In his final outing as Ethan Hunt, lead MIF agent in the Mission: Impossible movie series, Tom Cruise proves that 60 is the new 40. Or in his case, 62 is the new 35.
He starred in the first film in 1996. That was almost 30 years ago, and he kept the franchise alive by making succeeding movies more entertaining and exciting. Each installment came with a better script and plot, with characters fully threshed out and played by perfectly chosen actors.
Cruise also did his own hair-raising stunts. In one installment, he was clinging to the door for dear life outside an Airbus cargo jet as it was taking off. Either he’s insane or his midlife crisis has been prolonged. At his age, he could be playing a grandparent. But he’s kept himself physically fit. His face has lost its youthful luster, but he wears the wrinkles like a badge of honor. He’s less a pretty hunk and more an actor with a wealth of wisdom. This gives Ethan Hunt more credibility. His two recent films—Dead Reckoning Part 1 and Top Gun Maverick—met with critical and box office success.
We’re not about to see Tom Cruise join Stallone in The Expendables movies just yet.
The final film, now showing in your nearest cinema, isn’t the best, but it’s made as well as the best of them. Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning continues the story of the previous movie, Dead Reckoning. Ethan and his MIF force are tasked to stop the Entity, a rogue AI that wants to eliminate mankind by taking control of the nuclear arms of the world superpowers. It’s quite similar to what The Terminator movies are about, but this villain does without cyborgs or familiar weapons. It’s an enemy no one can’t see or touch. Its power seems unlimited. It’s the lord of the rings and big brother rolled into one. The only way to get around it is to rely on analog equipment. Go digital and it will easily find and defeat you.
Ethan has to get hold of the Podkova module to trap the Entity in a drive and render it powerless. The module, however, is ensconced in a submarine that sank somewhere in the Arctic Ocean (this happened at the start of Dead Reckoning). Thus audiences are treated yet again to another thrilling Ethan Hunt retrieval operation that has him diving into freezing waters. And there’s Gabriel (played by Esai Morales) to contend with. He wants to use the power of the Entity to rule the world.
Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, The Final Reckoning has many compelling action scenes, all staged, filmed, and edited to keep audiences at the edge of their seats. The franchise has brought the action thriller genre to a new level, unmatched by the James Bond and Marvel movies. Everything else feels stodgy and hokey.
The pressure is now on the filmmakers, especially Tom Cruise. They’ve spoiled us, and we’ve come to expect a more fabulous display of car chases, fight scenes, and suspenseful heists. Cruise is thus compelled to do more death-defying stunts. The Final Reckoning could disappoint loyal fans who expect one breathtaking scene after another. The movie is almost three hours long, which is one hour too long for a movie of this type. Lengthy, talky scenes are squeezed in between thrilling clashes.
As The Final Reckoning is reportedly the last of the series, the movie had to be long. Characters from the previous movies play a certain role in the plot. Snippets from earlier films serve as brief flashbacks to help us recall the character and the actor who played him. Ethan’s former wife (whom he divorced to keep her safe from his impossible missions) figures in the plot.
The running time is also prolonged by scenes that add dimension to the personalities of Ethan’s team members. Work relationships and camaraderie among the agents have been a staple in the franchise. We enjoy watching them work together. Thus it is important for the filmmakers to underscore their interaction, especially since this is the last time we’ll be seeing them as a team. They truly care for each other, and this gives the movie its heart.
It actually took some time for me to be an M:I convert. I actually disliked the first movie. It was dour and confusing. It ruined Lalo Schifrin’s iconic theme from the original TV series by using an elecronica version. The one thing the first movie had going for it, at least for me, was Vanessa Redgrave. I felt this classical actor was slumming and acquiescing to careful blocking and direction that made sure her almost six-foot tall frame didn’t stand next to Ethan Hunt.
Succeeding films had a lighter touch and featured amusing scenes that came courtesy of Simon Peg and Vhing Rhames . They made Ethan’s team so amiable. Unlike James Bond, Ethan is no womanizer. The female protagonists have always been strong, independent, and seldom in need of being rescued. Sex plays a tiny part of the equation.
Tom Cruise ought to produce a spin-off for Grace with Atwell playing her, of course
Hayley Atwell plays Grace, the lead female protagonist. She’s not exactly the leading lady because Grace isn’t romantically involved with Ethan. She’s more a supporting character. But Grace is a very interesting agent. Introduced in Dead Reckoning—she’s a pickpocket who steals not wallets but important documents and gadgets. She’s a wonderful addition to the team. Played by Atwell, she reminds me of Kate Jackson of Charlie’s Angels. Tom Cruise ought to produce a spin-off for Grace with Atwell playing her, of course.
The great Angela Bassett is back, but she’s no longer just the head of CIA. She’s been promoted to President of the US. Bassett has been playing Washington D.C. bureaucrats since the 1990s when she starred with Jodie Foster in Contact. She’s played the same type of role in other films and she seemed to wear the same clothes in all of them. Her experience playing a bureaucrat adds authenticity to the scenes set in the US capital.
The M:I movies have appealed to all types of audiences. A friend of mine, a lady of a certain age who’d rather see films adapted from Jane Austen books, became curious when I told her about the fifth movie, Rogue Nation. A major scene is set at the Vienna State Opera, where a performance of Puccini’s Turandot is happening. Nessun dorma is sung in its entirety, I added. It was enough to get her and her girlfriends marching to the cinema. They enjoyed not just the opera sequence but also the entire movie. I got them hooked!
It was Rogue Nation that also won me over. The opening credits alone was impressive, and finally, they used the original arrangement of Schifrin’s theme. Some of the dialog was witty, and it was free of silly one-liners that have become de rigueur in action thrillers. The best line in Rogue Nation came from Alec Baldwin, who played a grumpy Washington DC bureaucrat. Ethan knocks the British prime minister out and an exasperated Baldwin deadpans, “Congratulations, Ethan. You just brought Anglo-American relations back to the American Revolution.”
Since then, I’ve been looking forward to the next M:I movie.
