MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION (2015) REVIEW : Best Mission In Ethan Hunt?s Career

Banyak sekali jatuh bangun yang dialami oleh Ethan Hunt dan sekutunya di IMF untuk melanjutkan seri-serinya. Film yang diadaptasi dari serial televisi dengan judul yang sama, Mission Impossible ini pun mengalami naik turun karena pergantian arahan dari orang yang berbeda di setiap serinya. Dari Brian De Palma hingga Brad Bird, pernah menjadi sutradara untuk menuntaskan misi yang dilakukan oleh Ethan dan Hunt dan sekutunya.

Meski tetap tertatih, Mission: Impossible tetap melanjutkan jejaknya hingga seri kelima. Dan ya, kali ini, Brad Bird tak lagi mengarahkan seri kelimanya dan digantikan oleh Christopher McQuarrie. Rogue Nation diambil sebagai sub judul dari Mission: Impossible seri terbaru ini. Ini bukan pertama kalinya Christopher McQuarrie berkolaborasi dengan Tom Cruise. Sudah ada Jack Reacher dan Edge of Tomorrow yang mempertemukan mereka.

Kebangkitan seri Mission: Impossible memang ditandai lewat seri keempatnya, Ghost Protocol. Maka, dengan hengkangnya Brad Bird untuk menyutradarai seri kelimanya kali ini, cukup membuat khawatir akan presentasi akhir dari Rogue Nation. Ghost Protocol berhasil membungkus film Mission: Impossible menjadi sebuah film spionase dengan action sequences yang dapat menghela nafas penontonnya. Tetapi, Rogue Nation dengan mudah menyaingi bahkan melewati ekspektasi yang dipatok oleh Ghost Protocol. 

Kali ini, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) harus terancam akan pekerjaannya sebagai mata-mata. IMF tempatnya bernaung sebagai mata-mata harus ditutup oleh pemerintah. Dengan adanya problematika itu, Ethan Hunt dan kawan-kawannya Benji (Simon Pegg) dan William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) berusaha mencari siapa yang ingin menghancurkan IMF. Di tengah dia mengusut hal tersebut, Ethan malah harus terjebak dalam bahaya.

The Syndicate, organisasi anti IMF yang berusaha untuk menjatuhkan Ethan Hunt dan kawan-kawannya. Saat Ethan harus ditangkap oleh The Syndicate, dia bertemu dengan Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) yang beranomali dengan mendukung Syndicate tetapi juga membantu Ethan Hunt untuk melarikan diri. Kebaikan Ilsa saat menolong Ethan tak lantas membuatnya percaya begitu saja. Ethan mencari tau siapa Ilsa dan apa hubungannya dengan The Syndicate. 

Patokan terhadap seri Mission: Impossible sudah didapatkan oleh Ghost Protocol. Sehingga, rasanya mustahil ketika seri terbaru dari Mission: Impossible berhasil melewati apa yang sudah dicapai oleh Brad Bird lewat Ghost Protocol. Maka, Christopher McQuarrie justru memiliki tekanan yang sangat besar untuk membawa Rogue Nation menjadi presentasi yang setidaknya bisa berdiri sejajar dengan Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol.

Memang tak ada yang bisa menandingi kegilaan yang dihadirkan oleh Brad Bird di Ghost Protocol lewat action sequences yang dia berikan. Sehingga, Rogue Nation memang tak dapat menandingi kegilaan itu. Tetapi, apa yang dihadirkan oleh Christopher McQuarrie Di Rogue Nation memiliki cita rasa sendiri. Action sequences yang ada di Rogue Nation memiliki cita rasa klasik film spionase-spionase dahulu yang juga menjadi poin plus-nya.

Action Sequences yang tak terlalu besar tak lantas membuat Rogue Nation kehilangan tensinya. Christopher McQuarrie masih bisa memacu adrenalin penontonnya dengan action sequences kecil yang diganjar terus menerus. Karena tahu ketidakmampuan McQuarrie untuk memberikan action sequences yang luar biasa, maka dari itu dia mencari hal lain yang bisa membuat Rogue Nation memiliki sesuatu yang lebih. Ya, lewat plotnya yang lebih kompleks. 

