Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (Spoilers)

Not gonna lie, it was shrewd of the local cineplexes to have their first screening of Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning to be at 10 a.m., with its 2 hour, 50 minute run time. I only went with that because I was afraid of running late for an afternoon appointment. By the time I got out it was almost 1 p.m.. Was basically wolfing down lunch.

Was kinda late and I missed I don't know how much of the cold open when I walked in. Maybe 5 - 10 minutes? Dunno la. Guess I'll find some way to watch the missed minutes in the future. But there were fewer than 20 people in the room, so ok lah. 

• I wonder how much they paid the Top Chef producers to not-so subtly promote this movie in that episode, cos that was just the week before leh.
• That's one way to make sure Ving Rhames don't come back no more..
• Have to like how they don't show him despatching those two guys on screen, but chose to focus on Hayley Atwell's reaction... so that they don't get the R rating? 
• That scene with him and Grace in the portable decompression chamber is the closest he gets to getting some action in this franchise la.
• Only in TV and movies you ever gonna see a Black female POTUS lah.
• Can't believe they brought back a minor character from the first movie way back when for a slightly bigger role in this one. Dude was like, bro you got nothing to be sorry about, if not for you I would not have met the love of my life, yada yada yada... 
• There's so many faces I recognised from TV: that guy from White Collar (with that very specific regional American accent), that guy I remember from the Perry Mason reboot... 
• So many callbacks to the earlier movies? 
• Does this mean Degas is now part of the IMF? Is he still CIA or not?
• I guess it's nice that Pom Klementieff got to be and speak French in this franchise?
• I was like, wah lau eh, after this many movies in they write in Jim Phelps JUNIOR?!
• The way Gabriel died was SOOO stupid: hitting his head on the plane and getting his face slashed in the process.

You need to be a bit of a completist to get all the callbacks and what not. I'm sure there's some stuff I missed cos I never saw the first few movies.

It was not easy watching Tom Cruise do the stunt set pieces, but people are morbidly fascinated. 

I dunno if we'll continue to see Tom Cruise risk his life for his audience in this franchise, or if they'll reboot with someone younger. 

But I say you definitely gotta watch if you're so inclined.