Resurgence

 DVD, Stargate Universe S2 (Resurgence)

Telford comes back! I'd thought he did, and indeed, he did, the aliens apparently benign, at least enough not to harm him and allow him to search out Destiny on the seed ship they'd taken over, to form a truce to take out the boss ship of some automated drone vessels. There's some kind of war going on between them and these aliens (the Ursini, or Ersini, or maybe even Orsini - I'm going with the first one). It all looks really nice, as ever, the visual effects very accomplished, even beautiful sometimes, such as escaping an attack by following the seed ship into a star's corona which takes out many of the pursuing drones. It also sounds appropriately evocative of space. So sound and visuals a-okay, it's just that the story tried to whack in a bit too much and yet wasn't satisfactory, there's no underlining of the plot, it's a little too vague, I found myself dropping out sometimes in dialogue-heavy scenes which suggests it wasn't holding the attention as the series can. Otherwise I don't know, it's difficult to say why it didn't work, with a good mixture of exploring an abandoned hulk, getting Telford back, and going into battle against many much smaller ships. But I found myself wondering things like how could the shuttle dock with Destiny when it suddenly comes under attack by the drones in the debris field, a graveyard of Ursini ships? Destiny never dropped shields and yet they were able to get in. Those are the kind of details I like to know, and growing up with the very well defined rules of Trek, I wanted that here.

There was also a spot of confusion over what game the Ursini were playing - it seemed like they'd double-crossed their human allies, but I wasn't sure how. Weren't they expecting there to be lots of drone ships where they were going? Rush, characteristically, advised double-crossing them in the first place, just as he shows a lot of irritation with the other scientists (no wonder Brody wanted to go off with Scott and Greer to explore the ship in the debris!), and is very dismissive. But he is still grieving, lest we forget, he lost the woman whose mind was within Gin's body, Dr. Perry. He's able to talk to Eli as one who knows, Eli's become quite unfocused in his work, various people worried about him, Camille tries to talk to him, but like a typical modern young man he refuses even to stay in the same room when the painful subject is broached. At least Rush's blunt, unsentimental, facts-of-life attitude to dealing with him gets somewhere, but it's interrupted before he can finish or Eli can run away. I think that's it, the episode was very unfinished in all its plot lines, that's what takes away from a story that would have been otherwise fine.

We have Eli not getting back to normal, not reacting well to Gin's death, but holding it all in, too. You have Chloe continuing to be distant with Scott (then cries when she points out he's being that way, too!), because she thinks her time is almost up - that develops into her going alien and escaping during the battle to go somewhere on Destiny and do something... we don't know what. Could be good, could be bad, we're not told. Wait till next time! Then there's the aliens versus the drones - are our people the victim of a trick, or not? In the chaos of battle it's anyone's guess. Is this some kind of mid-season mini-finale? Did they even have those then? Or is it merely a cliffhanger as we sometimes see, not every episode neatly wrapped since it is a form of serialised storytelling. There are plenty of character scenes, like Brody and Greer bantering about the third EV suit that's recently been fixed and why should Greer be the one to wear it (easier to fix, is Brody's quick-witted answer, all very fitting), Varo wants to help TJ, despite the debacle of Simeon happening on his watch, and she eventually allows him out to assist with casualties. Volker, Parke and Brody in their put-upon roles under Rush (no surprise he sits in the Captain's chair!), are always fun. But we don't see much of others like Lt. James, people are quite isolated now that they have the command centre on the Bridge, and everyone seems to be in their own little areas, much like a Trek starship, except without the myriad crewmen. So things are a little bare. I hope the next part retroactively improves this one.

**

Metroid Prime

 GameCube, Metroid Prime (2003) game

My first proper encounter with Samus Aran came with this game, not counting the playable version in the original 'Super Smash Bros.' on N64 and a cameo at the end of one of the tracks in 'F-1 Race' on the humble Game Boy. Nintendo in their infinite wisdom (or for some other reason), deigned not to update the series on N64 from the 2D days of yore. And so it was left to 'Prime' for her introduction into 3D. And I liked it, it was a strong mix of shooting, scanning and environment-spanning puzzles á la 'Zelda' - I would say that series is probably the greatest influence: traversing a large game world, collecting power-ups to unlock other areas. In fact it was pretty much one big dungeon. There was some variety in locations, from the verdant, watery Tallon Overworld, to the seething lava pits of Magmoor, snowy land of Phendrana, Egyptian tomb-like Chozo Ruins, and the brown caves of the Phazon Mines (interspersed with beauteous shocks of purple and blue Phazon, unfortunately deadly to the standard Samus suit), though as I'll explain later the environments weren't quite varied enough. Having enjoyed the Wii sequel recently (not to mention the 'Cube sequel a good few years back), it had made me want to revisit the original, especially heading into winter with those dark, chilly days, you just want a long, involved challenge to warm the brain cells.

Last time, way back in 2006, it took me from January to August, getting stuck on occasion, and with an ultimate completion of a measly 74% (and on Normal difficulty, too!). The main reason I got such a low rating was because I foolishly ran through the opening level on the crashing Frigate and failed to scan things so right there was a hole in my Log Book Entries. This time I was resolved to take it more carefully and try for 100%. Percentage completed may not sound all that important, you have after all finished the game when you finally defeat the Phazon Metroid Prime creature, but you're so schooled in scanning all the time that you want to collect them all and I was quite disappointed not to achieve my goal: ultimately I managed to find 96% of the items, and 97% scans, but I let myself down on a couple of occasions that may have made the difference. The big one was not realising that when you find one of the twelve Chozo Artefacts which your quest is all about, you go back to the Artefact Temple and the next clue is scannable. Not realising this, I sometimes collected more than one, thus overwriting the existing scan, losing it forever! To me this was a cruel attitude towards the player, I think all scans should have been available at all time so you couldn't fall into a trap in what is a reasonably sizeable adventure - it's harsh to prevent a 100% completion because you messed up on one or two occasions!

The other time I'd already realised I wasn't going to get all the scans and I was working my way through the Mines - in one room you have to Spider Ball up to a platform, then jump across to another using the Grapple Beam and because it was so dark and brown I didn't notice that at first and kept falling into harmful Phazon and having to go back and start again. I could see a console with a red scan on it (usually meaning it activates something, as opposed to the orange variety which are passive scans merely giving more information), and assumed it would bring a platform closer to me, and only after I'd activated it did I realise it shut down a forcefield in the background which had had an orange scan point on it, and now I couldn't scan it. Because the Mines were so tough and irritating I just gave up and accepted it rather than quitting out and going back to my last save (as I'd done on other occasions previously when unsure if I'd got every scan to preserve my record). As it turned out it wouldn't have made much difference, but either way if you miss one you may as well have missed many. I actually had to mark the game down one star from what I would have given it mainly because of this frustrating harshness regarding completion - and this time I was all out to get maximum percentage, it just didn't seem fair!

It was strange that I wasn't even able to collect all the pickups, too. There are one hundred in the game, including the essential upgrades to suit and weaponry, but still I was four short by the end. I even went to the extreme of using an item map that was unlocked in Gallery 3, the bonus extras for achieving a certain level of completion, so I felt since I'd earned it I had the right to use it (whereas I tend not to like walkthroughs or any of that because it defeats the object of the game and my sense of personal achievement). But even then, while I tracked down the last two missile expansions (out of a total of forty-nine, making a grand total of 245 missiles in your arsenal), I was still missing two percent, which I can't account for (22 essential upgrades√, 14 energy tanks√, 12 Chozo Artefacts√, 49 missile expansions√, 3 Power Bomb expansions√ (I think), and a partridge in a pear treeeeeee!). The game is all about collecting and some of them were hidden all too well, and even with the advantage of a mechanical whirring noise to alert you to the presence of them nearby, it was still tough (one of the expansions I missed was unfairly hidden in a tunnel disguised by a bush - unfair because it was far enough away from the corridor that you couldn't hear the telltale noise! Again: cruel).

What I will say is the best part of the game is probably that part where you're equipped to search out areas you've been to before that held points of interest - perhaps a door that was the wrong colour and you needed a different beam weapon to access it, or wall that needed blasting open. It's that exploration and the opening up of your abilities that makes it so enjoyable. That does lead to the other considerable complaint I would level at the game, however: too much backtracking. At some points you do actually enjoy revisiting areas that you'd left behind hours ago in another part of the world, there's a kind of nostalgia to going back there, when you've probably only been there once before. That's because the levels are so long and windy that you have a strong sense of going deep underground or into strongholds of the enemy, and the overriding feeling of the 'Prime' games (and from what I gather about the earlier titles), is the isolation of a single lone woman going into the deeps to face untold horrors. You really get that in spades when your energy tanks are almost depleted and you're limping along hoping against hope there's a Save Station round the next corner because otherwise that last half hour or more is going to be cruelly ripped away from you and you'll have to go back to your last save. And then you stumble upon some new enemy and only have time to realise it needed a different technique to defeat before your visor blinks into oblivion like an old TV set shutting down!

I chose to play it on Hard this time, partly for the challenge, having finished it at Normal before, but also because after three games in the series I'm well versed in its style - the way you lock onto an enemy to circle-strafe them was quite unique back then. 'Zelda' had introduced it into its first 3D entry (another parallel between the two), but to make what had been 2D into 3D, they needed to tweak things a bit. This wasn't a typical shooting game like 'Goldeneye,' this was someone encased in a unique robotic suit so how you interacted with the world would be different. It's actually a little removing because that little puff-puff of gears working when you double-jump for example, or even the movement running along the floor, can feel very airy and loose, you don't feel solidly connected to anything and it is slightly disconcerting. It's different when you come down to earth with a bump, then the jar rattles through the rumble in your controller, and equally when you get shot it affects you in different ways - if it's pure fire then you hear Samus yelp, if electrical energy then the visor will crackle and obscure vision. If it's a high-powered energy weapon then vision can be completely whited out and you do get a really strong impression of being in this suit. Everything, other than being in Morph Ball mode is seen through this visor, and the graphical effects were very impressive at the time: raindrops lingering, steam temporarily fogging the display, the way a flash of light would illuminate 'your' face so you see your reflection, it was all wonderful stuff.

