Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

I couldn't resist. The usual "Prime Time" blog post will appear tomorrow, apologies to anyone who likes me keeping to a more rigid schedule.

Here we are then. Is it the beginning of the end for the Mission: Impossible movie series? It certainly feels that way. We all know that Tom Cruise can only keep risking his life for our entertainment for so long. We also know that each time the stakes are raised can make it harder to find ways for the next instalment to top the previous one. This certainly feels like it could be a great mission to go out on, and there are some interesting parallels between this film and the De Palma blockbuster that started it all.

Ethan Hunt (Cruise, like you need me to tell you that) has to go rogue once again, this time on a mission to collect two parts of a special key. Nobody knows quite what the key unlocks, or where it needs to be used, but it's all connected to a world-threatening AI enemy, referred to through most of the movie as "The Entity". Hunt enlists the help of his old friends, Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), as well as reconnecting with the tricksy Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). There are many others after the key, although some know more about it than others, including a slippery thief named Grace (Hayley Atwell), a deadly figure from Hunt's past (played by Esai Morales), and a few other key players (no pun intended).

Although this movie series has been on great/top form for some time now, and you could easily argue that not one instalment is a complete miss, I did go into this feeling one small pang of regret. I felt the importance of the marriage of the films with their respective directors had disappeared, especially when you consider how much De Palma and John Woo stamped their style on the first two films, for better or worse, but maybe I am completely wrong. It’s perhaps the case that other directors are still very much doing their own thing, but their own thing happens to be presenting what they want to see in these movies. Director Christopher McQuarrie has certainly done as much to elevate the films, and maintain them as essential cinema viewings, as his star, and this film exudes a confidence gained from previous success. There’s no big song to use/promote, there’s no big stunt during the prologue (although it’s still a fantastic, extended, opening act), no teasing for an extended cinematic universe, and there aren’t really any surprises. You have seen what you’re getting in the trailer and marketing, to a degree, and McQuarrie, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Erik Jendresen, knows that he has something good enough to satisfy everyone who buys a ticket. And the big stunt that has been promoted so heavily in the run up to this release? It’s a highlight that the film builds to as the third act builds, with everyone involved seeming to relish the moment, nodding to the viewers and saying “we know you came here for this . . . here it is, and it’s something special”. And you know what . . . it IS something special. Because almost any other film would have executed that stunt in any number of different ways. But this is Tom Cruise, enabled by McQuarrie, in a bloody Mission: Impossible film.

If you enjoyed this cast in previous adventures then you will enjoy them here. They maintain great chemistry with one another, they each bring something to the table, and viewers should care about whether they live or die. Other familiar faces returning are Vanessa Kirby (still entertainingly flirty and dangerous as “The White Widow”) and Henry Czerny as Kittridge, a man who seems to be in the habit of upsetting Ethan Hunt. Atwell is the standout from the newcomers, always trying to stay one step ahead of Hunt and co. while being unaware of the full picture forming around her, and also being unaware of just how much danger she is in. Morales is fine, although hampered by the contrivance needed to make him feel like a physical embodiment of the AI threat, and there are very entertaining performances from Shea Wigham (an agent who quickly becomes exasperated while trying to capture Hunt), Greg Tarzan David (working with Wigham’s character), and Pom Klementieff (a skilled and determined assassin). Eagle-eyed viewers will also spot the likes of Rob Delaney, Mark Gatiss, Indira Varma, and Cary Elwes, although you don’t need to be too eagle-eyes to spot Elwes, as he has a bit more screentime than the others, portraying the Director of  National Intelligence.

McQuarrie may not be doing his best writing work here, but he throws enough exposition around during the earlier scenes to set everything up for a film that can then rush headlong from one impressive set-piece to the next. The 163-minute runtime doesn’t ever start to feel tiring, thanks to the pre-credits sequence and that jaw-droppingly fantastic finale, coming along after numerous gunfights, a brilliantly inventive car chase, a couple of big brawls, and a sequence set in Venice that underlines just how slim the chances of success are (“well, this is not mission difficult”).

I wouldn’t rush to call this the best of the series, that’s a high bar indeed, but it certainly comes close. It’s so good that it has me thinking I was too harsh when I reviewed the last instalment, because this is easily on a par with that one and I find myself more inclined to overlook the minor issues in favour of the sheer thrill of the energy and spectacle of it all. Oh, and I'll eat my hat if I don't make numerous The Ethan Hunt For Red October gags when the second part is released.

9/10

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Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

You may have already seen clips of Tom Cruise in action for this latest Mission: Impossible movie. He dives out of a plane. He races through the streets of Paris. He flies a helicopter in a manner not to be found in the "Guide To Being A More Responsible Helicopter Pilot". He does all of that and more. You may have also already heard the glowing praise. A lot of people are calling this the best of the franchise. A lot of people are calling it a new action classic.

Yeah, about that. Let's take off the rose-tinted IMAX glasses and turn things down just a notch.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout is a very good film. There are times when it is great. The stuntwork is often bordering on the insane, making it insanely entertaining, but this isn't the best action movie in years. I'd say that it even falls just below the previous two entries in this series, and I'll go into just why that's the case in a little while.

