Tom Cruise is arguably the last movie star. His mere presence can heighten the prestige of a movie, and he always performs in some of the biggest blockbusters of cinematic history. What’s most amazing about him is his commitment to performing his stunts himself. Whether it’s climbing onto a moving plane, swimming underwater for a long time, or riding a motorcycle off a mountain, it’s always really him doing it. Pushing his limits, testing the extremity of the human body is all in a day’s work for the man famous for Top Gun, Magnolia, and of course the now 7 film Mission Impossible series.
The latest entry, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, finds Cruise also delivering a more emotional performance. He’s playing a man who has spent his whole life losing the people closest to him, and as he ages his worry that it could happen again grows and grows. That’s the crux of Cruise’s emotional performance, and it does make this film feel a cut above the majority of this franchise. But truth be told, we’re not here to watch Cruise deliver an emotional performance showing his growing range as a star.
We’re here to watch Hollywood’s last movie star ride a motorcycle off of a plane, and climb out of a train falling over a cliff. We’re here to watch this 61 year old man test every limit he has with a big bag of popcorn in our hands. And that is exactly what this film delivers, the perfect popcorn experience.
What’s most interesting about this film is that it also seems to be Cruise commenting on current issues within the entertainment industry. His mission that he chose to accept sees him going against not a rogue nation, or an arms dealer. He’s going after the deadliest enemy of all, a sentient artificial intelligence. While writers continue to strike over the implementation of A.I. in the industry, it seems Cruise chose to fight that inclusion with a nearly $300 million budget.
This villain, represented by a series of computer graphics alone, is the strongest foe Hunt has ever faced. It can’t be traced, it can’t be beaten with digital methods. While the series has only gotten better with time, we have what may be our best film here. That’s especially impressive, considering the threat Hunt faces isn’t one he can argue with or even have a simple discussion with.
Naturally, making the enemy not a human could bring along several problems. How can we identify with Cruise when he’s not fighting a clear villain? Lots of new casting additions are brought into help with that, including a new enemy from Hunt’s past (played by Esai Morales from Ozark), and a deadly French hitman (played by Pom Klementieff from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies). They join a fantastic cast of returning people such as Simon Pegg (from Shaun of the Dead), Rebecca Ferguson (from Dune), and most surprisingly Canadian actor Henry Czerny (returning from the first Mission: Impossible film). But the biggest new addition is Hunt’s new partner, the independent thief Grace (played by Hayley Atwell from Agent Carter).
The film sees Christopher McQuarrie (the director of Rogue Nation and Fallout) return for his third Mission Impossible film, and the working relationship between the two is clearly growing stronger. While the series has lost the unique feeling every new film brought with a new director in its early years, we now have a consistent quality across the three most recent films. They may feel similar, but it’s still incredibly exciting to watch it.
All these new additions are fantastic, and work well alongside Cruise and his insane escapades. But what elevates this film to truly be one of the best blockbusters of the 2020s is that it works despite its two part nature. Most big blockbusters that are split into two end their first part with a twist. A cheap thrill meant to keep anticipation high for a year, and guarantee a huge box office return for the second film. While we will have to wait a year to see what happens, (without spoiling anything) this film does not end with a twist but a proper ending. The 7th Mission: Impossible film, like all that came before it, is a complete film on its own.
This is a film confident in itself, and with very good reason. A stellar supporting cast surrounds Cruise’s performance that gets better with every additional entry in this series. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1, should you choose to see it, is an EXCELLENT time. This film gets a 4.5/5, you can watch it in cinemas now.
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