What I would say now in opposition to this is that while the different environments are unique there's also rather a lot of brown! Tallon is brown with green bits, the Ruins are a sandy shade of brown, the mines are a dark brown, and the architecture beneath the violent red heat or crispy snow is also, yes, brown. Maybe Nintendo was trying to subvert its kiddie image of colourful Mario worlds, but 'Zelda' managed to do that and also had much visual splendour, too. As I said before, when you get to the Mines and see them lit by the grisly internal glow of Phazon, especially once you have a suit that protects you from it and allows time to appreciate the view, it really is beautiful and something I seem to remember them expanding greatly in the sequel which was all about Phazon-infected lands I believe. While I'm griping, though, it's a shame your ship only stays in one place, something 'Prime 3' added to and enhanced the experience with. All you can do in this one is use it as a save point. Still, the game does have other graphical flourishes, too, such as creatures emitting light in darkness, the gloom of the underwater areas and of course the flashy fights. It's not limited to the area you're in, either, as you eventually supplement your standard view and scan visors with thermal detection and x-ray which adds new dimensions to gameplay. Maybe not as much as you might think, mainly for solving problems in specific areas, but still, it was another impressive addition.

It's all very well having a pretty game, but it's really all about what you do that counts, and if some areas are so dingy it can make playing in a light room difficult, the challenge still exists. I highlighted one area the game can induce tension, but the bosses are also worth mentioning. My time of a little under twenty-four hours isn't indicative of the actual total time I played for as there were sections occasionally that I had to replay a number of times before succeeding, and some of the bosses would be included in that - the Omega Pirate of the Mines is one example, but obviously the final battle(s) are the toughest, as you'd expect. Arguably Meta Ridley is much harder to beat than what comes after and it took me many attempts before I realised I needed to charge up shots to have a strong enough effect on it, but I have to say I've never liked boss fights, it's always such a chore to work out what you're supposed to do and when, annoying levels of trial and error and they often go on too long (the final battles are a case in point). Such things do irritate and appear like a last remnant of the Olden Days when games were specifically designed to be too tough to beat for most people unless you really dedicated yourself to them. They had less size, scope and power to play with and to increase the lifespan of a game it had to be nearly unplayable! Super tough end of level bosses are relics of that and it is strange that in a time when they could craft pretty large levels and pack them with puzzles and challenges they still went back to that trope: repetitive slog and an anticlimax (and why is it last levels in sci-fi games end in an organic alien world you have to traverse - made me think of 'Flashback' and 'Body Harvest').

I would suggest that if there hadn't also been so much backtracking the game's length would probably be cut in half. Once you get every upgrade and have the freedom of the corridors with the most powerful beam (Plasma), Grapple Beam, all the bombs, etc, it makes getting from A-to-B fairly simple, but it still takes time. Back when you were limited in health and abilities it could be tempting to head towards a previous Save Station so you could recoup health and ammo (missiles that is, as you have infinite power in your beams), but then you'd discover another annoying thing: enemies regenerate! It doesn't make a lot of sense to the story that these Space Pirates (snappy name...), gradually learn more about you and even imitate you later on, but still fail to learn from your rampages through their territory! The same troops and creatures reappear each time you return as if nothing had happened, and I suppose that's just one of those tropes of gaming, much like platforms that have no visible means of floating, or invisible platforms, etc. You just accept it and move on. But it's still annoying when you go through areas you've beaten and end up dead because you ran out of energy. Again: cruel, if par for the course in most games.

To weigh up we have too much backtracking, environments that aren't variable enough, a harsh approach to ultimate completion and recurring enemies. It almost sounds as if I didn't like playing it, but I certainly did. I never regretted choosing Hard as though it was practically new to me as it'd been so long since I first played it, I was already in the rhythm of the series, a veteran, so if the game was rougher with me I was okay with that and it was certainly never unplayable. I haven't even talked about the beautiful physics of being a heavy round ball, no matter that it may as well be magic since how could a grown woman squash into a small sphere like that! But it's typically Nintendo in the enjoyment of simply being a different form and the sense of movement you feel that is so different to bipedal locomotion - you could roll back and forth on a halfpipe for hours (well, minutes maybe - I certainly did when trying to get one of the missile expansions). And there's the secret bomb-based technique for boosting higher than you could from one bomb... It was a good game to revisit and though I'm slightly bitter about not achieving my 100% (maybe in another fifteen to twenty years?), and it is a game that demands a good long play time, not a ten-minute bash when the space between saves is so large, I would heartily recommend it. But don't expect too much, allow the series to grow - there's a lot to enjoy even in this first one. I may not view it as quite the classic 'NGC Magazine' rated it back in the day, but it's still a long and rewarding journey.

***

Visitation

 DVD, Stargate Universe S2 (Visitation)

Not really sure how to take this one. It's like an unnecessary return to an old plot, the people led by Kane who resolved to stay on that planet in the other galaxy. Or is it a necessary revisitation to remove the ambiguity about TJ's baby? In that sense it was useful to know that her vision or whatever it was, wasn't real - Young believes it was a simulation, like the one of the ship blowing up that he went through. Was it an attempt by the ship to comfort her, because it seems more like it cruelly raised her hopes, only for them now to be dashed? The trouble with the story is that it's dealing with things well beyond the control or understanding of our characters, and it's interesting that they've gone in this direction of higher powers and miraculous events they can't explain, but it also smells of the 'Lost' (and its ilk's), kind of storytelling, stringing people along with bizarre happenings and seemingly deep and meaningful events and developments that ultimately don't really progress or reach a satisfying conclusion. Not that I've seen 'Lost,' just impressions from what I heard, and they seem to be trying to tap into that mystical uncertainty. It's far from the good guys going to planets and having conflicts with villains, perhaps it was being too vague, trying too hard to reach beyond its franchise's pretty simple premise to something more. And maybe that's why it didn't succeed.

On a micro level the episode isn't one of the more satisfying, it does answer the questions posed, as in how can the people from another galaxy have been pushed right onto Destiny's doorstop aboard a shuttle that is brand spanking new - it seems most likely the aliens sent them as some kind of preparation for death or a chance to say goodbye, but that suggests the aliens had compassion and understood our species enough to know what they needed, and yet if they're as powerful as they seem, why can't they stop them from dying? It all seemed like an effort to give some exploration or parallel to the other ongoing stories that are left (now that the remainder of the Lucian Alliance folks aren't a threat with Simeon dealt with), namely Chloe continuing to change into one of the enemy aliens, and the discovery of these signs of intelligent life that built the universe, as Rush believes. Higher powers, people changing into things, it's all very vague and hard to pin down and I think that's why it doesn't work as well as it should. Even so there are the odd little scenes that do work, such as Greer visiting Chloe to apologise for the fact he's probably going to have to kill her eventually, which she's remarkably calm and understanding about, which suggests she's already changed a lot. And the scene at the end with TJ being with Kane in the observation lounge before he finally dies watching the stars.

I can't say I ever liked the man, he was too much of a weird Christian stereotype of someone who has his head in he clouds more than on Earth, despite the fact that he and the others were put into a situation of the most need of practicality than ever: being self-sufficient on an alien planet they knew little to nothing about! Perhaps dividing his trust between God and those powerful aliens was what really got them all killed, maybe they weren't supposed to leave Destiny in the first place? I'm not even sure if he was actually a Christian, it's just an assumption since they were American and that is the main faith of that nation, but again it's a very televised version, all blind belief and no mention of the Bible or learning God's will, just 'feelings,' which isn't something to be led by! It did bring out some good points, such as Rush suggesting that either God was losing his touch, or he wasn't involved in the 'miracle' at all, since while the shuttle was like new, they still had their bodily defects, which was a good point. There's supposed to be some creepiness about them, like they're these walking facsimiles but not the real thing. That's correct in a way, but it was all very metaphysical and not well tied down, all left open to interpretation - after all we don't really know if any of Kane's impressions were actually true, that's just what he thought.

It is weird how they manage to bring people back on a series that navigates such impossibly vast distances, but it wasn't true what Greer said about losing plenty of people, but never seeing any return - look at both Rush and Chloe, left behind, not to mention Eli and the gang on another occasion, so it's occurred more than once! He may have meant from death, but that wasn't clear, nor would he have known at that stage of the episode. I'm glad they included a scene where he showed remorse for an act he expected to commit, he's only coming from the perspective of what he believes needs to be done, and what he believes Young believes needs to be done, a military standpoint, lacking compassion, all about protection from threat. TJ operates quite differently and acts very well as the medical person, though I assume she must have been taking surgical lessons since she was only a medic, but here she suggests quite nonchalantly she should perform an autopsy, which seems like quite a heavy duty process, not something in your average battlefield training! It was nice that she gained a measure of comfort from Kane's belief in her baby going to heaven, even if he doesn't say that actual word (again, all very vague, not very solid and certain). It effectively ends that storyline, but I'm not sure they have a lot to play with now.

