Scotty Kay

High production values, engaging/intriguing at times, but struggles to convince on any level. This Life and No Angels, both of the same genre, did it a lot better.

Wonderful piece of cinematic work.

Very good. Initially I thought it was going to be a woke-fest of DEI hires regardless of talent. But the casting and acting was sharp, and writing was taut and convincing. Whilst watching it I assumed Paul Greengrass was the director as it has a very “United 93” feel about it. Presumably there’ll be a sequel as there are so many things left unresolved. One thing, there must be hundreds of decent African American actors who could play the president but Idris Elba gets the gig?? But he was ok actually. The credits last around 15 minutes, do the movie itself is only about 1 hour 35. The musical score is excellent. Normally constant music annoys me, but this was pitched just right. It reminded me of the score to “In the Shadow of the Moon.” I wonder if instead of turning the clock back twice they could’ve intertwined the different perspectives in real time. Locations and extras all very convincing. A very good movie.

Annoying forced flippancy and “we’re all having a laugh” tone to the narration makes this virtually unwatchable. Play it straight.

This movie falls over itself. In trying to be deliberately chaotic in filming style (pretty old hat now) as a means of conveying the chaos of the subject matter, it fails to deliver on this. The script is disjointed and is so desperately trying to be naturalistic it just all feels inauthentic. The narrative arc is unconvincing and it feels more like a series of sketches. The teacher played by CM is convincing enough but there are so many holes in his character make-up as to make him too, lack authenticity. We keep being reminded that he has a problem through showing his repeated visits to the laundry room to have a quick swig of some drug or other, but this whole side of things fails to gain traction. The other actors clearly feel so worthy at being part of this work, but none of them convince, partly because the clunky script doesn’t allow them too. If Jimmy McGovern was given the remit, we might’ve had something to pluck the heartstrings. As it is, the producers of this movie desperately want us to care deeply about the students, but I didn’t care for any of them or what happened to them. The whole “bright with a good heart, but troubled” thing is kind of boring now. If you want to see a movie that really gets to the heart of institutional issues in this arena, watch the 1970s TV movie version of Scum. Tight script and plot, no silly shaky camerawork, characters you believe, and actors who deliver.

Tooooooooooooo looooooooooong! It is a great movie, but it’s not the Godfather. Four episodes!! A much tighter hour-long one off would’ve been better.

Show itself gets 5 but the incessant background music accompanying every moment is irritating. Why do documentary makers insist on this? The musical score is good, but there’s just too much of it.

Young buck leaves the track, flips over about 6 times in mid air, lands, car bursts into flames, he remains in the inferno for around 15-20 seconds, gets lifted out, acquires some mild burns on his knuckles which heal after 3 weeks by which time he’s fit to race again. Brad Pitt’s shoulders and neck must be hurting because he is forced to carry what is a predominantly weak supporting cast. The actors playing Joshua and his manager simply cannot act. The chief pit mechanic is reduced to some kind diluted Rafiki character. The Irish chief engineer has good passion and believability but she has an odd habit of drawing out certain words. It feels like she should be in a gritty drama about the Troubles, but found herself in this patchwork affair. Bar Pitt, the ginger race engineer is the best actor in the movie, giving what feels like a natural and convincing portrayal. But we only see him during races. Another decent performance is given by the team owner chap. Writing is clunky and rather stilted. Others’ characterisation of Hayes as an “asshole” from the get-go, just doesn’t convince as he comes across as quite decent. Racing cinematography is excellent. The Daytona stuff at the start is compelling and I wanted to see more. I only looked at my watch once. Good spectacle but the off track scenes are stilted, overlong and unconvincing.

You go to see this because you feel you should, which is what I did, even after reading the one-star reviews. But if you want entertainment, suspense and thrills you’d be better off watching the other M:I movies, the first three Bourne movies or, for “will there be a nuclear holocaust or won’t there?”, who can beat Wargames (the original) or Crimson Tide? The first hour of M:I 8 is a pointless, boring mess of wordy exposition, and flashbacks that only serve to remind you how good the other M:I movies were. At times this could have been a radio play it was so static and text-heavy. I spent the first hour wondering when it was going to start, and the last hour wondering when it was going to end. I looked at my watch several times throughout- never a good sign. Seriously, if you must see it, do yourself a favour and arrive in the theatre about an hour in, just as Ethan jumps into the sea from the aircraft. That’s the natural start to the movie. So many of the turgid multi-character scenes reminded me of that Family Guy spoof of Return of the Jedi when they’re on Jabba’s ship in the desert, and they all repeatedly look at each other before escaping. In M:I 8 it became quite noticeable and unintentionally comic. No denying the work and film-craft that has gone into this movie, but it’s a serious let-down. If a movie is going to be almost 3 hours long, it had better be brilliant, and this isn’t.

Who watches this nonsense? FIVE seasons of it??!! 🤷🏼