The Bottom Line: 7/31/15: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE VACATION

Summer is winding down, but it just might have one more big hit on it’s hands. The past two weeks haven’t really broken the bank, with Ant-Man taking first place twice with a modest box office. $24 million-worth of people saw Pixels, which means there are $24 million-worth of people that should be ashamed of themselves out there right now. Stop supporting Adam Sandler, people. He’s a con man that doesn’t care if you laugh; just that he gets paid. 

Sorry, got a little side-tracked by my Sandler-hatred. Where were we?

This weekend could see the last big summer hit, while also providing one last summer flop. Let’s take a look at what movies are being shoved in our faces this week.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation – (PG-13) 131 min. – A FIFTH Mission Impossible movie? This franchise is quickly turning into The Fast and the Furious. Modest beginnings with a cult fan base and OK movies, suddenly ramping up into tentpole titles with incredible reviews and widespread success. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation sees the return of Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team taking on another impossible task. A rival organization known as The Syndicate threatens their existence, so Ethan and crew must find them all and take them out. Part of me wants to see this film simply because I know Cruise does all (or at least most) of his own stunts, and even held on to the side of a plane as it was taking off for the sake of the movie. Make fun of Cruise for his off-the-screen antics, but he truly puts all of himself into his movies…not like that fraud Sandler…oh sorry, back on track now. Early reviews are very positive for Rogue Nation, so this could prove to be one of the most exciting movies of the year. I would say definitely check it out.

Vacation – (R) 99 min. – Why? Seriously, why? You’re going to replace Chevy Chase with Ed Helms? Why? Vacation is a reboot of the immensely beloved Vacation franchise, in which Rusty Griswold (Helms) is now old enough to have his own family and decides to drag them all to Walley World. He’s hoping to spice things up with his wife (Christina Applegate) while reconnecting with his sons, and I’m sure that will happen in some roundabout stupid way. The humor present in the trailers and commercials for Vacation looks sophomoric, with such classics as “bathing in poop” and “getting into a horrific car accident”. Just watch the original, please. We don’t need this. You don’t need this.

The Bottom Line – It’s pretty clear what I think you should see this weekend: Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. It’s going to be a fast-paced spy thriller with awesome stunts and tense action. Vacation looks as though it was slapped together by an out-of-touch producer that doesn’t understand why the original was a success.