We've dealt with the Lucian Alliance, we've uncovered Rush's secret control of the ship, we've gone through all kinds of trust issues between various people and groups and now things are going along relatively peacefully so they've always got to find some new conflict to throw in. When Chloe was recording her message to Scott and she talks about how she wishes they could have done this and that, and grown old together, I was thinking I'd settle for just a few more seasons! Because I do like it, the premise, setting and many of the characters and I always wonder where it would've gone. In this episode I got the wrong end of the stick because I was thinking Eli's mention of the obelisk was what caused the first death among the colonists, as if the aliens had sent them away to stop them interfering with it and they were programmed to die if they remembered it, but that theory was proved false, though I was surprised they didn't ask Eli what he'd been discussing before she died, and equally you'd think they'd have had medical people around when Camille was trying to get into their heads through hypnosis (!), and they're surprised when a second death occurs! In the end it felt like it had been a long story to get to no real point other than confirm TJ's baby's death was certain, and not enough of the interesting characters had a good share of the screen time.

**

Tsunkatse (2)

 DVD, Voyager S6 (Tsunkatse) (2)

Wrestling and Trek, together at last as they were always meant to be! Okay, so maybe they aren't natural associates and clearly it was all about shameless cross-promotion (Trekkers would see The Rock and think, 'ooh, I must see what all this fighty WWF stuff is all about,' and in turn, the wrestling fans would queue up to see their hero's acting debut in a proper TV show...), as both 'Voyager' and what was then the WWF, were both up there on the UPN roster. I was trying to work out if I knew who The Rock was when I first saw this episode - I saw it on BBC2 in September 2001, and I'd bought 'WWF Wrestlemania' for N64 in February 2001, so yes, in answer to my own question, I was aware of The Rock and no doubt enjoyed the crossover as being a novelty, even though I wouldn't have seen him in action in 'real life' before 'Voyager' as the closest I came to actual wrestling was the occasional segment of 'WCW' on Channel 5 on a Friday evening. You might think there isn't much overlap between the two disciplines of sci-fi and wrestling, but I suggest there are plenty of people who enjoy a good Trek who also filter over into a spot of wrestling. They are both about all kinds of weird and wonderful characters, with heroes trying to do what's right and villains getting in their way. Wrestling is much more basic in its storytelling, of course, but still, it isn't quite as farfetched a matchup as on first consideration.

The Rock wouldn't be the only wrestling star to make it into the annals of Trek history as his fellow WWE associate, Big Show, would appear in 'Enterprise' as a green-skinned Orion (and apparently Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, who played Klaang in that series' pilot was also a wrestler, tough I didn't know it), but The Rock portraying an alien fighter was closer to his wrestling persona. It's enjoyable to see him performing the same actions even in this slightly incongruous setting: in a franchise where the raising of one particular eyebrow is well known, we get to see another, almost as famous, from another franchise. Then there's the looking side to side and the amusing sight of Seven of Nine being subjected to wrestling moves such as a clothesline or a body slam to the mat. Actually I suspect Seven would have made a great character on WWE - the bionic woman with greater than normal hand/eye coordination, visual acuity and physical strength and stamina. She really looks the part in her silver suit (almost a call back to the famous silver bio suit in which she first appeared out of Borg guise). I also like that she doesn't beat The Rock, as much as she has fighting ability, they couldn't bring him in to be bested by a mere slip of a Borg, and like the similarly named Rocky, she has to taste defeat before victory.

The question of whether she was victorious or not is one of the episode's themes, with an ending that is almost identical to 'The Most Toys' in which Data comes to see Kivas Fajo as an evil man, is possibly about to fatally shoot him and is then beamed away before he can become a murderer. Or Kirk in 'Arena' when he has the Gorn at his mercy and throws away his weapon in an act of compassion to a fallen enemy he has no wish to extinguish. Seven's resolution is somewhere between the two though it has the power of neither, sadly. To be a hunter, or to be prey, or... I wanted the third alternative, but it was merely to be saved from making the choice. Kirk's great moral victory is what solves the Metron's dilemma about how to deal with these aggressive 'lesser' species, and the ambiguity of whether Data would have actually pulled the trigger and what that would mean for him was something that left a shocking aftertaste in a series that was generally quite safe and proper in its characters' actions (though not always [Mr. Worf]). I wasn't so sure there was such a strong payoff for this episode. Partly the situation was different, she was fighting for her life, not judging an evil man; she was dealing with an honourable opponent who'd trained her and wanted her to end it for him, or he would kill her. I did wonder why he hadn't allowed himself to be killed earlier, but then I realised death itself as an escape wasn't his main objective, he wanted to leave one last message to his son, were his son still out there somewhere, by dying in honourable combat.

As always, her experiences as a Borg drone play into how she deals with the situation, in both 'assimilating' the rules of the game (and failing to see beyond the strict confines of order and rule - so much for 'four-dimensional thinking,' the Borg Queen must have kept that for herself rather than share it with drones that might have been liberated by the same level of understanding and intelligence as she apparently had. I say 'apparently' because she wasn't as clever as she thought she was!), but also in not wanting to be like the Borg that she'd been. It does irk somewhat that she continues to feel guilt and shame for a past that she can have had little to no control over. She was a drone, she didn't have free will, and even if she thought she did, she'd been turned into a Borg from childhood and been brought up wrongly in morality, ethics and every other way by the 'State' she inhabited, where personal thought was quashed under one mindset allowing for no diversity of thinking or allowance that their way could be wrong (sounds scarily familiar to today's public schooling...). So she can't really be held responsible for what she did then, she 'converted' to humanity, not easily, and it took some time, no instant change, but converted she was and the episode's ending was somewhat saved by Tuvok's reassurance that the very fact she's experiencing confusing emotions of loss, guilt an remorse, are what reaffirms her humanity. I must say that was rich coming from a Vulcan! It didn't quite fit with his philosophical outlook.

As much as I enjoyed their pairing, a couple of people who were comfortable without engaging in small talk and other such irrelevancies, and thus made a perfect match for a mission (it's even more enjoyable that it's a mission by choice as a way to spend their shore leave - it's not like they've ever been friends, but Seven, as I've noted on many occasions, is the closest to a female Vulcan we ever saw, even including the (relatively emotional), T'Pol!). There's also that line from Chakotay, I think it was, who says Tuvok should be interested in this alien sport of Tsunkatse because Vulcans appreciate martial arts. I'm not sure quite where this idea came from because the whole point of developing the Spock Nerve Pinch in 'TOS' was because Nimoy felt his character wouldn't be martial, he would find a nonviolent solution! But since then we've seen Vulcans go from this apparent pacifistic tendency to full on martial arts experts - 'Enterprise' was the big one for that with T'Pol even teaching others how to perform the Suus mahna (named for writer Mike Sussman), and then of course taken to new levels in 'DSC,' etc. Not that I object to Vulcans being able to be expert fighters, just that they seem to be all about it now rather than finding the peaceful or less painful resolution in such a situation of confrontation. Then he counsels Seven to do whatever it takes to survive when she's going off to fight in the to-the-death Red Match. It just doesn't sound quite right for him to say, though I suppose survival is logical and the whole point of the Hirogen's training was that she should have no mercy and no thought for her opponent, only defeating him.

The Hirogen With No Name is what we should call him as we never heard it. It's great that they worked in an established race, that added so much because we already know that species' main trait is that they're hunters, and what could be more disgraceful to such a one as to be caged. It also gives him a measure of sympathy that the mighty has fallen, that a Hirogen should be someone else's prey, but also that his motivation is more than that, he wishes to find his son. This level of dimensionality to a guest character helped the episode stand out and really made me think of 'DS9' as they would achieve such sympathy for new characters on a regular basis, not to mention developing species and exploring a new aspect to them. I have to say it again, Season 6 has been a surprise in just how many classic episodes there are when I'd considered Season 5 the last great, consistent season of the series. There's still time for them to mess it up (Borg children), and it may be the second half of the season is what I'm thinking of, but this is yet another strong, ensemble story that creates so much good - I felt that warmth again when the characters are together, whether it be the banter between them in this shore leave episode (even Tuvok and Seven have their own equivalent of uproarious hijinks: at the end Tuvok says he owes her a debt of gratitude and her reply is that assisting with the recalibration of the sensors will be sufficient! For them that's like a 'TOS' slap on the back and a good laugh), or the way they work together to deal with the latest problem, it was just such a pleasure to see.

It's not just the main characters benefiting - I don't know whether it was some kind of latent magic left over from 'DS9' that bringing in actors from that series rejuvenated this episode, but while having The Rock (still using his wrestling character's name rather than his own, Duane Johnson, which admittedly doesn't sound that impressive!), was all fine and good, but having Jeffrey Combs and JG Hertzler (in their only episode on the series), is what Niners are really going to get excited about. Even now in an era where both of them have leant their voices to modern Trek ('Lower Decks'), though sadly, as far as I know, haven't yet appeared in any live action, it's thrilling to see an episode out of the blue in a series they weren't generally associated with, and not only that, they're both in the same one and even have scenes together - I was trying to recall if Martok and Weyoun had ever shared a scene on 'DS9' and it doesn't seem likely. Yes, they both appeared in many of the same episodes, but I can't think of an actual scene together, which makes this even more special! Promoter Penk isn't what I would call one of Combs' best roles, more in line with his first ever appearance (Tiron, a one-shot alien in Season 3 of 'DS9'), but he remains deliciously despicable as this master of a worldwide popular sport that kidnaps and uses slaves to fight. Hertzler has the better role as this old hunter who cares for the injured Tuvok and Seven and coaches her in the ways to win.

