Directed by Brian de Palma and starring Tom Cruise, this shiny new reboot of the Mission: Impossible TV franchise had been earmarked on many calendars. I remember my own anticipation in the weeks leading up to the Wednesday release date. I don’t remember if I skipped school or we just happened to have that day off, but I remember vividly arriving at the theater that morning for a noon screening with my friend Sarah. Our junior year of high school was winding down so either option would have been plausible. Inside the lobby of the theater was a gargantuan cardboard standup advertising the film. These are insignificant details, but I’m painting a picture here you see. The theater lobby was largely empty. Eventually the theater filled up with devoted noontime moviegoers, but I made sure I was there plenty early.
I’d seen a couple episodes of Mission: Impossible, but the series’ history wasn’t a driving force in my expectations. For me this was a Tom Cruise movie. This was also a Brian de Palma movie. de Palma, a director whose output I’d just begun to explore properly. I’d just watched Dressed to Kill for the first time. And to a young cinephile that particular film is profound eye candy. I was also a massive fan of U2. And the fact that Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton had composed this new theme for the movie contributed in no small part to my obsession with Mission: Impossible. Even before the release of the film. At 17, I wasn’t the #Bond_age_ Guy. I was just an equal opportunity fan of movies. If you’ve forgotten the specific track, here’s a reminder:
When I think back on the films for which I’ve built massive pre-release expectations, Mission: Impossible resides in the Top 10. I wasn’t disappointed. I bought tickets to see the film again during the coming weekend. Mission: Impossible went on to break Terminator 2‘s record for a Wednesday opening and become the third highest grossing film from 1996. Critics generally embraced the reboot though their often backhanded praise fell short of unbridled fan enthusiasm.
Stephen Holden of the New York Times addressed the film’s hyper-convoluted plot: “If that story doesn’t make a shred of sense on any number of levels, so what? Neither did the television series, in which basic credibility didn’t matter so long as its sci-fi popular mechanics kept up the suspense.” The kinetic narrative glossed over narrative reason in favor of showy misdirection and entertainment value. Subsequent viewings (at least for me) revealed the frayed seams of logic, somewhat diminishing the film’s luster. And yet Mission: Impossible holds a special place in my history of treasured cinematic experiences. Do you recall the profound silence where Tom Cruise repels into the heat-sensitive computer terminal? No one in the theater dared breathe. For this scene alone, Mission: Impossible left an indelible mark on cinema — and not just of the action variety.
The success of 1996’s Mission: Impossible spawned a two decade franchise (and counting). This seems rather insignificant in the shadow of fifty years of Bond. But let’s consider that Tom Cruise has been playing Ethan hunt for 20 years now. No Bond actor ever entertained that kind of longevity. And though the M:I franchise has been full of fits and starts (rather than purposeful execution of the brand) as Cruise pursues other projects and personal eccentricities, the actor’s dedication to the series deserves praise. 5 movies. 5 different directors. Consider further that the series peaked (arguably) with the fourth entry – Brad Bird’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. How often can that be said?
To celebrate these twenty years of Mission: Impossible, #Bond_age_ is going to go back to the beginning. Over the next couple months, we’re going to live tweet each Mission: Impossible film starting Wednesday, May 25th at 9pm ET. For each film follow the #Bond_age_ hashtag.
Mission: Impossible Live Tweet Schedule:
5/25/16: Mission: Impossible (1996) 20th Anniversary Live Tweet (#MI20)
Join us over the next months for every Impossible Mission. If you have any memories or thoughts you’d like to share about the franchise, feel free to share your reminiscences. We’ll post any and everything we receive as part of our three month celebration of Mission: Impossible.
Join #Bond_age_ in wishing our favorite, fluffiest Bond a very happy 63rd birthday. To celebrate we’re live tweeting a selection of Brosnan’s greatest (or at least most entertaining) anti-Bonds: TAFFIN and THE TAILOR OF PANAMA.
Happy Birthday, 00-Fluffy!
Press play on the embed when some time before start time. The Spider video player will not play until the video is fully loaded. This prevents glitches and jitters. It’s a good thing. But you must be patient!
Today, on May 16th, Pierce Brosnan turns 63. #Bond_age_ plans to wish Fluffy a very happy birthday the only way we know how… with a double-decker live tweet extravaganza of Pierce Brosnan anti-Bond classics.
The Happy Birthday, 00-Fluffy Live Tweet of Taffin and The Tailor of Panama!
I’ve been wanting to live tweet Taffin since I first saw it three or four years ago. It’s an amazing story of a shiftless loafer who gets embroiled in minor local Irish politics. It’s a movie about such insignificant machinations that knowing the man playing Taffin went on to be the suave and sophisticated James Bond doubles the pleasure. The Tailor of Panama meanwhile takes a different anti-Bond tact. This is Brosnan as full on cad. A loathesome, offensive brute in an underrated thriller based on the Le Carre spy novel and directed by John Boorman. The two disparate ends of the same Fluffy. I hope you enjoy our offerings. Pfft. Of course you’ll enjoy these offerings. No ifs about it. Embeds for both films will appear on this website the day of the live tweet.