Cruise is Ethan Hunt once again, of course, and he's flanked by Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames) as they try to recover some stolen plutonium cores that they don't want falling in to the hands of The Apostles (who have remained at work despite the loss of their leader, Solomon Lane, played by Sean Harris). Henry Cavill is a CIA agent, August Walker, tasked with keeping a closer eye on Hunt and his team, Rebecca Ferguson returns as the kickass Ilsa Faust, and a few other familiar faces pop up to join the fun.

Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie (now on his third film with Cruise and his second in this series, the first director to return) knows how to sketch characters, dynamics, and the potentially complex plotting of a good spy caper. It's great to see a number of threads picked up and expertly manipulated. Plot points drop in and reverberate through this movie, and even the events of the past movies, with the impact of a fly that just found itself unexpectedly caught in a spiderweb. And this all happens in between, and sometimes during, those magnificent action set-pieces.

The cast all slip back into their roles with ease. Cruise is, as we all know nowadays, either fearless or completely insane. He won't rest until one of these films allows him to escape a space-set shockwave as he glides down to Earth on the back of a toothy creature a la "Ace" Rimmer from Red Dwarf. Pegg and Rhames are great support, their characters bringing just a small amount of comedy while reinforcing the few bonds that connect IMF with individual lives instead of just faceless masses to be saved. Ferguson is slightly underserved by the script, but does very good work with what she's given. Harris remains a menacing figure, Vanessa Kirby is good fun as a "broker", and Cavill is absolutely brilliant as the sledgehammer who may break our heroes if he thinks things aren't going to plan. You also get some nice work from Alec Baldwin, again, and Angela Bassett. There's even some screentime for Michelle Monaghan.

That covers most of the fun stuff. I could mention how exhilarated I felt watching Cruise ride a motorbike the wrong way around the Arc de Triomphe. I could try to describe the sheer joy I felt while Cruise called Cavill a prick. You get the idea. There are lots and lots of fun moments. And I won't deny that some of the action beats are next-level in their scale and choreography, for a mainstream blockbuster release. The finale is especially adept at jumping from one white-knuckle moment to the next.

The non-fun stuff is also very good. The subtitle here may be Fallout but I suspect that's because Weight just wouldn't sound as good. Believe me, however, when I say that this film is all about weight. The weight of responsibility, the weight of constantly making decisions based on murky and fluid morality, the weight of the practical effects, the weight of emotions. People may remember the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few but this film reminds us all that the choice weighs just as heavily on the person having to make the call, and also that sometimes the end games are one and the same. It also makes an interesting point about the war on terror and how the good intentions can create even more dangers and enemies. I would argue that the two moments in this film that completely sum up Ethan Hunt are a scene in which he apologises to a wounded police officer in French and a scene in which he tells the other team members that he won't let them down, even as everyone realises that they can no longer hear one another. Even with his team, Hunt alone feels the total weight of the job, especially while maintaining a moral code that others may lack.

Where the film falls down slightly, certainly in comparison to the previous missions, is in the scenes which allow it to remind us of the past. McQuarrie ties up loose ends that few people were all that bothered about. He does it well, or as well as he can, but it still feels unnecessary. The same goes for some of the details and callbacks that make the film feel like some grand sendoff rather than just a grand adventure. I'm not going to namecheck them all, and I am not saying that there are lots and lots, but fans of the series will find some moments feeling far too familiar because McQuarrie felt that he needed to include some extra little nods and winks.

The fourth film had amazing set-pieces without a memorable villain, the fifth film had the perfect mix of both. This film sits somewhere between the two. The villains are great, the action is often brilliant, but it's a bit overlong, a bit happy to scamper back and forth to the same well, and sometimes, even for this series, feels a bit too unbelievably coincidental and convenient.

But I'll be just as eager to see the next mission. And I'll be buying this one ASAP.

EDIT: I have changed my mind slightly on this, the bad doesn’t do enough to bother me on repeat viewings, and I think maybe wearing the rose-tinted glasses can be a nice experience sometimes.

9/10

Your mission can be found here.

2015: Top 10 And Honourable Mentions

As is my habit, I will add my small amount of opinion to the deluge of Top 10 lists and best/worst pieces that always populate the internet at this time of year. The lack of daily writing on this here blog should not be taken as a sign that my movie viewing schedule has become any less cluttered. Indeed, the opposite may well be true. Cinema trips, my growing movie collection, film festivals, and even one or two screener discs - all of them have helped to fill up my year, cinematically speaking, and my appetite remains as strong as ever.

Although only one made it on to my Top 10 list for this year, 2015 could very well be labelled as the year of the spy movie. Spy, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, Mortdecai (much maligned by almost everyone, except me), Spooks: The Greater Good and Bridge Of Spies were just a few of the secret agent movies you could see this year. Oh, and there was a limited release you might have noticed for a film entitled Spectre. There were more, but I won't list them all here. Suffice to say, fans of spy capers should have been kept very happy this year.