I would suspect his son had simply been killed by Penk's people all those years ago and his quest to find him will be fruitless, but it's an inspiring quest for the character to depart on so I'm glad they didn't go into the small likelihood of success. And this being 'Voyager' we'd never hear of him again, exactly the kind of character that would have been welcome back if they'd only dared - just imagine if he'd been among the Hirogen in their last story, 'Flesh and Blood,' and his son, too, that would have added further complexity to what was another great episode. But even in his one-off appearance in the series, Hertzler's crusty old tones shine through whatever mask he's given. The Hirogen face looks ever more like a soufflé than ever, a tasty, puffy dessert that does nothing to suggest their dangerous, warrior temperament, and yet somehow they still come across as deadly fighters you wouldn't want to cross. The only complaint I have with their depiction, and this goes all the way back to one of their earliest appearances, 'The Killing Game,' is that they stopped using seven foot (or thereabouts), actors to play them. I understand there's going to be less great actors who are also ridiculously big, but I loved that their first examples were so oversized as to make the Voyager crew look like children, only emphasising their particular nature.

But it's not Hertzler's fault, they'd already used much smaller actors in the roles, and for an old guy he does remarkably well (nor is he in any way short). Obviously being a full head mask they can easily use a stuntman to pull off the outrageous acrobatics, and though I was looking at Seven to see if I could spot when Jeri Ryan was replaced it was so seamlessly filmed and cleverly lit and careful to shoot from the back of her head in the most violent moments that I never did knowingly see her stunt double! The fights were very accomplished, helped by the fact Trek usually had quite a formal way of fighting (I always remember the trademark double-fist hammer punch, then again to the back of a doubled-over opponent to drop them to the ground!), like everything in that era they were so careful to be consistent, and whether it be hairstyles or fighting style, there was so much familiar conformity to Starfleet actions. Nowadays that's all out the window, they don't care a jot about such consistency and every character fights like they're in 'The Matrix,' so a fight like this would have no resonance. But here, the brutal slamming and punching to the face was a real departure and an energetic divergence from the usual form of cleaner, slicker combat.

There's even a hint of that large scale light and sound accompaniment that is so much a part of the glitz and glamour of wrestling, when the lights flash and this deep, throaty music booms out to announce the competitors (the first we see looking remarkably like Gul Dukat, which is even more unsettling when we also have the equivalent of Weyoun and Martok - how I wish they'd hired Marc Alaimo as a cameo, but I suppose then I'd have felt such a great talent was wasted in such a small role!). They escaped having to really pound the budget into the canvas by having it take place in an enclosed room (though the number of alien extras in the sizeable crowd made it seem like a popular attraction which isn't always achieve with crowd casting). The clever twist is that though the audience believe the fight is happening before their eyes (unless the regular fans are among the initiated and know the 'staged' nature of the fights, similar to real wrestling), encouraging them to shout and scream all the louder, it's actually beamed into an identical 'ring' that is holographic, a 3D representation of the real fight occurring cunningly on a moving ship that can avoid any enemies that might take issue with family or friends being kidnapped and forced to fight like gladiators in the Roman Colosseum. Another great story point is how they draw parallels with this boxing/wrestling/fighting sport and Voyager taking on this ship that's big and heavy and kitted out with all the muscle. But as Chakotay says in true boxing parlance, 'the bigger they are...'

And they also know how to make them fall: target them where it really hurts. Every opponent has a weakness and Penk's is his need for viewing figures. It's slightly odd in an episode that is about cross-promoting two of a TV network's most important franchises that they seem to be commenting that beating the villains means disrupting the audience figures as that's exactly what they're trying to boost by making this very episode! (And it apparently was the highest rated of the season, so it worked, at least for this one.) Was it intentional or just a by-product of trying to incorporate a violent sport that doesn't necessarily reflect Trekky values, it isn't after all made so on the nose, it was just that I noticed damaging the broadcast was what they did to get their people out and save the day. We can assume Penk continues his media empire, they didn't destroy the ship or set free all the captives - sometimes you have to know indeed what the better part of valour is! Another appreciation I have for the episode (much like 'The Fight'), is one, that Chakotay's character continues to be consistent with his previously related interests and specialism, boxing and anthropology, and two, that while they do have the Doctor voice the alternative viewpoint, that such bloodsports are ridiculous and damaging, and tut, tut, tut... they don't fill the episode with disapproval - wrestling is such an American staple and to be complaining about it wouldn't be true to the society Trek is really based on. It helps that I enjoy the sport/entertainment to some extent, too! It's very male, as opposed to so much femininity in modern Trek.

It's not like they're saying women are weak, either. This is yet another Seven episode, no bad thing, though of course you can easily imagine that had this story been produced before she arrived it would more likely have been B'Elanna's role to end up in such a position - mind you, any one of them could have been and it would have provided a different story. Such extremes had already been explored with Tom and Harry in 'The Chute,' perhaps 'The Fight' for Chakotay, and no doubt other episodes that aren't jumping to mind for other characters: being forced to fight by aliens goes all the way back to 'TOS' - 'Arena' was already mentioned, but look at 'The Gamesters of Triskelion.' Don't look too hard, that episode isn't particularly one of the best, but it is similar in that characters are captured and forced into combat for their very lives by aliens that enjoy some enforced entertainment. Actually, bickering brains that wager on each match was one of the few things missing from this episode! I can imagine them doing such an overt homage in the current era where callbacks (I can't use the term 'fan service,' it's an oxymoron - one day I'm going to write an essay on that), are so common for little more than recognition of what's past rather than development or exploration of it, and I wouldn't be surprised if they don't bring back the actual talking brains on 'Lower Decks' at some point, if they haven't already...

It's the same way I feel about these characters and how they're not portrayed as 'cool' types. On shore leave, much like Scotty in 'TOS,' or perhaps Sulu and his hobbies, it's normal for them to have people like Tuvok and Seven that would rather eschew the forms of popular entertainment in exchange for 'stuffy' missions that are so close to their normal shipboard roles (even if by this time in Trek production they do seem more a minority to those who do love pop culture, like Paris). But that says how much they take fulfilment from those roles, it isn't a job they perform out of obligation or a wish to escape, but they merely have more freedom in their choices for this period. That was supposed to be one of the unique things about Trek, that people were placed in positions that they were fulfilled in, so they weren't working for mercenary or financial gain, they were developing themselves and contributing at the same time. It does sound a bit Communist now, unfortunately, and it's the ideal, the impossible, considering human nature doesn't change. But it's also Vulcan nature here - as Spock said, for his people to rest is to cease activity, or to put it another way, for Tuvok it's to exercise his intellectual capacity. He does behave Vulcan after all!

It's not that I don't want to see Janeway in an episode, but it was also pleasant to have Chakotay in charge and Janeway getting to experience shore leave (I wonder if she's taken an interest in the health of that poor PTSD guy in Sickbay from the previous episode as he's assigned to the Delta Flyer with her as can be seen in the background). A subplot about Janeway's shore leave could have been wonderful, but you can't fit in everything, and letting the story breathe without her for a change, worked. I wasn't quite so sure on the idea of the Flyer coming in to assist Voyager, as much as it's a well constructed little shuttle I don't see it lasting long against Penk's juggernaut if Voyager itself was finding it tough. I see why they did that - partly to give Janeway a hand in bringing the episode to a conclusion, and partly to ape the Defiant or the Rotarran sweeping in all guns blazing as would sometimes happen so heroically in 'DS9' (another parallel, no wonder this is one of the best of the season!), so I don't begrudge it, and maybe it was small enough to weave in and out of Penk's weaponry? It was also nice to see Seven and Tuvok in a standard Type 2 shuttle, seen so rarely since the creation of the Flyer. What I wasn't so keen on was another alien title. It's always my complaint because it's so easy to make up a word and use it as the title. It's certainly unique, but it shows a lack of invention. How about 'The Art of Fighting' (no, but something better could have been worked out), or anything that hinted at the themes within. Are they banking on people reading it in the TV guide and being curious as what it means, because I suggest it's more likely to put casual viewers off - I don't know what that means so I won't bother watching. Not that it harms the episode in any way.

I also don't see B'Elanna owning a soft toy called Toby The Targ. As has been reinforced so many times she's not a lover of Klingon culture, quite the opposite. I'm quite prepared to accept that this was her exception to the rule and that having it made her feel safe as a child, but on the whole it didn't make sense to me and further demonstrates that they pretty much lost track of the character in general since Seven usurped so many of her roles (conflict, anger, engineering expertise, fighting, accepting her past/culture, being someone Tuvok could help, etc). Again, it doesn't harm the episode, just an observation. What I did love was referring back to good old Parrises Squares (there should have been a joke in there about Paris' Squares being a better game, or something), with a bit of banter about which is the tougher sport, that or boxing. It's just that kind of playful, informal chat, while working in traditional Trek references, that adds so much to the backdrop of an episode, filling it out and not overshadowing the story, but adding even more context to the characters' connection to it. Even Neelix, usually such a peaceful person, enjoys the thrill of combat when they persuade him to come along to the Tsunkatse matches, defending it to the Doctor as a 'wonderful demonstration of athletic prowess,' quoting Chakotay.

It does change to dismay when they see Seven in the arena and instantly realise she's there against her will, and it could potentially be argued that the episode is against such sports since Penk is so immoral and corrupt, but there is a clear, ethical distinction between fighting in a nonlethal match by choice, and the forced combat to the death. No doubt if they'd known such an aspect existed they would have avoided the whole thing. The entertainment value of this episode, regardless of it being a wrestling crossover is high, and in fact I was surprised how little The Rock was in it, just the one match where he batters Seven and trades a few barbs (not 'witty' lines as they so love in modern Trek, or as I would say, corny, but enough to trade up the fight to a personal, psychological one, not solely physical, since that is one of the themes of the episode, overcoming the psychology of a situation). It makes me wish we'd seen her meet Worf and had a little bat'leth training (maybe they did, I have yet to watch 'Picard' Season 3, so here's hoping!), and once again she slots perfectly into a situation through being uncomfortable, but also superbly suited to it if she only chooses to commit. Which she does, this time for Tuvok's sake. Though I wouldn't have minded the situation being reversed and for him to have been the combatant, except he's more comfortable and disciplined to be able to deal with discomfort so there might have been less drama. The reason the crowd had never witnessed a Borg drone fight before is because the Borg wouldn't stand for it, they'd just swoop in and assimilate everyone. She acquits herself well, as do they all. I hear even Duane Johnson went on to do a few other things after 'Voyager,' too...