Join us Wednesday at 8:00pm EDT for the Taffin/Tailor of Panama Double Bill. Follow #Bond_age_ hashtag.
Greg McCambley and I have long thought about doing the Mission: Impossible films as live tweets. There’s a bunch of them and for the most part, they’re all pretty damn entertaining. With the 20th anniversary of the first appearance of Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt approaching in May, we thought what better time than the now? But but but we thought… Tom Cruise has appeared in a bunch of movies that would make some goddamn great live tweets. They’d be off the #Bond_age_ reservation, but, hey, why the hell not? That said, I’m happy to introduce…
Tom Cruising: Volume 1
The Risky Business/Cocktail Double Bill
We’ll provide embeds for each film, live and direct on the #Bond_age_ website sometime on Wednesday. We justify this Double Bill because Tom Cruise in real life is pretty much Scientologist James Bond. Also, he made some damn entertaining movies. Join us for Volume 1 of TOM CRUISING! And in case you haven’t read between the lines, we plan to come up with more Tom Cruise movies to live tweet, including each of the Mission: Impossible films beginning next month.
Follow #Bond_age_ hashtag and don’t forget your best Ray-Bans and brush up on your rendition of “Kokomo” by the Beach Boys. There will be a quiz afterward.
To whet your appetite here’s Tom Cruise stopping by The Tonight Show for a Lip Sync Battle with Jimmy Fallon. He might have busted out the Risky Business big guns.
Because #Bond_age_ can never resist beating a dead horse or running a theme straight into the ground — pile driver style — we’re changing our regularly scheduled programming to exchaust the short-lived 80’s “assassination game” genre. This was, of course, when games that simulated covert warfare and pretend murder were completely culturally acceptable and showcased in mainstream entertaining for the whole family. It’s the equivalent of cinematic lawn darts.
This time slot was once meant for Party Moore presents… GOLD, but quite honestly I can’t locate my Gold DVD to make the digital rip for you fine folks. I might be mistaken, but I assume that you don’t have Gold DVDs of your own. Therefore, as replacement programming, we’re following up Greg’s fine selection of T.A.G. The Assassination Game with the similarly themed GOTCHA! starring Anthony Edwards and Linda Fiorentino. (Yes, THE Linda Fiorentino… with a pretty amazing Russian accent! Thank me later. I’ll pencil a thank you session into my Google calendar right now, actually.) This is an essential 1985 movie (or at the very least an essential movie to riff) in which someone actually utters the line: “Who do you think you are? James Bond or something?” It’s another tale of college hijinx gone wrong when Anthony Edwards gets mistaken for a special agent and wrapped up in the game of international espionage! It’s GOOSE ACROSS THE IRON CURTAIN! Make sure to stockpile your Grade A Top Gun, Revenge of the Nerds (maybe even some Revenge of the Nerds II) and ER jokes for the occasion.
Sidenote: An original GOTCHA! poster with Linda Fiorentino’s legs is only $20. In case you need a Christmas present for me. I’m just saying.
Tune in Wednesday at 9pm EDT for the GOTCHA Live Tweet. Follow #Bond_age_ hashtag.
Sometime before 9pm push play on the Spider Video player so that it has an opportunity to load. Pause the video when it begins. The video won’t play until the entire file is loaded. Seriously. I’m not joking. Show up early. Press play.
To celebrate Timothy Dalton’s 70th birthday (on March 21st) I’d planned to live tweet THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS. But then I thought that The Smolder might feel a little left out. For all of the other Bond actor’s birthdays we’re live tweeting non-Bond movies. Why shouldn’t he get the same, uh, consideration. So then I’d planned to slot in FLASH GORDON! Because who doesn’t want a live tweet of Flash Gordon? WHO I ASK YOU! But as it turns out, the Flash Gordon I’d planned to use has a botched aspect ratio that made my head hurt watching it for five minutes. I test these things out for you guys. I’m on that wall. You need me on that wall. But I don’t own Flash Gordon. Womp womp. Which means I needed to find another Timothy Dalton live tweet prospect IMMEDIATELY. So on Tuesday morning I’m scanning T-Dalt’s resume on IMDB looking for something interesting that’s either available online or in my DVD collection. After a couple of less than interesting prospects (Dalton’s been in some really random stuff, you guys), I came up with…
Timothy Dalton’s BRENDA STARR Live Tweet 70th Birthday Bash!
What better way to celebrate The Smolder than with a movie based on a comic book that nobody actually wanted to release? And then when they did release it, the creator of the original comic publicly lambasted it and pretended it didn’t exist? Timothy Dalton playing a character named The Stranger! The Stranger wears an eye patch! And occasionally resembles Zorro! Brooke Shields gets to play an empowered woman but gets a script written for a total ditz! It’s Brenda Starr! It’s considered one of the worst comic book adaptations in history! “Danger has a new shape!” That’s a tagline in the trailer! Really! I hope all those exclamation points got you pumped up for the occasion.
Join #Bond_age_ on Wednesday, March 23rd at 9pm EST for the Brenda Starr Live Tweet! Follow #Bond_age_ hashtag.
