(M) ★★★★
Director: Christopher McQuarrie.
Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Henry Czerny, Pom Klementieff, Cary Elwes, Shea Whigham.
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| Mission: Impossible - Traffic Cop didn't have the right ring to it. |
I've seen five of the previous six Mission: Impossible films, and I'm damned if I can remember a single plot element from any of them. All anyone can recall is Tom Cruise's increasingly bonkers stunts, right? As mentioned in my review for M:I - Fallout, the films tend to become known as The One Where Tom Cruise Climbs The Burj Khalifa or The One Where Tom Cruise Hangs On To A Plane During Takeoff etc.
With that in mind, this Mission has one of the better and more memorable plots of the bunch, though it's still highly likely we'll all come to refer to it as The One Where Tom Cruise Rides A Motorbike Off A Cliff.
The plot, for what it's worth, involves a rogue AI called The Entity. Every world government wants to catch it and harness it, but Ethan Hunt (Cruise) knows it can't be contained, and wants to destroy it.
Much like a Bond film, M:I movies are about a couple of key things - the villain and the stunts. If those are top notch, which they typically are, then we start to make sure the plot makes sense, the performances are good, and the movie doesn't outstay its welcome or make any dramatic mis-steps. The formula is established, so usually it's about following the recipe, and maybe adding some extra flavours along the way.
Dead Reckoning Part One ticks every M:I box, often with flair. It's the best one since the original, waaaay back in 1996, blending a strong plot, a solid couple of villains, and some of the best stunts the series has seen. Tom Cruise rides a motorbike of a fucking cliff, for chrissake, but the final sequence involving a runaway train is fantastic.
It's the side players that have been the series' strong suit of late. Rhames and Pegg are always handy to have in your pocket, while Atwell is a stellar addition. Ferguson, sadly, feels underused, having been one of the best things about the past couple of films.
And Cruise, well, he just keeps on cruising. He could do this stuff in his sleep, even at age 60, and obviously ramps up the stunts with each new film to give himself a reason to get up out of the giant bed made of money that he probably sleeps on every night. Ethan Hunt is the apex hero in action cinema - he has no weaknesses beyond his own morality and forthright desire to do good, no matter the cost. He's flawless, which should be boring. Hunt goes against the rules of screenwriting, because he's almost a Marty Stu. The only thing that saves him from this is he sometimes fails, though usually through no fault of his own. In Dead Reckoning Part One, he even saves the day by accident in one incredibly memorable moment that I'm pretty sure some people will hate, but I think is fantastic and hilarious.
The point is that Hunt shouldn't be such a drawcard but he is, and its all due to Cruise. We buy into these films largely because we know it really is Cruise hanging on the side of an airplane or riding a motorbike off a cliff. It's not even about the character anymore. It's about Cruise doing crazy shit.
M:I is so ingrained in its formula now that they can make jokes about it. "He always goes rogue," notes one character, referring to Ethan Hunt. Yes, he does, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
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