****

Malice

 DVD, Stargate Universe S2 (Malice)

I wasn't quite sure how to react to this one. In some ways it shows our heroes being dedicated and heroic, and there are some real moments for them, such as 'Equations-For-Fun' Chloe (should've been an action figure!), working out how to turn Destiny around to go back for Rush. And Rush himself going between the greatest extremes from saving Parke's life when she's had a mine strapped to her back as a delaying tactic as mean man Simeon attempts to escape his prison. But then he also indulges in a cold dish of revenge, killing Simeon when he knows he has the information that could warn Earth of an impending Lucian Alliance attack. And so I liked some parts, but not others, and the momentum is lost from a strong start with all the aimless wandering on the planet (are they supposed to be following a trail, because they didn't seem to be!). On balance I suppose it just edges it, but it's close. But it's an episode which is all about revenge. We do have Scott warning Rush it won't do it, it won't bring back Amanda Perry (as expected at the end of last episode she was murdered by Simeon), and it won't make him feel better, but I'm not sure the episode goes along with that narrative - Rush seems quite content when he trudges late back to the 'gate to find he hasn't missed the boat after all. I thought Greer would be the one to get the villain as he always had such a feud with him, but he's also a soldier who follows orders and his orders were to bring back the target alive. I'm sure he would have happily injured him, and that's another unsettling thing about some of these characters, that they will do unethical things to suit their feelings. Greer wounds Simeon (justifiably, to slow him down), but is himself wounded in return and taken out of the game, which forces Scott to minister to him and return rather than complete his mission.

As much as Scott is a good soldier boy, he really does come across as young and naive sometimes - when he's counselling Rush and trying to show sympathy and explain how things have to be it does come across as someone very inexperienced in life trying to tell a much older, and if not wiser, certainly more experienced, man, the simple truths he knows. It's no wonder that Rush gets irritated with these people sometimes. At the same time Scott clearly shows compassion and though he may be clumsy in his words and ways, he gets points for effort. Still, he and the others, such as Lieutenant James, don't come across as good soldiers, drawn into traps, running out of time before the target is retrieved. But it was even more ridiculous for a scientist to go after such a deadly military enemy, too - that Rush is driven by strong feelings is only something that makes him more vulnerable, and of course, Simeon being the evil villain of the piece relishes giving him a pep talk over the radio (good job the batteries weren't flat at that point, or maybe not such a good job...). I could have imagined him lasting a few episodes more and really coming up with ways to mess with the Destiny crew, perhaps even feel out some of the remaining Lucian Alliance folks into joining him. But perhaps we didn't see that he did do that and came to realise Varo wasn't going to go along with anything against them and would in fact put a stop to it, and must have made the decision to get off the ship and make his way back to the stranded Alliance members. Not that that would have done him much good, being in this whole other galaxy, but maybe he didn't consider beyond escape.

It's not like he didn't do enough to cause pain and suffering as it was, upturning both Rush and Eli's worlds by killing the person that had become most dear to them. That Rush openly cries like a girl in front of Scott and Greer shows just how affected he's been by the loss of Amanda (or will it be...?), but Eli is confronted with issues he's never faced in his life before. He desperately wants revenge on the man that murdered Gin and though it doesn't take much from Colonel Young to slap him back down to reality when he's kitting up in desert combats and aching to go down to the planet and... probably get himself killed, you can't live and breathe a soldier's workplace all the time without taking on some of that militant attitude. There's a sub-theme running through the episode about masculinity with both Eli and Volker confronted by something they aren't strong enough to deal with - in Volker's case it's that he was unable to make any resistance when Parke was taken hostage by Simeon and just goes along with what he's told to do. As Young says to Eli, something about this isn't what he's made for, or trained for, and it's no shame that that's the case. Volker always has seemed like more of a worry-guts, but he's also got enough self-doubt to recognise he's failed to some degree. But what could he have done? Defiantly refused Simeon's demands to dial the Stargate? Get Parke and himself killed? You'd think he might have been able to work in some clever trick using the controls, just like Rush did by causing the stampede that ultimately weakened Simeon enough to execute him, and you get the impression Parke thinks he could have done more, too.

But I wouldn't say the episode is clearcut. There are good things to see in some characters - that Young is clearly making efforts in his resolution to work with Rush despite all his deceptions; TJ tirelessly working on the injured and dying Simeon left in his wake, and completely accepting the need for triage. It does make you wonder why surgeons weren't immediately drafted as you'd think they'd always have some on standby back on Earth ready to take over duties on serious medical cases, but for whatever reason TJ does it, and does her best to save as many as she can. Young deals well with Eli, not to mention Chloe being thrown in with the other scientists who are less than comfortable with someone who may be turning into one of the aliens that tried to take the ship, being given access to its systems in order to possibly override this ticking clock - that was something I didn't get, I'd thought they now had complete control over the ship. But I suppose if that was so they could simply head for the Milky Way and get back home = end of series! But maybe it wasn't explained before, or not well enough, that they are still at the mercy of Destiny, even if they can do a spot of steering or whatever. That Chloe was able to get the ship back to pick up Rush suggests they can control it, but whether that will be consistent or just in rare occasions when they can use Chloe in that way is yet to be determined (probably not the former, or again = series over!).

If this experience does produce a new level of teamwork and cooperation then it could be the dawn of a bold new era for the series (as short-lived as it's likely to be considering we're almost halfway through the final season), and it would be good to see it become a lot more Trekky where it's less about internal conflicts and more about solving this puzzle. Rush hits the nail on the head when he says Scott would think this message from the cosmos is actually God, but he's forgetting God already made contact through his son and by giving us the Bible, but at least the possibility was spoken openly. What else is there to say? It was shot very nicely, those stark desert locations look so empty and desolate - maybe the CGI dino-babies aren't the best, but CGI is always the thing that dates so quickly, and while it's one thing designing alien ships and space-scapes, it's quite another to get us to believe in a living creature. But they were fine for what they needed to be in the story: a means for Simeon to get his comeuppance recreating everyone's favourite moment from 'The Lion King.' At what cost to Earth we may find out, and though they keep saying he'll never tell them what they need to know, give Greer a few hours alone in a cell with him and he'd probably talk. Actually that's exactly the kind of immoral, unethical behaviour I don't like to see from 'hero' characters so I'm glad it didn't come to that. And Simeon is probably tough enough that he'd need the clever treatment - I suspect if Rush put his mind to it he could have winkled the man's secrets out through trickery and deception. But we'll never know now, will we?

***

Memorial (2)

 DVD, Voyager S6 (Memorial) (2)

My memories of Season 6 concentrating on the Doctor, Janeway and Seven keep being proved inconsistent, as this is another strong ensemble story which uses everyone, to counter my impression. I don't consider it the absolute highest echelons of the series' quality compared to when I last watched it (and reviewed it, in the brief way I used to do), but then at that time I remember thinking I might have been a little generous, but was caught up in the moment and slapped on five stars. It remains a very good episode, even so. Part of what makes it work is it's all very cleanly directed by Allan Kroeker, one of the more accomplished Trek Directors - it does what it does neatly, gets right into it and doesn't get bogged down. It doesn't use so much CGI as in some episodes this season (perhaps just the upper part of the obelisk), and instead features good, physical sets, the base of the obelisk (reminiscent of the one in 'The Paradise Syndrome' another large, well-constructed outdoor prop), location filming, yet another redress of the caves, which this time give it a whole new, claustrophobic feel since Harry Kim crawls through a tunnel to reach it, and it's always well lit when the actual sun's doing the lighting! Outdoor work really adds to our characters, their uniforms and technology, perhaps because there's so much black in the uniform and the contrast is more extreme. There is the issue of the title giving away what this is all about, but then if you came to it with no knowledge you might not necessarily pick up on the massive clue there.

It feels very much like one of the early season episodes, which tended to have a more raw, less slick weirdness to them. The story came from Brannon Braga, well known as the King of Weird, so it's not a surprise he was able to bring that sense of unreality and uncertainty over the characters' experiences. It's different in that it doesn't focus on a single person, the usual route when everyday life suddenly goes creepily strange, as that emphasises the loneliness and unsettled experience they must go through. Here it's a group hallucination akin to that seen in 'Things Past' when Odo 'transports' several of his colleagues back to the DS9 that was. There are actually several Trek stories that could be pulled as influences, most obviously 'The Inner Light' for its technology-based lesson to others out there about a terrible tragedy. I could also cite the enforced mental anxiety of Chief O'Brien's incarceration in 'Hard Time' (as well as his concern that he can't be near his little girl any more because he's afraid of scaring her - Neelix' horrible experience of shell-shock while Naomi was with him is a very similar parallel). Then there was a touch of 'The Sound of Her Voice' in Harry's experience with such intense memories of people he later discovers in a cave as long dead. And shades of this series' own 'Nemesis,' in which Chakotay was thrown into a war that used psychological effects to coerce people into fighting, so as you can see, there are many influences, but if you're going to borrow, borrow from the best, and all these are great episodes - it shouldn't be strange to see a similar story turn out so well.

