The Southpaw Spot

Warning: Rant ahead!

I am boycotting "Mission: Impossible III" for several reasons. First, Tom Cruise is in my opinion, nuts. I am a strong believer in the science of psychiatry, and if Tom wants to crap all over it, that's his choice. But it also means I will choose not to put money in his pocket. Second, it looks like below average Hollywood schlock.

Third, and most important, reason: There is a disturbing trend in Hollywood of taking the name of an old TV series, cartoon, comic book, or other medium, slapping the name of it on a movie in production, even though that movie BEARS NO RESEMBLANCE TO THE ORIGINAL ART FORM! Cruise's MI franchise is the classic example. The original "Mission: IMPOSSIBLE!" TV series was about a covert operations team who had to rely on strategy, execution, and wit in order to accomplish their mission. The key word here is covert. That means no car chases, no massive explosions, no back-stabbing betrayals, and, most importantly, minimal violence. The only explosions in the TV series were used to access vaults or locked rooms. The show was part planning, part execution of the plan- not running around destroying property at incredible speed while trying to avenge a personal vendetta or settle a score. The scripts of the 3 MI movies featuring Cruise could have easily been used by Segal, Van Damme, Snipes, etc. They bear absolutely no resemblance to the original Mission: Impossible.

The same holds true for every James Bond movie since GoldenEye, and the horrific films "Catwoman," "Elektra," "Doom," "The Avengers,"

I could go on, but that's enough for now.

posted by The leftist southpaw @ 1:40 PM