Kompleksitas plot yang dihadirkan oleh Christopher McQuarrie menjadikan Rogue Nation sangat menarik untuk diikuti. Apa yang diperlihatkan lewat trailernya ternyata sama sekali tidak serta merta membuat penontonnya tahu secara menyeluruh tentang plot milik Rogue Nation. Penonton akan sangat terkecoh dengan tampilan trailernya yang setidaknya memberikan sekelumit adegan yang ada di Rogue Nation. Sehingga, kompleksitas plot di Rogue Nation sama sekali tak bisa ditebak selain dengan menonton filmnya.

Kompleksitas yang dihadirkan oleh Christopher McQuarrie setidaknya tidak menjadi bumerang sendiri bagi Rogue Nation. Arahan dari McQuarrie berhasil membuat plotnya rapi dan semua berjalan sangat efektif. Begitupun dengan karakterisasi setiap karakter di dalam film Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation ini. Karakter-karakter itu menjalankan setiap karakternya secara efektif dan sesuai porsi masing-masing. Bukan malah menjadi penyesak layar yang membuat Rogue Nation terasa gegap gempita.

Dengan pengarahan yang begitu rapi lewat kompleksitas plot untuk menggerakkan durasinya selama 131 menit, Rogue Nation akan diselipi rasa sangat puas dengan adegan penutup di film ini. Penonton akan merasakan sesuatu yang melegakan setelah apa yang dilakukan oleh Ethan Hunt dan kawanannya berhasil menelusuri siapa musuh mereka sebenarnya. Dengan adanya intrik yang menarik tersebut, Rogue Nation yang memiliki durasi panjang tersebut benar-benar terasa sangat cepat. 

Dengan kompleksitas plot dan pengarahan yang rapi dari Christopher McQuarrie, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation menghadirkan sesuatu yang sangat menyenangkan untuk diikuti. Lewat penampilan yang gemilang dari Tom Cruise dan Rebecca Ferguson, action sequences dengan tensi yang sangat di luar batas meski tak bisa sebesar Ghost Protocol, juga cerita penuh teka-teki yang akan membuat penontonnya menerka-nerka, Rogue Nation berhasil menyampingkan kekhawatiran fans seri ini karena kehilangan Brad Bird di posisi Sutradara. And here we go, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation is the best from Ethan Hunt?s Mission.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION (2015) REVIEW : Best Mission In Ethan Hunt?s Career

Banyak sekali jatuh bangun yang dialami oleh Ethan Hunt dan sekutunya di IMF untuk melanjutkan seri-serinya. Film yang diadaptasi dari serial televisi dengan judul yang sama, Mission Impossible ini pun mengalami naik turun karena pergantian arahan dari orang yang berbeda di setiap serinya. Dari Brian De Palma hingga Brad Bird, pernah menjadi sutradara untuk menuntaskan misi yang dilakukan oleh Ethan dan Hunt dan sekutunya.

Meski tetap tertatih, Mission: Impossible tetap melanjutkan jejaknya hingga seri kelima. Dan ya, kali ini, Brad Bird tak lagi mengarahkan seri kelimanya dan digantikan oleh Christopher McQuarrie. Rogue Nation diambil sebagai sub judul dari Mission: Impossible seri terbaru ini. Ini bukan pertama kalinya Christopher McQuarrie berkolaborasi dengan Tom Cruise. Sudah ada Jack Reacher dan Edge of Tomorrow yang mempertemukan mereka.

Kebangkitan seri Mission: Impossible memang ditandai lewat seri keempatnya, Ghost Protocol. Maka, dengan hengkangnya Brad Bird untuk menyutradarai seri kelimanya kali ini, cukup membuat khawatir akan presentasi akhir dari Rogue Nation. Ghost Protocol berhasil membungkus film Mission: Impossible menjadi sebuah film spionase dengan action sequences yang dapat menghela nafas penontonnya. Tetapi, Rogue Nation dengan mudah menyaingi bahkan melewati ekspektasi yang dipatok oleh Ghost Protocol. 

Kali ini, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) harus terancam akan pekerjaannya sebagai mata-mata. IMF tempatnya bernaung sebagai mata-mata harus ditutup oleh pemerintah. Dengan adanya problematika itu, Ethan Hunt dan kawan-kawannya Benji (Simon Pegg) dan William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) berusaha mencari siapa yang ingin menghancurkan IMF. Di tengah dia mengusut hal tersebut, Ethan malah harus terjebak dalam bahaya.

