Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One
Tom Cruise has a way of creating theatrical magic and this time it was personal. We were only minutes from the movie beginning and the theater was showing a behind the scenes look at the Mission Impossible franchise, that’s when I noticed half of my popcorn was already gone. Crap! My beautiful popcorn brain quickly calculates I’ll have to refill during the film, potentially missing an action sequence. I could refill now, but I still had half my popcorn in my tub, wasting full refill efficiency. Tick. Tock. What was I going to do…
Just then the Mission Impossible theme starts playing on the pre-show featurette in pure Dolby Digital surround sound. Without hesitation, or consent, I grab the gallon sized ziplock from my friend sitting next to me that held his popcorn because we’re too cheap to buy two tubs. I promptly empty the contents of my container into his, thus creating an empty large popcorn ready for max refill. I weave in and out of late arrivers as the house lights begin to dim and the speakers blast the movie’s theme. I see the line at the concession stand and before I can even think about defeat, I hear the voice of Ashley, the AMC concession worker, who says “are you just looking for a refill?” With more confidence and eye contact than I’ve ever displayed, I swiftly stated “yes I am.” Ashley quickly completed her mission so I could complete mine. I returned to the theater and the pre-show feature ended right as my butt cheeks hit the surface of my reclining seat and the movie began. That combined with the free lapel pins the theater was giving out, I felt like a member of the Impossible Mission Force. Thank you Tom Cruise!!
Oh, how was the movie? It was exactly the big production, high-octane theatrical experience you’d expect from the franchise with all the car chases and crazy stunts that you should absolutely enjoy on the big screen. If Tom Cruise can spend $290 million driving motorcycles and full size trains off mountain tops, we should spend $20 for a ticket…but maybe not the extra $40 for two popcorn tubs (buy one and bring a ziplock).
🍿= Got to the theater to see