About the only negative I can think of, and perhaps which coloured my view on this occasion, is that things are so straightforward there isn't a lot to dissect and discuss. All I can say is, it's great! That's it, review over. But seriously, I found few things to keep track of, and it can sometimes be the case that great episodes have the least potential to be said about them. There are always the ethics of the situation, that's certainly worthy of examination: is it right to force people to go through mental torture as a tool to influence them never to let something like the massacre take place again? In the past I would probably have gone along with the story entirely, it does seem right for Janeway to make the ultimate decision to not only refuse to deactivate what could be considered a harmful interference, but to actively support it by renewing its power source. I think she did right to leave a warning buoy so that people who ventured into that system would know what they were getting themselves into. I'm undecided if the original intent of the aliens was good and right, but then I think of the Holocaust and how such a horror could be perpetrated against a group again in the future (and I'm sure will be), and perhaps if people who mock it or disbelieve the evidence of history could actually experience it for themselves, or some small portion anyway, that would be a good thing. (I didn't even twig the connection to 'Remember' as the closest story, which I read in the notes at Memory Alpha).

Of course there's not going to be any ongoing ramifications, this isn't that kind of series - there won't be further episodes in which we see Harry, Neelix or any of the others shown to be having sleeping problems because the nightmares won't leave them. It means that the episode could be viewed as being a little arrogant: we've sorted another problem, now onto the next. Trek itself can be viewed that way on many occasions I suspect, but then it was designed to be taken in weekly doses or once in a while. You don't need any further understanding of the characters or their situation to appreciate the quality of an episode such as this: it tells its story and that's enough. But sometimes I can't help wishing there was a little more overlap. There is some, good use is made of Seven's own experiences when she comes to comfort Neelix in her own fairly blunt way (though she is a lot more compassionate and considerate than she used to be, having learned much from Neelix, the Doctor, Janeway, Naomi, etc), when they talk about her experiences of guilt having done so much as a Borg. She does feel it, even though none of it was her fault, she was under control and knew no better, and perhaps that should have been said, but for that little moment it was a strong link between the two and what they'd both been through.

Tuvok could have been worked in a little more, considering he is the one to be in command of his feelings, and he does get to do a little of that when he's with Kim in the tunnel and he starts to panic as the very real memory and fear grips hold. It's interesting it takes Chakotay to talk Neelix down in the Mess Hall, the best scene of the episode, but that fits because they were comrades in the war of their memory, Chakotay a commander as he is in real life. His calming tones are used to appeal to Neelix' rational side, but the whole impression of each of them having such visceral reactions to what was implanted in their minds, was so strongly played out. There's no question that when they're debating what happened in scenes such as the Briefing Room, that they all remember it like they were there, and believe it. They become completely different people and it's impressive to see. They even take on a haggard, drawn look, which spreads to the rest of the affected crew. At first you can put it down to this long, two-week mission where they haven't been able to wash and it's like a camping trip that's gone wrong - tired and crotchety and looking to get back to the comforts of home (though you do have to wonder if a fortnight exploring planets is the best use of their time, except for the fact they mention they found much needed supplies), but then the visions begin.

B'Elanna's gift of a 1950s TV complete with programming of the time was fun, but it might not have been the best timing for it! Paris watches 'The Untouchables' and in the best fantasy tradition finds himself within the TV, first viewing himself, then actually being there. I don't think that was as discomfiting and weird as it should have been, and once again B'Elanna isn't used to the best (though I liked the fact she replicated the parts and assembled them herself rather than importing in the complete set!). Neelix, Kim and Chakotay are the ones the episode gives the best to, and that's another reason I would have marked it up last time, I think, since they are the underused characters in general. They're allowed to do more than the usual bounds of their characters allow. We know Neelix has a tough streak in him from his past, we've seen what Harry can turn into when pushed to the limits ('The Chute'), and Chakotay has gone through similar weirdness in both 'Nemesis' and 'The Fight.' Perhaps the actual massacre came across a little out of the blue - the civilians they're escorting suddenly start panicking and running away so the soldiers shoot them down, but the point is that these sudden escalations borne of fear and panic can come down like that out of nowhere. I didn't feel quite the same tension in the characters as, say, 'The Siege of AR-558' on 'DS9,' but the actual event is only really the backdrop to what's happening to our crew.

A couple of lines stood out, one when someone, maybe Neelix, says they're civilians, and another soldier qualifies 'civilians with particle weapons.' And when Neelix later asks Seven how she keeps going with all her guilt, she matter-of-factly states she has no choice. I thought that last one especially was a reminder that life isn't a choice, you have to keep going no matter what mix of strong feelings, despair, guilt or whatever, are at war inside. In the end it was a hopeful story because there can be that warning of consequences, but there's also a warning left for the warning so future visitors won't be going in completely blind. I think post-traumatic stress disorder was becoming more understood when this was made so it probably was in the zeitgeist, but even so, reality and unreality, impressions and how they affect the mind, are all ripe for Trek exploration, so much more than mere action and reaction. There isn't really anything else to add in trivia, none of the guest stars had appeared before or since, other than David Keith Anderson, presumably the crewman suffering from trauma Janeway speaks to - he apparently goes back to being a crewmember on the Enterprise in 'Star Trek VI,' 'Generations' and 'First Contact,' all uncredited, and had been in a credited part in 'Warhead' last season.

****

The Greater Good

 DVD, Stargate Universe S2 (The Greater Good)

A lot of simmering in this one, a lot of buildup to the inevitable. I actually wondered if this was a test by Colonel Young to find out Rush's secret, because it's been obvious for some time that something's going on. The way Brody, Parke, Volker and Eli are getting fed up with the pattern of Rush being missing whenever the ship drops out, then popping up as if it's completely normal, was quite clear. But it wasn't Young's tactic to strand them on an alien vessel, even if it was his choice to go, just him and Rush, to 'keep and eye on him.' Or in other words, to give him a battering like on the planet in Season 1, only he stops short of really giving him a total going-over, as brutal as it was. He did promise the concerned Scott he'd bring Rush back (he didn't say it wouldn't be in a body bag, though...), but it seemed a bad idea. But then Rush is so subtle and able to manipulate people with his logic and spin, making everything, even the most terrible, appear somewhat reasonable, only Young is immune, and even he can listen to reason - Riley's death and the loss of the shuttle were 'mistakes,' but Rush's much more intent on the Grand Theme: Destiny's mission. I must admit, it was a bit of a comedown to realise his motivation for keeping control of Destiny a secret was simply that he didn't trust Young and therefore wanted to investigate all her systems and get a handle on everything first. Would he have eventually told him or would he have given him an ultimatum, perhaps trapped him somewhere, along with all the military and made his own one-man coup?

I don't know. Although Rush craves control it's because he thinks he's cleverer than everyone else and therefore his purposes are so much higher, and to an extent he's correct. But intelligence doesn't necessarily mean right, and his goal is uncovering the mystery, not preserving or protecting the lives of those with him, whereas Young has a definite mission to get everyone home safely. The episode is all about trust, and the lack of it: you've got Mr. Mean Guy of the Lucian Alliance, stalking Gin (who's quickly become Eli's girl), threatening her with not telling anything - it's interesting that Varo is nowhere to be seen because I'm sure he'd be just as short with his lieutenant as Greer is, and he doesn't even know what's going on. It is delightful whenever Simeon's slithering around like a cobra or a panther about to strike, that Greer appears and blocks him completely, forcing him to back down from whatever badly disguised hatred he has for his enemies. But it ends with Dr. Amanda Perry in the body of Gin with simmering Simeon finally getting her alone - what happened to his guard? You'd think they'd have clocked him as worth special attention from his attitude and failure to even pretend he wants to work with these people - Greer should have made it his personal mission to follow him around all the time, except he's beneath contempt. I'm guessing Simeon's decided the only way to silence Gin and remove her as a threat to the Alliance, is to kill her body, regardless that it's being inhabited by Perry...

Good cliffhanger in a good episode, though it took me a while to realise it was a good one thanks to the low-key nature of much of it - I always like a mission to an abandoned ship, and the effects were terrific (especially at the end when Rush and Young are forced to jump from the rapidly spinning alien hulk, that reminded me of the docking sequence from 'Interstellar' - they really did a great job with that impression of the vastness of space, and that one small error in judgement or timing can be fatal!), but it was still a slow burn. It was fascinating to see Perry drawn into Rush's little battle of wills, secretly inducting her into his knowledge of the Bridge and its systems, but there was no way she could have kept it secret - it shows how singleminded Rush can be that he would happily keep going along tricking his colleagues, and also a certain contempt for their level of intelligence that they wouldn't be suspicious. He just expects to override any argument or questioning of him, an arrogant and disgusting attitude, really. As he later says, though, the truth is out now, and that's good. Whether anyone can really trust him, and the idea of him giving his word after all he's done, was preposterous, especially to Young, and is another question entirely, he's constantly shown himself to consider himself above everyone in perceiving the depth of Destiny's importance, but he's going to have to work with them now.

I found it a slight anticlimax when we find out what Rush believes to be Destiny's mission, as much as it's desirable to know what the series was planning to play with had it survived for future seasons (and once again, how terribly disappointing that it didn't, along with 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,' one of very few TV shows that deserved to last years more than they did, to a proper conclusion). The crux is that at the birth of the universe Something was. Some kind of intelligence built a structure that only the advanced technology of the Ancients could detect in the background noise of space, or so I understood it. Granted, you have to accept the Big Bang as reality (whether it was or wasn't the mechanics of how matter came into being, the real issue is whether God was behind it or it just happened out of chance, my view being vehemently the former!), but then it becomes a mystery of what the series was going to stretch to doing. It's a Big Topic, and they could hardly put off half their audience by saying 'aliens,' for want of a better term, built the Universe, but they'd always delved into belief and such from the earliest days of it being revealed that the 'gods' of ancient times which primitive humans worshipped, were actually powerful aliens (the Goa'uld), and obviously in later seasons of 'SG-1' they dealt with humans' being more than physical entities, and that there was a realm beyond matter, so was it a matter of time before they connected with God Himself? I'm sure they wouldn't have been so definite, they'd have probably left it all a mystery even at the end, but we'll never know because they didn't get the chance to play the story out, more's the pity.