The Syndicate, organisasi anti IMF yang berusaha untuk menjatuhkan Ethan Hunt dan kawan-kawannya. Saat Ethan harus ditangkap oleh The Syndicate, dia bertemu dengan Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) yang beranomali dengan mendukung Syndicate tetapi juga membantu Ethan Hunt untuk melarikan diri. Kebaikan Ilsa saat menolong Ethan tak lantas membuatnya percaya begitu saja. Ethan mencari tau siapa Ilsa dan apa hubungannya dengan The Syndicate. 

Patokan terhadap seri Mission: Impossible sudah didapatkan oleh Ghost Protocol. Sehingga, rasanya mustahil ketika seri terbaru dari Mission: Impossible berhasil melewati apa yang sudah dicapai oleh Brad Bird lewat Ghost Protocol. Maka, Christopher McQuarrie justru memiliki tekanan yang sangat besar untuk membawa Rogue Nation menjadi presentasi yang setidaknya bisa berdiri sejajar dengan Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol.

Memang tak ada yang bisa menandingi kegilaan yang dihadirkan oleh Brad Bird di Ghost Protocol lewat action sequences yang dia berikan. Sehingga, Rogue Nation memang tak dapat menandingi kegilaan itu. Tetapi, apa yang dihadirkan oleh Christopher McQuarrie Di Rogue Nation memiliki cita rasa sendiri. Action sequences yang ada di Rogue Nation memiliki cita rasa klasik film spionase-spionase dahulu yang juga menjadi poin plus-nya.

Action Sequences yang tak terlalu besar tak lantas membuat Rogue Nation kehilangan tensinya. Christopher McQuarrie masih bisa memacu adrenalin penontonnya dengan action sequences kecil yang diganjar terus menerus. Karena tahu ketidakmampuan McQuarrie untuk memberikan action sequences yang luar biasa, maka dari itu dia mencari hal lain yang bisa membuat Rogue Nation memiliki sesuatu yang lebih. Ya, lewat plotnya yang lebih kompleks. 

Kompleksitas plot yang dihadirkan oleh Christopher McQuarrie menjadikan Rogue Nation sangat menarik untuk diikuti. Apa yang diperlihatkan lewat trailernya ternyata sama sekali tidak serta merta membuat penontonnya tahu secara menyeluruh tentang plot milik Rogue Nation. Penonton akan sangat terkecoh dengan tampilan trailernya yang setidaknya memberikan sekelumit adegan yang ada di Rogue Nation. Sehingga, kompleksitas plot di Rogue Nation sama sekali tak bisa ditebak selain dengan menonton filmnya.

Kompleksitas yang dihadirkan oleh Christopher McQuarrie setidaknya tidak menjadi bumerang sendiri bagi Rogue Nation. Arahan dari McQuarrie berhasil membuat plotnya rapi dan semua berjalan sangat efektif. Begitupun dengan karakterisasi setiap karakter di dalam film Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation ini. Karakter-karakter itu menjalankan setiap karakternya secara efektif dan sesuai porsi masing-masing. Bukan malah menjadi penyesak layar yang membuat Rogue Nation terasa gegap gempita.

Dengan pengarahan yang begitu rapi lewat kompleksitas plot untuk menggerakkan durasinya selama 131 menit, Rogue Nation akan diselipi rasa sangat puas dengan adegan penutup di film ini. Penonton akan merasakan sesuatu yang melegakan setelah apa yang dilakukan oleh Ethan Hunt dan kawanannya berhasil menelusuri siapa musuh mereka sebenarnya. Dengan adanya intrik yang menarik tersebut, Rogue Nation yang memiliki durasi panjang tersebut benar-benar terasa sangat cepat. 

Dengan kompleksitas plot dan pengarahan yang rapi dari Christopher McQuarrie, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation menghadirkan sesuatu yang sangat menyenangkan untuk diikuti. Lewat penampilan yang gemilang dari Tom Cruise dan Rebecca Ferguson, action sequences dengan tensi yang sangat di luar batas meski tak bisa sebesar Ghost Protocol, juga cerita penuh teka-teki yang akan membuat penontonnya menerka-nerka, Rogue Nation berhasil menyampingkan kekhawatiran fans seri ini karena kehilangan Brad Bird di posisi Sutradara. And here we go, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation is the best from Ethan Hunt?s Mission.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION Soars As High As Cruise's Amazing Airplane Stunt

Now playing at a multiplex near all of us:

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION

(Dir. Christopher McQuarrie, 2015)

I thought it would've been impossible for Tom Cruise to top his death defying stunt in the last entry in this series (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL), which was scaling Dubai?s Burj Khalifa, aka the tallest building in the world, without a stuntman for Chrissakes!

