Just got back from seeing M:I-3, and a better kick-off point for the summer movie season I couldn't ask for.  Incredible direction by J.J. Abrams, superb score by Giacchino, and a plot that's worlds tighter and more enjoyable than any of the previous two M:I films. 

What I love most about M:I-3 is what Abrams was originally trying to do; "make it about teamwork and the resources of the IMF." Seeing the IMF doing their thing, especially in the awesome Vatican City sequence, really gives the film its edge and personality.  Ethan's character is given more depth in a way that Christopher Nolan's Bruce Wayne was given in Batman Begins; it drives the sentiment and the gravity of the plot's situation along -- and Abrams' patented use of cutting forward and backwards in the story's time frame (in particular, the pre-credits opening sequence) creates a great sense of impending urgency.

I've really gotta quote MiraJeff's review here, because he just plain nails it: "What’s interesting about M:I-3 is the simplicity with which its source material is re-approached. There is no ego-driven, radical re-invention here; “from the ground up” rethinking is not evident. Abrams and company simply looked at the core material that was available to them, and added spunk, depth and flair. They don’t undercut or re-define anything about MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. They merely find its heart, nurture it, and give it a makeover."    

I know that by the time the summer's over, I'll be seeing it at least one more time in the theaters.  It's just that freaken good.

So, has anyone seen the film yet?  Plan to see it again this weekend, especially after picking up the soundtrack yesterday.  Tracks 7 through 10 contain my absolute favorite cues, and they're coincidentally part of my favorite sequence, Vatican City.  They're an orgastic feast for Schifrin fans, in particular, as for all intents and purposes, it's a fourteen minute long orchestral homage to the M:I theme.... Giacchino style!

World's Best Last Fourteen Minutes of Music

I glad to hear Abrams got Giacchino for the soundtrack, I definitely had hoped JJ could salvage the MI series, and it sounds like it was.  I will definitely make a point to see this movie.

I saw it last weekend and I really enjoyed it. It was fast-paced, exciting, well-acted, entertaining and Giacchino's score was fantastic. I picked up the soundtrack the first chance I got.

(I think my favorite cue is probably "Bridge Battle" although "World's Worst Last Four Minutes to Live" arguably works the best in the film)

Angela: Did you splice together "Humpty Dumpty" to "See You In the Sewer?" If I remember correctly, those four cues are non-stop in the theater. Wonderful scoring...

So you noticed!  Yep, I took tracks 7 to 10 and spliced them all in to create the fourteen minute track.  Listen to the ending, too -- I took that from the ending of the first track to make the finale. :)

I didn't like the first Mission Impossible and I never saw the second. I tend to watch movies with Tom Cruise only if they're sci-fi, like Vanilla Sky, Minority Report and War of the Worlds. He annoys me.

JJ Abrams is a much better director, you should give him a chance.

De Palma's M:I struck a bad chord with me, though Woo's M:I-2 keeps a spot in my book just for being a guilty pleasure-induced popcorn flick. (Cruise's flowing locks, coupled with Woo's trademark slowdown effects...... how can you lose??)

I'm also probably one of the few out there who really dug Zimmer's M:I-2 score.  It's got a hard-edged flair of "cool" that bolds well with the film, but it's the acoustic-guitar pieces, such as "Seville" and "Nyah," that really stand out in my opinion. 

It's "Bare Island's" pretentious chorus-filled climax, leading into the M:I theme that completely rocks my world, though:

MI2 - Bare Island

THANK YOU, KENNY!!!

Erm, not our own Kenology, but my older brother. ;)  He's in town for a couple of weeks here, and we both just got back from seeing The Last Stand and M:I-3.  After being on this awesome adrenaline high afterwards, we shared some of the related soundtracks we owned.  (Yes, he just so happens to bring his entire digital music collection wherever he goes; he's got an attaché case just for electronics with eight freaken 60GB iPods on him.  o_O)  One of the albums he had was exclusively-filled with mixes and variations of the M:I theme, and I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the one I've been pining for the past six years.

Some of you may remember quite a while back how I was raving about that short, but cool-as-ice version of the M:I theme that plays in the beginning of the second film, when Ethan receives his assignment during his "holiday."  I never thought I'd be able to net a dialogue-free version of the track, let alone an extended one to boot. 

So, without further ado, the track that has made my musical life a little more complete:

MI2 - Theme of Mission Impossible

EIGHT!? Oh, to have money...

Yeah, lots of money, but with these small HDs it's no wonder someone would need eight...
I haven't bought any iPod yet simply because they don't have 1 TB models.
Somebody let me know when they do.  (Well, maybe a 600 GB would cut it...)