SPOILERS *** SPOINERS***
Hey, I'm old. Sitting for 3 hours starts to get to me after awhile but until the train scene I was all in on this as a great action movie. I still like it a lot - 7 out of 10 is still a good rating. And there was not a slow moment during its entire length although there were more than a few repetitive ones. Throughout, the action scenes also made me chuckle with good humor at the absurd situations and stunts. Very funny.
Acting SImon Pegg and VIng Rhames deliver as always. Henry Czerny has more to do than usual and is wonderful. All four women are fabulous - tough to say adieu to Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) but Hayley Atwell as Grace plays her part to the hilt and her background, also quite funny, fits well into the team. The two blond quasi-villainous women, Black Widow and Paris were amazing, the latter in personifying her character and in her action scenes. Cary Elwes was a hoot in his brief role as a dufus "Head of Intelligence." I saw some critics were a bit negative on Esai Morales as Gabriel. I thought he hit just the right notes and his knife-fight ballet duel to the death was superbly choreographed and realized. The simultaneous fight between Paris and the Tom Cruise stunt double was a bit of an unwanted distraction but certainly didn't spoil that great finale for Ilsa. What followed, however, was Tom Cruise at 50% of his best acting wise in my opinion. His mourning seemed superficial and while Grace was plenty alluring, she seemed to captivate him more "professionally" than anything more than that - and I think a bit more was warranted.
After Grace became a team member, what follows on the Orient Express is terrific but the stunts/action became more over-the-top and time-consuming and as obligatory as navigating an obstacle course. In particular, the motorcycle stunt was ridiculous and took forever. The car-after-car train escapes, one after another were very funny but that was when butt really started hurting me and I finally thought enough was enough already. From there, the conclusion and epitaph seemed by-the-numbers.
In short, entertaining and worthy of your time. A bit disappointed by Cruise's performance (80% overall) but everyone else was so great, it more than makes up for it. Perhaps Cruise was trying to convey Ethan's emotional and physical fatigue because that came across loud and clear.
Overall not as good for me as the previous two - both 9/10s - but certainly worth seeing and a lot better than the Marvel stuff.
But, if you're old like me, pick a modern theater with very comfortable seats or bring a cushion.
Hey, I'm old. Sitting for 3 hours starts to get to me after awhile but until the train scene I was all in on this as a great action movie. I still like it a lot - 7 out of 10 is still a good rating. And there was not a slow moment during its entire length although there were more than a few repetitive ones. Throughout, the action scenes also made me chuckle with good humor at the absurd situations and stunts. Very funny.
Acting SImon Pegg and VIng Rhames deliver as always. Henry Czerny has more to do than usual and is wonderful. All four women are fabulous - tough to say adieu to Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) but Hayley Atwell as Grace plays her part to the hilt and her background, also quite funny, fits well into the team. The two blond quasi-villainous women, Black Widow and Paris were amazing, the latter in personifying her character and in her action scenes. Cary Elwes was a hoot in his brief role as a dufus "Head of Intelligence." I saw some critics were a bit negative on Esai Morales as Gabriel. I thought he hit just the right notes and his knife-fight ballet duel to the death was superbly choreographed and realized. The simultaneous fight between Paris and the Tom Cruise stunt double was a bit of an unwanted distraction but certainly didn't spoil that great finale for Ilsa. What followed, however, was Tom Cruise at 50% of his best acting wise in my opinion. His mourning seemed superficial and while Grace was plenty alluring, she seemed to captivate him more "professionally" than anything more than that - and I think a bit more was warranted.
After Grace became a team member, what follows on the Orient Express is terrific but the stunts/action became more over-the-top and time-consuming and as obligatory as navigating an obstacle course. In particular, the motorcycle stunt was ridiculous and took forever. The car-after-car train escapes, one after another were very funny but that was when butt really started hurting me and I finally thought enough was enough already. From there, the conclusion and epitaph seemed by-the-numbers.
In short, entertaining and worthy of your time. A bit disappointed by Cruise's performance (80% overall) but everyone else was so great, it more than makes up for it. Perhaps Cruise was trying to convey Ethan's emotional and physical fatigue because that came across loud and clear.
Overall not as good for me as the previous two - both 9/10s - but certainly worth seeing and a lot better than the Marvel stuff.
But, if you're old like me, pick a modern theater with very comfortable seats or bring a cushion.