But what else was pleasing folks? Well, the box office figures can show you what went down well with most viewers (big hitters included Jurassic World and Furious 7). And all I can tell you is what I ended up enjoying the most. And here they are:

10. Amy - My full review for this one is here.

9. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - It's slightly overlong, a bit choppily edited in the hand to hand action scenes, and highly derivative of both recent Bond movies and past M:I flicks, but this is the mainstream action film gold standard in 2015 during the major set-pieces. The cast all have a lot of fun, as does Christopher McQuarrie - fitting into the franchise like hand in glove with the great chase sequences, moral ambiguity, and grit scattered throughout the gloss.

 
8. The Lobster - It certainly won't be for everyone, and one particular scene will upset animal lovers, but no film this year has made me laugh and wince in equal measure more than The Lobster. It's horrifying at times, it's deeply upsetting, and it's also downright hilarious. Colin Farrell gives a wonderful lead performance, but nobody involved (Ashley Jensen, John C. Reilly, Ben Whishaw, Olivia Colman, etc.) hits a wrong note. Surreal, sometimes sick, and sublime.

7. Inherent Vice - This would have been on a few lists for 2014, but it's worth remembering that this movie was released here in the UK in January 2015. Inherent Vice is yet another masterwork from Paul Thomas Anderson. When I first saw it I gave it 8/10 but it's a film that rewards repeat viewings, thanks to the density of the plotting, the performances, and the general atmosphere throughout that left me feeling in the same headspace as the main character (a brilliant, comedic performance from Joaquin Phoenix).

6. Inside Out - My full review for this one is here.

5. Precinct Seven Five - Can you guess? Yep, my full review is here.
And my interview with Mike O'Dowd is right here. I recommend it, but I am biased.

4. The Pyramid Texts - Although it sits here at number 4, this is probably the film, and indeed the performance, that I most implore people to seek out. I reviewed it here.

3. The Martian - Matt Damon may be the titular character, and he may have most of the screentime (by far), but this is a fantastic sci-fi movie that benefits from a fine ensemble - Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean, and many more - and a fine return to form by one of my favourite directors, Ridley Scott. The soundtrack is also surprisingly upbeat and lively, considering the tension of the scenario unfolding onscreen.

2. Mad Max: Fury Road - A revving and crunching blend of frenetic action, nightmarish imagery, top tier performances from all the main players, and just a perfect cinema experience. George Miller has been given the funding and support to realise an epic vision, allowing for this instalment to be the best Mad Max movie yet. And that's quite a feat.

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens - J. J. Abrams basically repeats a lot of the tricks that he used in Star Trek Into Darkness, with one major difference. This time he doesn't also try to be clever and tricksy with viewers. And it works beautifully. The new cast/characters are uniformly excellent, the familiar faces pop up to help move things along, the effects are fantastic without feeling overblown, and the pacing is perfect. I came out of the cinema smiling, I was keen to talk about everything I'd just seen, and (perhaps most amazing of all) I was already dying to see the next instalment. CAN NOT WAIT!

There are many, many other films worth mentioning. I'll try to list most of them here: Cop Car, The Diary Of A Teenage Girl, When Animals Dream, Joy, Brooklyn, Black Mass, The Editor, Musaranas AKA Shrew's Nest, Cub AKA Welp, The Road Within, Future Shock: The Story Of 2000 AD, Song Of The Sea, The Falling, Steve Jobs, Straight Outta Compton, Love & Mercy, Legend, Sicario, Mistress America, Creed and more.

EDIT: I have only just realised that this list misses out some MAJOR favourites of mine, titles such as Birdman and Whiplash, for example. Unfortunately, my memory is more fallible than ever, and these titles tend to be released at the turn of the year, with both of those named hitting the US in 2014 and eventually being released here at the start of 2015. Needless to say, both deserve a high placing in the above list.

Disappointments for the year included, but were not limited to, the following (and I won't repeat my opinion on Spectre which I linked to above): Cooties, Goodnight Mommy, The Good Dinosaur, Gravy, Macbeth, Terminator Genisys.

And the worst of the year: Poltergeist, Dracula Reborn, The Gallows, The Incident, Man Up.

Now, having made these lists (and I AM terrible at making lists), it could be noted that not one horror made it into my Top 10, while a number of them were selected as disappointments or outright bad movies. I'm sure that many will rush to cite 2015 as "another bad year for horror" but that's not the case. It may look like it here, but that's only because a) I saw so many great films at EIFF 2015 b) the quality of the blockbusters this year was pretty damn good, overall, and c) I watch a LOT of horror movies, which also means I watch a lot of crap horror movies. It's a sad truth that I have watched the likes of Sharknado 3 and Lavalantula while other, most probably better, horror movies have passed me by. Hey, I can't see everything. It's just unfortunate that I keep trying to, without thinking about perhaps prioritising my choices. At least I still managed to see the likes of Crimson Peak and Deathgasm, two horror movies that show how fantastic the genre can be in two very different ways.

Here's to the year ahead. I hope it's good to you, equally good to me, and full to the brim with even more filmic fun.

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