But obviously the man takes these missions very seriously so this time out, in the first five minutes no less, we see his Ethan Hunt hanging on to the side of an airplane as it takes off. Again, there was no stuntman. Is anybody going to be surprised if he actually gets killed doing another one of these crazy stunts on a future sequel?

Anyway, it?s a pretty thrilling opening to the fifth MISSION IMPOSSIBLE which re-unites Cruise with his IMF (Impossible Missions Force) team members Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames, while Jeremy Renner watches via satellite back in Washington D.C.

Via his amazing airplane stunt, Cruise?s Hunt is able to stop terrorists? shipment of missiles laced with nerve gas from reaching its destination and we?re off and running with Lalo Schifrin?s famous theme music blaring over the flashy credits sequence.

Then we?ve got Alec Baldwin as stuffy CIA director Alan Hunley who wants to dismantle the IMF because of their reckless disregard for rules and regulations, and recall all the operatives, especially Hunt, but nobody is giving up his location.

Months later, Hunt is captured by The Syndicate, the evil organization that he?s been unable to prove the existence of to his former superiors. With the help of a British agent (a badass Rebeccca Ferguson) Hunt is able to escape - after a torture room fight scene, that is. Hunt has a lead to pursue ? the blonde, well-groomed but rat faced assassin who captured him played by Sean Harris, who?s a much better villain than Michael Nyqvist in the previous installment, 2011's GHOST PROTOCOL.

From there we get killer set piece after killer set piece. In one, Cruise and crew thwart an assassination attempt at the Vienna opera house involving more than one sniper. Another mighty sequence features a major motorcycle chase down Morocco?s winding R203 highway, and yet another has Cruise holding his breath for 6 and a ? minutes in order to access a computer server that?s stored underwater. Yep, ROGUE NATION?s high ratio of kick ass set pieces puts every other action movie this year to shame. James Bond?s highly anticipated next adventure, SPECTRE, has its work cut out for it to top this.

The twists and turns in the plot involving a flash drive that contains all of the Syndicate?s secrets ? the film?s MacGuffin - and how the British Prime Minister (Tom Hollander) and the head of MI6 (Simon McBurney) figure in the cover-up is fine, but it?s the beautifully bombastic barrage of stunts, fights, chases, and self aware humor (a lot of which comes from Simon Pegg who welcomely has a larger role than before) that audiences will most respond to.

Who knew that the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE series would become one of the most solid and dependable movie franchises out there? It?s stunning and impressive how increasingly stunning and impressive each new entry has been. Christopher McQuarrie, who?s worked with Cruise in JACK REACHER, and co-wrote the Cruise vehicles VALKRIE and EDGE OF TOMORROW, joins Brian de Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, and Brad Bird in the exclusive club of hot shot film makers who?ve performed great genre exercises in the form of these M:I movies.

The bottom line on Cruise has been for a while that whatever you think of his off screen drama with the Scientology and all, the guy makes good movies. You look at his filmography and there?s a lot of quality there. Cruise?s performance as Ethan Hunt works so well because the guy projects an air of cocky arrogance but there?s a detectable level beneath that where you can sense real fear that he has to talk himself out of. In other words, there?s a believable, relatable human being behind the action star front.

I?m definitely down with Bilge Ebiri who posited on Vulture.com that ?It?s Time to Start Liking Tom Cruise Again,? and seeing the excellent, intelligent, and genuinely exciting MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION is the best place to now put that into practice.

More later...

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION Soars As High As Cruise's Amazing Airplane Stunt

Now playing at a multiplex near all of us:

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION

(Dir. Christopher McQuarrie, 2015)

I thought it would've been impossible for Tom Cruise to top his death defying stunt in the last entry in this series (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL), which was scaling Dubai?s Burj Khalifa, aka the tallest building in the world, without a stuntman for Chrissakes!

But obviously the man takes these missions very seriously so this time out, in the first five minutes no less, we see his Ethan Hunt hanging on to the side of an airplane as it takes off. Again, there was no stuntman. Is anybody going to be surprised if he actually gets killed doing another one of these crazy stunts on a future sequel?

