This week, action and misery seem to be the themes as takes on Shame and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, while Noah Taylor looks at The Divide, and Phil Brown watches Contraband
The law of diminishing returns that often applies to film franchises seemingly doesn’t apply to the Mission: Impossible series. After an okay, but incomprehensible first film, a dreadful second film, and a fun, but needlessly convoluted third film, director Brad Bird comes to the now aging series of spy thrillers to deliver a no-nonsense action film that strays from the elaborate plotting of previous entries in favour of a more straightforward and delightfully boneheaded approach.