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Just an update for anyone concerned: I am not 100 percent better but I am feeling a lot more like myself than a month ago during this reaction. I actually think filming helped me a lot on the day when I filmed this. We all have bad days and when you record as much as I do, it's inevitable that some of those get caught on camera. 

Files

Mission: Impossible 4 (2011)

Edited Reaction Alongside the regular multi-part full, you now have the option of watching an edited version of the full movie reaction with 10-15mins of Picture-in-Picture. You can watch this edit in the player, or alternatively you can download it to your computer using the button underneath each part.

Comments

Anonymous

Before I discuss the film, Jess, I am so sorry you had the difficult morning that you had. You mention you filmed the beginning of August. I, myself, went through a bit of a dark patch around that time, so I hear you on the struggling with the bad days. It does not sound ridiculous at all that you say you feel uncomfortable feeling certain feelings. There are days when I have that same feeling myself. I don’t mind if you decide to share when you go through bad times, if that is what you wish to do/feel comfortable doing. I am glad to read your update that you’re doing better. As to the movie, Ghost Protocol is one I had seen some of it prior to the series winning the poll, albeit I didn’t pay the strictest attention. There was a bit of a wait for the barber during a visit over a year ago. When I walked in the place, the last little bit of the second Mission Impossible was playing on the tvs there. Sad thing was that I recognized what it was even though my first time seeing it was this past June. Once it ended, Ghost Protocol started playing. I ended up catching about the first half-hour to about forty minutes of this. What I saw was good, so I did look forward to when we got to this entry. A big draw was to see Brad Bird directing, especially how it was his first-time directing in the medium of live action after his past films were in the medium of animation. I thought Brad did great as he always does. The story’s a little all over the place, but that’s less Brad’s fault than the script went through numerous rewrites, or so I’ve been told. I know this got a lot of praise when it came out twelve years ago. Roger Ebert, I recall, gave it a glowing review. And of the films of this series that he saw prior to his death, this one was his favorite. I thought it was good. The third one remains the best, or, at least, my favorite thus far. I knew in advance that Jeremy Renner was in this, and even before I saw the film, I was looking forward to your reactions to him as I know how you love him and his work. Jeremy’s character was great. Most relatable. And I’m happy, Jess, that he was able to lift your spirits. On the villainous side of things, I enjoyed Michael Nyqvist as Hendricks, though like you said, we could have had more of him, albeit close to impossible to top Philip Seymour Hoffman as Davian from the last film. Michael’s another actor who I was sorry to hear of his untimely death. Hendricks’s plan was interesting in that there was a logic to it, warped though it is, which recalls Dr. Zola’s one line, “The sanity of the plan is of no consequence. Because he can do it!” I also needed more of Léa Seydoux as Sabine before she got thrown out the window. Rather refreshing that Ethan doesn’t give Carter shit for killing Sabine. Of course, if he had, it would be massively hypocritical of him, considering how he hung Davian out a goddamn airplane in the last film. An act that Davian even called Ethan out on, and when a villain as cold and ruthless as Davian points out what you did was fucked up, that says something. The chase sequence in the sandstorm that would make Anakin Skywalker fly into a murderous rage did drag a hair or two. I’m for chase sequences and still, I agree with you that they can be too much at times. I figured you’d have a trifle hard time with this one feeling padded, and quite rude of the chase sequence how it kept going whilst your legs were badly cramping up. The ridiculousness persists; you’re not alone in thinking that, Jess. Ethan driving the car down however many feet that was had me saying, “See, I’m just convinced this man has a death wish at this point. Tom Cruise, that is, not Ethan. Well, actually, him too.” I don’t know why no Luther until the end, though I share your displeasure in his minimal screentime this time round. It feels like someone forgot to write him in, then suddenly remembered that you can’t have a Mission Impossible film without Ving Rhames as Luther any more than you can have an Indiana Jones film without Harrison Ford as Indy or John Williams doing the music. SEVERELY mixed feelings on how they handled Julia. The plotline for her character and ultimately the cameo from Michelle Monaghan felt like her character became a prop. I even noted, “Does she even get a fucking line at least?” That said, you liked they addressed her character, and that there was continuity, love-interest-wise, so that makes me happy that you were happy about that. I also needed a LOT more of Tom Wilkinson than what we got. All in all, a fun enough film, and a better reaction, thanks, Jess.

Ryan

I feel like the biggest sign of the rewrites this went through is how it's revealed at the end of the Burj Khalifa sequence that Hendricks had been impersonating his henchman the whole time, which serves literally no purpose to the story as it currently exists. During that scene, they were also having serious trouble figuring out how to work in the exposition about how the gloves worked without totally killing the pacing, and it was script editor Christopher McQuarrie who came up with "Blue is glue, red is dead," the kind of thing that impressed the crew so much that he's been the major creative voice behind the series ever since. As for Julia, Michelle Monaghan wasn't able to stay with the series so they were stuck with her absence (not the first time that's happened, as Thandiwe Newton also hoped to be in the third film before a schedule conflict came up), and in fact she really was just dead in the original script. But this was also around the same time that fridging female characters had starting becoming a big public deal, so they figured out a way to keep her alive and still explain why she's not in the story anymore. On my first viewing, that discourse was actually kind of a spoiler, since I started thinking "There's no way I wouldn't have heard a huge public outcry about them fridging her if it's actually true, so there has to be some kind of twist to it."

Jenny Chalek

Having to feel your feelings can be the worst. Can't I just abstract them out in my brain and therefore take away their power? Hope you're doing better!