Darryl_Lazakar01

After a slew of stinkers over the past couple of years like Kung Fu Yoga, Bleeding Steel, Ride On, and Panda Plan, we all thought that Jackie Chan doesn't have what it takes anymore. Lo and behold we have The Shadow's Edge, a remake of 2007's Eye in the Sky. It promises the showdown we all dreamed of: Jackie VS the legend Tony Leung (who also appeared in Eye in the Sky), but given the stinker streak he got, anticipation and expectations are kept at a lukewarm level.

Surprise, surprise, this is arguably Jackie Chan's strongest film since 2017's The Foreigner. Even in their late 60s, this movie shows why Jackie and Tony are still legends for a reason. The supporting cast are also decent, with excellent performance by Zifeng Zhang in particular. The story is convoluted but fairly easy to follow, with the usual double crosses and in particular, really gritty and brutal action and violence, in particular from Tony Leung side. There are some comedic moments but they're few and far in between, but it doesn't detract an otherwise very serious Jackie Chan movie.

If there's any criticism, it'll be it's length. At over 2 hours, you kinda wish it trimmed down a good 20 minutes or so. The editing also leaves a lot to be desired with aggressive zooms, out of place sound effects, and jumpy quick cuts, very clearly to mask Jackie and Tony's sluggishness in combat (though the credits very clearly shows them doing most of the stunts, as do the supporting cast, so that's definitely appreciated). The CGI for some scenes in the first half is insultingly bad in the first half, which is weird considering how well the rest of the movie looked, and it has pretty shameless sequel bait *and* AI glorification, which I can tolerate the former, but boy does the latter actively detract the movie.

Criticisms aside, The Shadow's Edge is a very competent, very well made movie, that finally leverages Jackie Chan's underrated dramatic acting scenes, and absolutely uses Tony Leung to its maximum potential. It is absolutely Jackie Chan's best movie since The Foreigner, and Tony Leung's best performance in a while. I do hope for Jackie in particular, he keeps this newfound momentum, because after years of stinkers and surrounding himself with CGI animals and slapsticks, I think it's time for him to go all in for the dramatic.

Six. It's been six Mission: Impossible movies since it's first movie came in 1996. In Hollywood, usually, the series at this point will worn out and overstayed their welcome. A third movie in a franchise usually struggles to keep it's content fresh and exciting, let alone six. "Halloween: Curse of Michael Myers" and "Freddy's Dead" (aka "A Nightmare on Elm's Street 6") are among those horrible sixth movies, but movies such as "Fast and Furious 6" and "Harry Potter 6" (also known as Half Blood Prince), manages to break the mold and presents a solid sixth entry in their respective franchises.

And thankfully, and rightfully so, "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" joins the likes of "Fast and Furious 6" and "Harry Potter 6" as one of the best sixth movie in a franchise. From director/writer Christopher McQuarrie, who also made "Rogue Nation", this is by far the most insane M:I movie yet, and might be the best M:I movie to date.

Pros:

• Cast

Tom Cruise... he's still got it. The good old Ethan Hunt is back, and Tom did such a great job portraying him. He's charming, he's nuts and he's got a great sense of humor. Henry Cavill is great as August Walker. He's menacing, he's dangerous and a great rival to Ethan (and oh boi his mustache...). Ving Rhames is back as the good old Luther Stickell, and he did a incredible job. He's witty, he's charismatic, and I just love his character. Simon Pegg did a fantastic job as fan-favorite Benji Dunn. He's incredibly funny and I like how he did alot more physical stuff in this movie. Rebecca Ferguson also did a great job as the mysterious Ilsa Faust. Alec Baldwin is also great as IMF Secretary Alan Hunley. Sean Harris also did a great job as the menacing Solomon Lane. Michelle Monaghan makes a return as Ethan's wife Julia, and she did a good job. Angela Bassett did a good job as T'challa's mo-I mean CIA Director Erika Sloane. Lastly, I liked Vanessa Kirby as White Widow. She had a great backstory and background, that I would love to explore more should a seventh movie is in production.

• Story

This is by far the most complex Mission: Impossible stories to date, but writer/director Christopher McQuarrie made the story very easy to digest and understand. It's also tied up to previous Mission: Impossible entries, and that's a nice touch. The fact that the movie takes time to flesh out some of the characters even more, in particular Ethan, is also a plus in my book.

• Action scenes

I swear, Tom Cruise is a real life Superman. Actors these days would do a stunt double for an action set piece this crazy, but Tom being Tom insisted that he does his own stunts, and it all payed off! The result is a fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled action, that's also real. No CGI nonsense, it's just Tom doing action scenes, on a real vehicle, doing real dangerous stunts. Just give him an honorary Oscar please. Major props also need to be given to Christopher McQuarrie. He knows how to make an action scene brutal, intense, and fun to watch. From the HALO jump sequence, to the bathroom fight scene, to a motorcycle chase, to a chase scene on foot, to the climatic helicopter fight scene, all of these were shot and directed beautifully.

• Music

The music is wonderful, intense and great. Lorne Balfe did a fantastic job for this movie. This is possibly the best MI soundtrack I've ever heard since Ghost Protocol. The MI theme in this movie might have beaten Michael Giachinno's MI theme in Ghost Protocol as my personal favorite MI theme of all time!

• Cinematography

Along with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, this is one of the best looking movies I've ever seen all year. Stunning wide shots, with great looking scenery. The action scenes were shot incredibly well, using wide shots, and zero shakey cams. The camerawork on the helicopter sequence is incredibly well done, with cameras inside and outside of the helicopter, to great effect.

• Pacing

The pacing in this movie is just perfect. They just go full throttle! There's no time to breath and relax, because the action scenes are coming one after another, like very fast. When you want to like take a break, the movie just kinda don't let you, it's like the movie tried to make you pass out due to the neverending tension.

Cons: Honestly, I've been thinking hard about what I hate about this movie, and honestly there's nothing wrong with this movie, there's nothing I hate in this movie, the entire movie is great. The pros outweighs the (almost non-existent) cons. If there's one thing I hate about this movie, it would be the lack of Jeremy Renner as William Brandt (I already missed that guy. Not appeared in Infinity War, and now this? Why?!), also I wish the movie could be longer (because boy time flies really fast). Oh, and in one particular scene it should be more impactful and sad, But since this is my personal preference, it wouldn't affect my rating whatsoever.

Other than my otherwise personal nitpick, "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" is simply one of the best, if not the best action movie of this summer. With a great storyline, terrific acting and mind-blowing action scenes, this is easily one of the best movies of 2018 so far, and might be the one that finally took down "Ghost Protocol" as the best MI movie to date. If there's a seventh installment, I'll definitely on board.