Heist

Sneakers

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  • Title: Sneakers
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“Too many secrets.”

Sneakers

Some movies age more gracefully than others. Even 20 years later Sneakers continues to entertain despite how much of the plot revolves around technology of the time. Robert Redford leads an unusual team of experts blackmailed by who they believe to be the NSA into stealing a Russian mathematician’s little black box which is the key to decrypting all known codes.

Along with a former CIA agent (Sidney Poitier), a blind computer expert (David Strathairn), a conspiracy nut (Dan Aykroyd), a hotshot kid (River Phoenix), and his ex-girlfriend (Mary McDonnell), Martin Biship (Redford) will attempt to stay one-step ahead of both government agents and shadowy figures (Timothy Busfield, Eddie Jones) while trying to capture the box and trade it for their freedom.

With the stellar cast (which also includes supporting roles by Ben Kingsley and Stephen Tobolowsky), Sneakers provides a humor-packed thriller complete with conspiracies, blind-man stunt driving, and the best use of Scrabble ever seen on film.

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Mission: Impossible

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  • Title: Mission: Impossible
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Mission: ImpossibleAlthough it began a series of increasingly good summer blockbuster over the course of two decades, 1996’s relaunch of the television series of the same name as a theatrical film (which introduced the world to Tom Cruise‘s most successful ongoing character in IMF Agent Ethan Hunt) is problematic at best. Poorly plotted, including a huge fuck you to fans of the original series by turning the television show’s central hero (Peter Graves) into a greedy villain (Jon Voight) selling CIA secrets to the highest bidder, the film hasn’t aged well. Turning Jim Phelps into a villain would be like rebooting Superman into a coldblooded killer. What kind of an asshole would do that?

Opening with the death of an IMF team (Kristin Scott Thomas, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Emilio Estevez) and Ethan on the run from his former bosses who believe he is responsible, the film climaxes early on with a break-in at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. It’s this sequence, and really only this sequence, that’s worth noting from the otherwise forgettable tale.

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Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

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  • Title: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
  • IMDb: link

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

While Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol and Mission: Imposible III may have more dramatic weight given the personal motivations that drive each film, director Christopher McQuarrie instead focuses solely on delivering an immensely enjoyable summer popcorn flick that feels like an old Bond film (complete with multiple locations around the globe and a swagger the Daniel Craig films lack) mixed with the sensibilities of Ocean’s Eleven. The result may or may not be the best in the franchise, but it is arguably the most fun film the series has produced.

What makes my enjoyment of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation all the more surprising is I’m not the biggest fan of the plot-framing device McQuarrie chooses to recycle in planting our heroes on the outside of their agency working essentially as rogue agents to save the day for those not smart enough to listen to them (here played by Alec Baldwin). The series tried it once, with Brian De Palma‘s bastardization of the original series, with mixed results. The plot is so common the Bond franchise has used it multiple times (License to Kill, Quantum of Solace, Diamonds Are Forever to name three – none of which would be considered among the series’ best).

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Ant-Man

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  • Title: Ant-Man
  • IMDb: link

Ant-Man

Ant-Man marks a departure for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the exception of Guardians of the Galaxy, which takes place deep in outer space and far from the films that feed into The Avengers movies, every Marvel project to this point has centered around a classic Marvel character that fits a rather well-used pre-designed Silver Age mold. Rather than center another film around a genius scientist turned hero, Ant-Man casts Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) as the weathered former hero choosing instead to focus the plot of the movie on his less straight-laced successor Scott Lang (Paul Rudd).

The recently paroled thief struggling to put his life in order and spend time with his young daughter (Abby Ryder Fortson), Lang is offered a chance by Pym to become the new Ant-Man. With the help of the scientist and his daughter (Evangeline Lilly), and a few of his formerly incarcerated friends (Michael Peña, David Dastmalchian, T.I.), Lang stumbles through his training to learn what it means to manipulate both his size and mass along with the insects which he can now command thanks to to the proprietary Pym Particles and the suit’s helmet.

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Focus

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  • Title: Focus
  • IMDb: link

FocusWritten and directed by the team of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, Focus met with mixed reactions from both audiences and critics when it opened in theaters earlier this year. It’s reminiscent of Out of Sight, the film rests largely on the performances of two photogenic and charming stars who, from time to time, need to smooth over the rough spots in the plot.

As a fan of heist and con flicks Focus is right up my alley, and it’s one of Will Smith‘s more interesting acting choices in recent years. As expert con man Nicky “Melo” Spurgeon, Smith takes a young grifter (Margot Robbie) under his wing in a screenplay that has a few too many twists for its own good but still turns out to be largely enjoyable thanks to the chemistry of its two leads. Focus may be cotton candy, lightweight with less going on beneath the surface than one would hope for, but it’s still a tasty treat that goes down easily and will momentarily satisfy your sweet tooth.

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