and redid it with film technology available in the 1970s it would be a complete failure because without the ability to do crazy things in cgi, there’s nothing to sell. No stakes, no redemption arc, no real, fleshed out villain to boo and hiss.

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