At least a piece of the puzzle is now known: the point of Destiny, beyond mere travel and exploration, although even then it's questionable why it would need to travel across galaxies to get somewhere if this 'structure' is all around. But it's all a way to get these characters on weekly adventures so for that reason it makes sense. But surely now they have the ability to control the ship, so wouldn't Young simply tell them to turn around and head back to Earth to drop everyone off that wanted to be, add a proper crew complement and set off on the mission with preparation and understanding. Instead we see them jumping to yet another system where there are planets. And while I'm nitpicking, another one, though much smaller, is whether Gin understood the full ramifications of swapping with Perry's body. It's her first ever body-swap, she's got vital intelligence to convey to Stargate Command and they expect her to go through the ordeal of being a paraplegic? That doesn't seem the most sensible way to put someone through an important debrief! I get it - it's so that we care at the end when Simeon arrives to murder her. If it had been any old person from Earth then there would only be the jeopardy of Gin being killed (I'm assuming, I don't actually remember what happens next), but now it's Rush's love whom he's connected with better than anyone else, other than his dead wife.

It's worth noting that Rush saves Young's life when he mistimes his jump (not sure how, since Eli told him to go when he said, and he seemed to do that!), and I'm sure Rush saw it as a perfect opportunity to make up some of the massive ground he's lost by being discovered in a deception that has cost lives (I notice they never mentioned Telford, who's also missing, presumed dead!). He really needed to do something extraordinary to even make a dent in the reams of crimes that should be levelled at him. I have the feeling Perry becomes part of the ship itself somehow, perhaps in the same way Franklin appeared to, so it's almost certain she's a goner. Which is a shame, but then she also became an accomplice to Rush by her complicity in his secrecy and no doubt would have kept it up if it'd been possible. Not that she deserved to die for that, but for the sake of drama there does seem to be a price to be paid. And of course Gin has to die because she's an innocent, and Eli likes her.

***

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

 DVD, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) film

This series became one I was very invested in as I saw II at the cinema, saw I not too much later on video, and from then on looked forward to another entry, which was a long time coming. But long waits between Missions was something to get used to, though in recent years they were becoming a touch more frequent at the same time as I was becoming a touch less anticipatory towards them, though I don't think that had as much to do with it as age and jaded appreciation for action films generally (and modern films as a whole!). I didn't hear a thing about this latest one, other than it was going to be 'Part One' for the first time ever (even though V and VI were somewhat linked), and the harbinger of the final film in the series. Partly, again, it was lack of excitement over the prospect despite a mild pleasure at the reassurance the films were still being made, but I also preferred to wait and see, hoping to be surprised. I used to have ideas for what I'd like to see, the tropes of the series (alternating long-hair, short-hair; spreadeagled limbs stunt; and of course no Mission would be complete without Luther Stickell and some motorbike and face mask action), but I've got past those checklist days and concentrate on content: are the stakes believable and well worked out, or is it full of holes? Is it whip-clever, knife-edge drama or is it too clever and convoluted for it's own good? Do we get old characters returning or is it a blank slate?

That last one has always been important to the health of the series both in front of and behind the camera: a different Director for every instalment gave each a unique visual identity and style. But it's the nature of long-running franchises to degenerate into something samey because it is tough to be different and unique while also staying true to the foundation laid out before, and they reused the same Director again, Christopher McQuarrie (who did both V and VI, didn't he? He also cowrote with Erik Jendresen who in the 2000s wrote an unused script for what would have been the next Trek film, though those are ten a penny these days!), which seems like overkill and suggests a new vision was required. One character points out Ethan Hunt is always going rogue and that does seem to be a habit of the stories, the same as in recent films the unreliability of their tech and gadgets, and the intentional humour at their predicaments have often undermined drama. When Bad Robot took over with III they came with their own too-realistic style of domestic down-to-earth nature mixed with the high concepts and ridiculous stunts, and that didn't exactly serve the setup well, especially as more and more humour was added at the expense of drama. The majority of the films are now too similar, as much as they're trying to do something bigger and more daring each time. But really the only thing that can have resonance are the characters and the bonds between them. In the same vein, especially as this is the first of the last, the beginning of the end, I was hoping for as many old characters returning to lend a hand as possible. The issue there is that an ensemble takes up a lot of time and so you can only concentrate on two or three of them properly (as the 'TNG' films proved).

As I was watching this one I was wondering if it was really worth parcelling out the story into a second part, and if the villain had been defeated it would have ended as any other Mission had before - it made me wonder if there'd be some big post-credits scene as is the norm in superhero films and other franchises looking to increase anticipation for the next part, and if so could they somehow bring back all the old villains? Then I remembered all the old villains were dead, they always end up dying even if Hunt isn't personally responsible for that except at the risk to his own life, because he was portrayed as an ethical hero, very unlike James Bond. (It's worth noting where those other big 'spy' action series' have gone in the time since Mission occurred: Brosnan's Bond was rebooted with Daniel Craig, and that era ended in death and awaits the next rebooting, while Jason Bourne seems to be solidly below ground in spite of the fact Matt Damon gave it a go at a resurrection and didn't kill off the character, but failed to recapture what worked before). If not villains then maybe more of the old cast could come back: how about Billy the Aussie pilot, or the Asian woman from III. Kittridge had always been high on the list and it was disappointing they never brought him back, but right from the opening when Hunt is receiving his instructions from a taped voice I thought it sounded like the old guy... Then we get a scene in which he actually appears, but I still wasn't quite sure, after all it had been over twenty-five years since Henry Czerny's appearance in I, but eventually as the scene progressed I realised it was undeniably the character (gave it away when they said his name, but I still wasn't sure if it was the same actor), and then it clicked into place! Excellent!

When you consider this guy was significantly older than Hunt in the first film and now even the eternally youthful Cruise himself is starting to show his age, he must be ancient! But as someone who grew up with the series myself and though younger, isn't young any more either, there was something reassuring about the fact this film is mostly about old grey-haired blokes, with the odd young woman thrown in for good measure! It really is an 'old-fashioned' film in the best sense of the words, and though I can't say the traditional Hollywood screwball comedy style with the hero and his young heroine handcuffed together, plus a Mini chase around Rome that brought to mind 'The Italian Job' was something I liked in the film, there is a sense of reassurance that this is rooted in a kind of reasonable reality that I feel too many films and TV shows are veering away from, as if it's 'wrong' to have a male hero and all the other tropes that make up normality rather than the bizarre societal mores taking more and more ground in the world today. So I applaud the fact it is a film that wouldn't look out of place in the Nineties, other than the effects. It's funny to realise that when Ethan, Luther and Benji are sitting around chatting, it's three old men! The villain, Gabriel, is another old guy, as is Kittridge (even one of the two American agents chasing Hunt throughout isn't a spring chicken!), but it doesn't matter, it's not important, it's not trying desperately to appeal to teens, though there's nothing to put them off. You could say it is generic action fare, and I'd agree, but there's also a history here because so much time has passed in the company of this core group.

History is an operative word as we're given some background (I don't just mean revealing Kittridge's first name as Eugene), on Hunt's motivation for joining the IMF in the first place, or at least some defining moment for him. That was a little weak, I have to say - at one point I wondered if they were going the whole hog and recreating parts of I since they'd already brought Kittridge back and this flashback was reminiscent of the moment one of Ethan's team was knifed on the mission in Prague. But that wasn't it, she seemed like someone close to him, but it wasn't spelt out clearly what that was about, who Gabriel was, or why he killed the woman. Are we to expect the details in Part Two or is it just one of those things we take as given that it was important but we don't have anything more? Establishing bonds is very important if we're to care about characters and though I felt they handled Luther and Benji significantly better than previously, Ilsa Faust was a different matter. There'd been a strange situation coming out of III when Hunt got married and, naturally, his new wife was put in jeopardy. They reminded us she still existed in IV, but then resolved it unsatisfactorily in VI where she at least played an important role and paid off the past, even though it would've been so much more meaningful to keep that part of Hunt's life going, unique and dramatic, even if difficult to justify for an action man role. Ilsa seemed to be his new woman after that, or had potential to be, but I'm not sure, and then this new girl, Grace, fills the role in some ways - it's telling she's there standing over Ilsa's dead body when Hunt finds her.

I didn't feel any sadness over Ilsa, strangely, she was just there, along for the ride, and while I didn't particularly expect anyone to be killed off, also knowing we're near the end it wasn't unlikely. At first I was wondering if Grace would rip off her face at some point to reveal Niah from II, but that really was unlikely, other than they were both thieves. I wouldn't say I was disappointed we didn't get any other cameos or roles other than the obvious White Widow from VI (supposedly the daughter of 'Max' from I, though I always find it annoying they don't clearly state that on screen!). They'd experimented with a new group of people when it seemed possible Cruise would be handing off to a younger action hero (say Jeremy Renner, with Alex Baldwin as boss), bumping Simon Pegg up to full cast member, and Luther had taken a backseat with his introduction. That was one good thing about this entry, Ving Rhames is back in prime position as the man of computers, which Benji had taken over. There appeared to be a little bit of competitiveness between them early on, but it didn't develop into anything, but at least Luther was the tech man while Benji was more active, appropriate as Pegg looks the more sprightly. Development wasn't one of the film's strengths. I could have done with more reference to them all being old (like the original 'Star Trek' films where they were clearly of a certain age, but it didn't matter because we loved them), such as how Luther is keeping up to date with the latest tech, or even turning it into an advantage since the story is largely concerned with modern technology being dangerously prone to control by artificial intelligence.

