Last year’s Lego Dimensions was a breakout hit for Warner Brother’s toys 2 gaming entry. This years update will make Lego Dimensions even bigger, and you won’t even need to buy a new starter set. Check out the trailer below:

The A-team? Mission Impossible? The New Ghostbusters? Goonies? Teen Titans? Sonic the Hedgehog? Fantastic Beasts? Gremlins? Yeah, Lego just won eh toys-to-gaming competition (especially now that Infinity has been canceled).

In what should have been a forgotten series, Brad Bird and J.J. Abrams breathe new life and maybe too many laughs in the languishing franchise. To be fair the current trend in action films is lean more towards the comic relief, but there are series that are entrenched in a legacy that transcends current fads. Consider for a moment, if you remember a lot of knee-slappers in the Bourne legacy or if indeed James Bond left you in stitches with his drink order. The Mission Impossible franchise, the films at least, were following this very paradigm; but to a detriment. By the time the third film came out the word of mouth informed many a casual fan that if you barely followed the plot of the sequel don’t bother to finish out the third installment. In a rare feat of cinematic resuscitation the brains behind the latest iteration of the Mission Impossible franchise has moved the series in the right direction.

To say the film moves at a break-neck speed is a disservice to the thought and careful plotting behind all of the action and exposition. Basically it looks great with smart gadgets and a plot that is within the viewers grasp. The first twenty minutes of the film are tightly plotted and paced to really reach in and grab the viewer. The best part of the opening of the film is that it has struck the correct balance of showcasing the beloved parts of the series as well as showcasing the stylistic and comedic flares that Bird and Abrams bring to the series.

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You might ask why a geek news site is interested in such a mainstream action movie that doesn’t come out for another 5 months. Well, I will give you THREE reasons:
#1 – Produced by JJ Abrams, who along with Mission Impossible 3 is also responsible for LOST, Alias, Star Trek 2009, and this summer’s Super 8.
#2 – Tom Cruise co-stars with a slew of geek favorites: Simon Pegg (Shaun Of The Dead), Jeremy Renner (The Avengers‘ Hawkeye) and Josh Holloway (Sawyer from LOST).
#3 – This is a big one: Its the first live action movie directed by Brad Bird. He’s the screenwriter for the cult classic *batteries not included and a veteran animation writer and director with credits on The Simpsons, but he’s also responsible for 3 of the best animated movies of the past decade: The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille.
Bird took the gig directing Mission Impossible because Disney/Pixar delayed production of his intended next film, 1906, which would be Pixar’s first live action movie, about the 1906 earthquake the nearly destroyed San Fransisco. If Mission Impossible exceeds expectations, that movie will likely shuffle into production quicker.

1 was awesome. 2 was enjoyable, though instantly forgettable. I saw no reason not to give 3 a try!

I went into the theatre expecting a nice fun action movie and not much else. It totally delievered on that level. Living up to it’s successors Mission Impossible III is an actioned packed guaranteed good time (not an actual guarantee).

When it comes to fun explosions, car chases, people jumping from helicopters and stuff like that I’m not generally a sucker for it but in this case I was at the edge of my seat from begining to end. On top of that there’s just all sorts of fun spy stuff. Messing with cameras, costumes, scaling walls, skydiving, retinal scans and all sorts of craZy stuff. It’s like James Bond only not stupid, boring or British.

Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, really steps it up in this movie. So much so that I’m confident in saying Ethan Hunt could kick that pansy Jack Bauer’s ass any day of the week. Not only does he run like only Tommy seem to (very reminiscent of Minority report at times) but he jumps around, gets all blown up, shoots people, beats people up, nails a hot chick and acts super cool all the way through it. Tom is phenomenal in this movie. He’s been a real craZy freak with the Katie thing and his cult but when it gets down to it there’s one thing that distinguishes him from the likes of John Travolta and Kirsty Alley and that’s the fact that he’s a good actor. Whether it be in acting like an mental patient or in his latest movie we can always count on Cruise to put everything he’s got into a performance and that enthusiam is never more appropriate than in a movie of this tone.

The rest of the cast is also solid. Ving Rhames’s character is a nice favourite to see back. Didn’t really see any repeats with the others but the newcomers were all solid. New spy guys Larry Fishburne and Billy Crudup were interesting and well played. His love interest was smokin’ hot! Above all else the performance which really blew my mind was Philip Seymour Hoffman as villain of the week. He just came off as so mean and totally in control of every situation. He’s come a long way since stealing a kiss from Marky Mark.

One beef I had with this flick, which I understand is a problem with Abrams in Alias and that I have seen briefly in Lost, is this super annoying flash forward scene he shoves at the starting of the movie. Watching this flick was like watching Payback after having been exposed to the all too revealing trailer. I’m seeing things develop and I know exactly where the story is supposed to go but now I’m just guessing at ways in which the story will lead me there. I much prefer to just learn the story as it goes along especially when the flash forward is quite late in the movie. This wasn’t like American Beauty where it was so vague that I forget it happens until it comes back. It was just too much.

That being said I still think this was a really solid movie. A great thrill ride for people who just like getting really into a fun action movie. If you like Mission Impossible 1, Alias, Felicity or Tom Cruise you really need to check this puppy out.

PS: Tom Cruise is not gay.