Anyway, it?s a pretty thrilling opening to the fifth MISSION IMPOSSIBLE which re-unites Cruise with his IMF (Impossible Missions Force) team members Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames, while Jeremy Renner watches via satellite back in Washington D.C.

Via his amazing airplane stunt, Cruise?s Hunt is able to stop terrorists? shipment of missiles laced with nerve gas from reaching its destination and we?re off and running with Lalo Schifrin?s famous theme music blaring over the flashy credits sequence.

Then we?ve got Alec Baldwin as stuffy CIA director Alan Hunley who wants to dismantle the IMF because of their reckless disregard for rules and regulations, and recall all the operatives, especially Hunt, but nobody is giving up his location.

Months later, Hunt is captured by The Syndicate, the evil organization that he?s been unable to prove the existence of to his former superiors. With the help of a British agent (a badass Rebeccca Ferguson) Hunt is able to escape - after a torture room fight scene, that is. Hunt has a lead to pursue ? the blonde, well-groomed but rat faced assassin who captured him played by Sean Harris, who?s a much better villain than Michael Nyqvist in the previous installment, 2011's GHOST PROTOCOL.

From there we get killer set piece after killer set piece. In one, Cruise and crew thwart an assassination attempt at the Vienna opera house involving more than one sniper. Another mighty sequence features a major motorcycle chase down Morocco?s winding R203 highway, and yet another has Cruise holding his breath for 6 and a ? minutes in order to access a computer server that?s stored underwater. Yep, ROGUE NATION?s high ratio of kick ass set pieces puts every other action movie this year to shame. James Bond?s highly anticipated next adventure, SPECTRE, has its work cut out for it to top this.

The twists and turns in the plot involving a flash drive that contains all of the Syndicate?s secrets ? the film?s MacGuffin - and how the British Prime Minister (Tom Hollander) and the head of MI6 (Simon McBurney) figure in the cover-up is fine, but it?s the beautifully bombastic barrage of stunts, fights, chases, and self aware humor (a lot of which comes from Simon Pegg who welcomely has a larger role than before) that audiences will most respond to.

Who knew that the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE series would become one of the most solid and dependable movie franchises out there? It?s stunning and impressive how increasingly stunning and impressive each new entry has been. Christopher McQuarrie, who?s worked with Cruise in JACK REACHER, and co-wrote the Cruise vehicles VALKRIE and EDGE OF TOMORROW, joins Brian de Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, and Brad Bird in the exclusive club of hot shot film makers who?ve performed great genre exercises in the form of these M:I movies.

The bottom line on Cruise has been for a while that whatever you think of his off screen drama with the Scientology and all, the guy makes good movies. You look at his filmography and there?s a lot of quality there. Cruise?s performance as Ethan Hunt works so well because the guy projects an air of cocky arrogance but there?s a detectable level beneath that where you can sense real fear that he has to talk himself out of. In other words, there?s a believable, relatable human being behind the action star front.

I?m definitely down with Bilge Ebiri who posited on Vulture.com that ?It?s Time to Start Liking Tom Cruise Again,? and seeing the excellent, intelligent, and genuinely exciting MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION is the best place to now put that into practice.

More later...

The Boxtrolls

***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion, that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching! Trolls come in boxes now...but those boxes better be biodegradable.

The Boxtrolls ? 5 out of 5

When I first saw the trailer for The Boxtrolls, I thought it looked like it would be a fun movie but it wasn?t enough to make me run out to the theater to see it?however, I should have because I absolutely loved every single second of this film?it was so fun, so well made, and so adorable that I can?t help but gush in my review here.

Dear me...that is freakin' cute as hell!

In the fictional town of Cheesebridge, underground dwelling trolls called the boxtrolls roam the night.  The citizens are scared and exterminator Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) strikes up a deal with the town?s mayor (Jared Harris) to take out all the boxtrolls and when they are all eliminated he will get a seat on the town?s high council; The White Hats.  Snatcher takes his team?the unsure Mr. Trout (Nick Frost) and Mr. Pickles (Richard Ayoade) and the simple and volatile Mr. Gristle (Tracy Morgan)?and set out to take out the creatures and spread vicious rumors about them, claiming they eat children.  Meanwhile, the boxtrolls are trying to live a simple life of being trash scavengers and raise a small human boy they call Eggs (Game of Thrones? Isaac Hempstead Wright).  Unfortunately, the same time Eggs discovers he isn?t a boxtroll from the mayor?s daughter Winnie (Elle Fanning) is the same time he learns a shocking truth about his past and has to gather up the courage to save his friends from Snatcher.

