Cast – Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Michelle Monaghan & Alec Baldwin

Director – Christopher McQuarrie

Genre – Action/Adventure

Running Time – 2h 27m

The Premise

The best intentions often come back to haunt you. Mission: Impossible – Fallout finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong. Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Vanessa Kirby also join the dynamic cast with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returning to the helm.

The plot might not give too much away (which is a good thing) but upon casting an eye on the trailer as well as the absolute powerhouse cast it has, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking there is something to this one and you wouldn’t be mistaken. I have watched quite a few action movies in my lifetime, from fantastic ones to just plain cheesy and mediocre ones, Mission: Impossible – Fallout firmly forms part of the former…this movie more than delivers on its promise.

All the current reviews aren’t kidding when they describe it as fast, sleek, and fun…that’s exactly what it is. In fact I can even go as further as to say it’s a classy roller coaster ride that will keep you on edge with some of the death defying sequences it includes. Everything about this movie just works, from the fight scenes to the little humor it has. Nothing feels forced and it flows perfectly across the different scenes shot from some of the most scenic and beautiful places around the world.

I also mentioned the supporting cast earlier with Henry Cavill (better known as Superman nowadays) forming a large part of this…an interesting and great choice it is. As for the lead, for all his movies, I will forever remember and associate Tom Cruise with the Mission Impossible franchise with this latest offering being his best ever movie I reckon. And for all his critics, I reckon this movie is enough to shut some, if not most them up. Can’t say it enough but Mission: Impossible – Fallout is a great movie.

A roller coaster ride that will keep you on edge throughout, Mission: Impossible – Fallout is a spectacular blockbuster movie perfectly made for any movie lover regardless of whether or not you enjoy action movies. Definitely in my top 10 movies for the year, it gets a blockbuster 8.5 out of 10 rating from me. Officially opens in Ster Kinekor cinemas nationwide today, GO SEE IT.

Special thanks to M-Net Movies (in partnership with Ster Kinekor) for the screening!

When someone mentions The Mummy to me I can’t help but imagine the old classic that starred Brendon Fraser as the lead. With so many remakes nowadays, guess it was only a matter of time until this one also got one. Officially in cinemas today (09 June 2017), I was lucky (yes again) to check out the movie earlier at an exclusive prescreening organized by the awesome crew at Ster-Kinekor (these guys sure know how to make a brother feel special). Been to a few now and can definitely vouch for these pre-screenings being worth it.

Before we get into it though, first check out the movie’s official trailer below:

Judging by the trailer, there’s no doubting that it’s definitely intense and gives you just the perfect amount to drum up some excitement and intrigue. But the same can be said about plenty more other movie trailers that have done the same with the overall watch not measuring up. So, how does The Mummy measure up?

Cast – Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kenzari & Russell Crowe

Director – Alex Kurtzman

Genre – Fantasy/Action

Running Time – 2 hours

The Plot

Nick Morton is a soldier of fortune who plunders ancient sites for timeless artifacts and sells them to the highest bidder. When Nick and his partner come under attack in the Middle East, the ensuing battle accidentally unearths Ahmanet, a betrayed Egyptian princess who was entombed under the desert for thousands of years. With her powers constantly evolving, Morton must now stop the resurrected monster as she embarks on a furious rampage through the streets of London.

What’s interesting to note is that The Mummy is an attempt by Universal Pictures to kick start its Dark Universe franchise. What does that mean exactly? Well, basically it’s an entire universe that includes classic monster movies such as Dr. Jekyll, Dracula, Mr. Hyde etc. What was even more interesting was seeing Russell Crowe (one of my favourite all time actors) taking up the role of Dr. Jekyll. Will be interesting to see if he assumes the character full time, it would actually make sense for it to stay like that. 

It was quite refreshing to see Tom Cruise in a slightly different role, it actually fitted him quite well, this despite the criticism currently leveled against him by other critics. The movie has several action scenes as well as a bit of humour sprinkled across which made it an overall good watch. And despite a running time of two hours the movie doesn’t feel that long and does manage to keep your attention throughout. The visuals, especially when the movie kicks in properly, are fantastic…it might then be worth checking it out in either IMAX or 3D.

One thing I would have liked to see more in the story-line though is more depth, it overall seems too blend and simplistic. A part of me feels like they could have done more with it to make it great instead of just good, which is what it is, just good.

The Mummy is a good movie and you would best be served trying not to compare it to the 1999 classic. If you are then this one won’t quite measure up. Most might say it’s poor or average, I would beg to differ. I had a good time and enjoyed the bulk of it, that’s why it gets a 3 out of 5 rating from me.