Those kind of nuances can't really be expected in an action flick, but it would have raised the story to at least the level of ideas and ideals seen in the better parts of The Dark Knight trilogy. There were seeds visible for planting, but they weren't watered and didn't grow into anything. The idea itself is full of intrigue: is what they continually call the Entity actually sentient as they say it is, or is it merely AI, because if it had become sentient does Ethan have the right to kill it, can't he talk to it, see if it has a personality that can be worked with? That's the Trekker view in me - clearly if it was merely artificial, just a very clever computer program, it can just be deleted without thought. But if it had achieved actual sentience? I know evidence is there of an evil nature (which makes sense coming from the mind of humanity which is fallen and requires redemption), murdering the Russian sub at the start, working with its chosen 'false prophet' Gabriel, a man who appears a bit of an automaton himself - indeed, I got the wrong end of the stick from the start and thought the Entity had a human form somehow (well, if the IMF can make lifelike masks of people so easily, why not a robot body that can pose as whoever it wants to), and I was dreading it turning into a 'Terminator' ripoff, but Gabriel did appear to be human. I thought the mysterious stranger entering the intelligence meeting was a robot come to kill them - they did say something like it could 'be' anyone, but later I came to the conclusion that meant impersonation in the digital world rather than reality! Gabriel came across cold, merciless, fanatical in his devotion to... what? Killing? Suffering? We're not told how he became like that, or why, so he's a very simplistic baddie, too much like the villain from IV who was also just an old guy who wanted to destroy everyone, and that was it.

Motivation was one of the film's weak points. We can believe in Hunt's sincerity as he dashes around all over the place, his earnest face telling us all we need to know about him (assuming we hadn't seen the other six films), but why do the other characters do what they do? Is Kittridge supposed to actually be a bad guy or does he really think America having the key to this weapon is the most important thing for the world's sake? Because the other guy in glasses (was that Cary Elwes?), seemed only to want power. Not sure why or what role he had, but obviously high up. The White Widow just wants money? I don't really know her or get her role in this or the last film (though Kirby's acting as someone pretending to be her was well observed). Arms dealer, that's it, I suppose. Grace wants a better life? I suppose. It was all a little flimsy for grownups, especially if you're used to watching old films where they couldn't often get away without a strong story and characterisations because they didn't have effects to dazzle an audience nowadays - I'm thinking of 'The Man Who Never Was' from 1955 which I watched recently and has more tension than this film, more reality to its stakes, and a more emotional connection. I will say I highly approved of the redemption of the Asian-Frenchwoman assassin, Paris. It didn't sit right Hunt should be knocking this girl's head into brick walls (all very well saying he spared her life, but I wouldn't rate her chances at avoiding dementia in later life after all that head-pounding!), either from a gentlemanly position or that she'd be a match for him. Circumstances were mitigated by there being another, burly bloke, and that Hunt is getting on a bit, but still...

But the fact she betrays her boss since he tried to kill her (and succeeded, just a matter of time), and chose to assist the goodies, was a real lift to the end of the film that reminded me of Mayday in 'A View To A Kill,' one of the reasons I feel so fondly towards that as one of the better Bond films. That whole ending with the train pushing out over the crumbling bridge was a strong, physical sequence that counterbalanced the CGI visuals that I was constantly suspicious of (I didn't believe for a moment they actually dropped real carriages into the river, it didn't have the weight, though even if I was proved wrong I'd say they didn't film it to get the best out of it, if so). There had been some nice shots such as the early police car chase with a camera sticking off the end of the vehicles that gave it a different look to the usual style where the view is bolted to the car, rigid and unmoving - here you had a greater sense of flying by the seat of the trousers, jerking around in the air, but it wasn't used overmuch. Climbing up the inside of the train carriages was another example of real classic film action, and the only downside of the whole thing was that Hunt needed rescuing at all (balanced by my favour towards redemption for a villain). That's one side that I miss from those early instalments, the fearless, unstoppable confidence of the man. That ended after III as I've noted in previous reviews, perhaps 'in-universe' you can put it down to dying and being brought back to life in that film, but however much I can rationalise, I never liked it.

As fast as Hunt can pelt it along streets or rooftops he can't disguise he doesn't have the same assuredness he once did as a younger man, and that's quite sad. That says more about his ageing than his face does. He isn't unbreakable, even if he does survive so much battering and rolling throughout with nary a complaint. But is the man worried about jumping off an outcropping the same man who used to go free climbing mountains? That more than anything brought home to me the changes he's gone through over the years and I miss that steely certainty, even if they're deliberately trying to make him more human. Perhaps they went too far in his greatest trial, that of whether to kill Gabriel, his personal nemesis, or not. They need him alive to find the Sevastopol submarine and unlock the Entity (although that does make you wonder how it can be out in the world, such as being the light show at the Widow's party - either it's locked up in the sub, or it's out there controlling things, isn't it?). Or is the sub merely where it's controlled from - even then it had compromised the systems on that boat, disabling the torpedo abort switch and running false readings to get them to fire in the first place. Too many such details were unclear, as was Hunt's history with Gabriel: he murdered some woman and Hunt would like him dead. Again, missing some of the ethical edges of the hero we knew and not enough is done in the film to make his feelings seem justifiable. He has to be pulled down from the deed at gunpoint when the agents catch up with him atop the train (another link back to the first film, maybe, where he had to go after the villain on a train's roof?), whereas I was hoping he'd make the choice of his own free will.

There were shades of more potentially thought-provoking stuff to rival the AI/sentience debate, and very apt for our time, too: manipulation of emotion versus staying rational. Hunt is warned that the Entity could use his emotional situation to predict his moves and control him, and he needs to become like it to defeat it, going against the modern predilection for emotionalism being the answer ('just do whatever feels right...'). But again, it's not explored, it's merely mentioned. If they had delved into some of these things it could have been a strong entry in the series, but as it stands I felt it one of the weaker examples. Not to say it wasn't enjoyable and there'll always be plenty of nitpicks in all the films (wouldn't the sub have a secondary kill switch to knock out the torpedo in case the first failed?; was all that thumpy music good for those old buildings?; why does one of Hunt's girlfriends have to die, just Gabriel showing his mean streak?; how can they rely on any tech if the Entity has its fingers in all the pies?; and most glaring of all: a vast hall full of workers and not one person looks up at the huge glass windows and sees gas and smoke when Hunt meets with Kittridge, not to mention this guy just walking into the room and no one paying any attention!), but it's what goes beyond the basics that makes a film stand out as special, even more within a long-running series. There's an idea of this Entity being 'Godless, stateless, amoral,' and that whomever controls it controls truth itself, referring to the ability of the internet and media to sway so many's perceptions of reality and fact. That's the real scare in all this, AI just the tool to show what's possible in mass delusion in today's world. We should be grateful they tackled it at all, even in an unsatisfactory way.

I expected the Entity's ability to use their own tech against them was going to be the clever new angle, but other than removing Gabriel from security recordings (and upsetting the admittedly great Augmented Reality glasses), at the Abu Dhabi airport and later impersonating Benji's voice to throw Ethan off the chase in Venice, that threat wasn't fully realised and it was more akin to IV where they didn't have access to the latest gear as they were (wait for it...), rogue again. They seem to manage perfectly well, there isn't particularly that Bourne ingenuity of using everyday items around them to succeed, so the film didn't appear that clever in itself. Lip service is paid to Kittridge using old CRT, offline computers, but it was a bit of a throwaway. And as a whole it did come across rather a messy story with a messy villain hierarchy of goons and higher-ups, where I prefer precision, planning and perfect double-tricks along with cutting edge, knife edge danger and close calls. The idea of 'put-pocketing' as opposed to 'pick-pocketing' was a nice little trick and there's plenty of sleight of hand, but it was one of those minor things that showed they could come up with nice ideas.

So that leaves execution and it's undoubtedly slick as it should be, but there wasn't the depth and core I need to call out a good film. I'd put it above IV, but below all the others, which is a shame because it started out (as they often do), suggesting it could contain a strong and pertinent theme. Maybe it's the fact I've watched so much of the original Sixties and Seventies TV series in recent years and that made me realise Mission was always a bit silly and fantastical. I had the vague, whimsical hope a CGI Peter Graves would somehow put in an appearance, as nonsensical as that would have been! Maybe someone could have used his face as a cover? The AI concept made me think of Cyberax from 'BUGS' and that was done a whole lot better and creepier, the same year the first film came out. That puts it all in perspective somehow. I haven't even referred to the big stunt! There's always The Big Stunt, probably the main reason Cruise likes doing the series, and I was waiting for it all the way through, suddenly realising it hadn't happened yet. I assume it was the motorbike off the cliff, then wing-gliding or whatever it's called, and finally parachuting. Somehow it didn't seem that spectacular, but maybe that was down to the way it was shot? It's not a criticism and in no way affects the quality of the film either way (my least favourite, IV, has probably the best stunt: swinging around on the tallest building in the world). But as I said I went in with no knowledge or expectation and the film as a whole was in the region of the other recent ones: I quite liked a good portion of it, but it didn't excel or bring much new, and was clumsy and messy, overlong for a series that works best at speed, and doesn't buck the trend in not exploring the characters - by now they should be doing at least some of that to increase the stakes. What did we really even know about Ilsa? Not that much. Potential, but not realised, meaning it ends up a reasonably jolly little outing. It was positive in the sense there isn't much bad language, I don't remember anything gory (the fighting's all crunch and thump), with no unnecessary romantic interludes to slow things up, so I wouldn't complain about the content. It's just everything else didn't content.

**