Great, now they are going to be abducted by aliens.

Laika, the animation studio that gave us Coraline and one of my favorite animated films ever; ParaNorman, brought that same level of quality animation to the animated loose adaptation of Alan Snow?s book Here Be Monsters! (I said ?animated? and ?animation? a lot in that sentence).  The thing about this studio that continues to blow me away is the realistic motions they create with their characters.  Everyone in this film moves so life-like that it is nearly mind-blowing.  There is such an attention to detail that they make the characters really come to life and pushes the film away from just being another stop-motion film for kids. 

Maybe if trolls stopped acting like trolls this sort of violence wouldn't happen.

The moment that sticks out for me was the sequence where Fish, the boxtroll that became Eggs? adapted father, is taken by Archibald Snatcher and Eggs can?t save him.  When Fish is taken away, Eggs? entire body slumps down with sadness and overwhelming sense of failure.  It?s a simple bit of bodily acting from the animated character but it spoke volumes to me and made me realize that once again Laika studios were here to deliver something incredible.  The way they make the characters move and the facial expressions they are able to capture not only helps dish out the emotion, drama, and humor the film was soaked in but they were able to ride that line where the characters move fluid and realistic and have them be over-the-top enough to look like they belong in this wondrous cartoonish reality they exist in.

Look at that smile...I wanna be his best friend.

I was just thinking the other day that my blog lacked greatly
in the troll butt department.

Like Coraline and ParaNorman, this stop-motion affair was perfectly crafted to be a family film where kids can have fun with the adorable boxtrolls and adults can appreciate the tender story?and both parties can appreciate the fact that the film doesn?t talk down to either of them.  The story is loaded with heart, humor, and fun that I was pretty much smiling and overwhelmingly enjoying myself the entire running length.  The story made me laugh (and it is damn funny) and even made me cry when it explored Eggs? tragic past and the relationship that he has with the boxtrolls.  Just like ParaNorman, this movie absolutely and perfectly blended having tender moments with humor and action.

"Tell my boxtroll wife that I love her!!!!"

Believe it or not, I've met people who look like this.

Every time I review an animated film, I always have to talk about the voice acting because without it, you can ruin an animated film really fast.  Like everything else about this movie, the voice acting is top notch and some of the best I?ve seen.  Ben Kingsley is absolutely FANTASTIC as Archibald Snatcher?he was so awesome that I had to capitalize the word ?fantastic.?  I honestly didn?t even realize it was him because he did such a great job of crafting a voice that fits the character perfectly.  And the team that Snatcher has is backed up so effectively by the trio of Richard Ayoade, Nick Frost, and Tracy Morgan.  All three of these actors fit like a glove with their characters and they brought so many funny moments.  Morgan especially was hysterical as he really nailed the simple lines of Mr. Gristle and really knew how to make the character hilarious.

There is either one of two things in that box...a boxtroll or something that Justin Timberlake
sang about.

Winnie kinda looks like she can start fires with her mind.

Isaac Hempstead Wright has already won my favor because of Game of Thrones but he was so good as Eggs.  The emotion he was able to convey and the confusion over the realization he discovers was tremendously displayed in his acting.  The same level is brought by Elle Fanning as Winnie.  There isn?t a single actor within this film that doesn?t deliver.  Jared Harris is great as Lord Portly-Rind, the mayor of Cheesebridge, Simon Pegg is great as the significant person from Eggs? past, and the list of talented voice actors like Dee Bradley Baker, Fred Tatasciore, Maurice LaMarche, Tom Kenny, Pat Fraley, Steven Blum, and more really helped bring this wonderful fantasy world to life and made it fun and colorful.

But when I do that to my Subway Sandwich Artist I'm called a creep.

I have absolutely no complaints about The Boxtrolls.  It was fun, dramatic, emotional, hilarious, cute, whimsical, entertaining, delightful, adorable?it was all the good words that my little brain can think of.  Nothing about it felt out of place or like it didn?t belong.  It will definitely go down as one of the best animated films I?ve seen and it absolutely deserved my perfect score.  It was just that epic.