Worth the wait? Should Tom Cruise be committed for doing these death defying stunts, or is he just so committed he can’t or won’t stop. He always goes for something bigger and better to thrill the audience, and probably himself.
The first 25 minutes of this film includes a catch-up of flashbacks from previous films up to the opening credits. This plays like a recap of the franchise, making sure we remember that Ethan Hunt has saved the planet already. These clips remind us how exciting those M I films used to be. Not sure Cruise & Company needed this to start this purportedly final film in the franchise. It was delayed 3 times since 2023 because of the COVID pandemic and the SAG-AFTRA strike. But here it is.
The nearly 3 hour length of this $400 million film is a bit much, but we can honestly say we were glued to all the action scenes, from non-stop running, car chases, crashes, submarine scenes to Cruise literally taking flight. All were well-positioned and his fearlessness will keep you riveted anxiously awaiting his scare-devil stunts. While the improbable situations and death-defying stunts are the reason to see any Mission Impossible movie, there’s a sense of desperation in Cruise’s need to go bigger with each exploit. But the story suffers.
Director Christopher McQuarrie, (Rogue nation, Fallout, Dead Reckoning) who co-wrote the script with Erik Jendresen (M I:Dead Reckoning) claims the action had to be in line with the story. The stilted dialogue for this ominous plot is weak and confusing. Ethan’s villains introduce devices he and his team have to secure and defuse simultaneously to save the world from the all-powerful AI, Entity. Esai Morales is back as Gabriel, the sophisticated, power hungry villain hell-bent on domination by controlling the all-powerful doomsday device. His character crosses the line between evildoer and caricature.
As usual, there is too much emphasis on the impossible action and heavy handed plot of The Entity initiating nuclear annihilation. The result is that this movie loses its ability to poke fun at itself as the franchise has in the past. There are few clever lines to lighten the mood and give it a little humor. It feels like a replay of MI’s greatest hits with more new versions of Ethan cheating death over and over again. Agent Benji (Simon Pegg) and special assistant, Luther (Ving Rhames) are back on the team. And lightening fast thief, Grace (Hayley Atwell) is an integral part of the mission, stern when shaking up Ethan with a dose of reality, but also tender with romantic overtones. Simon Pegg’s character is much too serious in this one. He was always the tech guru with a little twinkle in his eye and a quick comeback. French assassin, Paris (Pom Klementieff) has some sarcastic lines, subtitled, but there needed to be more from Pegg and other team members to provide some comic relief.
The amount of time it takes for each set piece to resolve catastrophic situations at the very, very last second is always unrealistic. One second takes 20 minutes of screen time. And there is too much exposition with details about how all the devices need to work together to avoid cataclysmic destruction and death. There are just too many characters to keep track of. We were disappointed seeing several new cast members in the trailer not more fully developed. McQuarrie did not give enough meaningful dialogue to Nick Offerman, Trammel Tillman, Hannah Waddingham, and even Angela Bassett as U.S. President in the film.
Plus, this film is action heavy with three set pieces that not only took our breath away, but Cruise’s. They go on way too long and the underwater scenes are uncomfortable to watch. When he was submerged, we were gasping for air.
But the film builds up to the the climactic scene that literally took Cruise’s breath away, first with Ethan running to catch up with Gabriel taking off in a bi-plane. Then, Ethan’s desperate measures clinging for dear life to parts of Gabriel’s plane in the sky over South Africa with Cruise, once again, outdoing tenacity. Even he had to gasp for air, reportedly hiding his head on his sleeve to get enough to keep breathing. However, the laborious bi-plane sequence loses its power.
Will this Reckoning really be the final? If you try to make sense of this movie, you won’t enjoy it. Despite the weak story, respect to Cruise for consistently pushing the envelope even further on land, sea and in the air in this heavy duty action film that stretches the bounds of incredulity.
Paramount Pictures 2 hours 49 minutes PG-13
Related posts:
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Mission: Impossible Fallout
Knives Out Writer/Director Rian Johnson talks about having the whole cast on the set
THE CAMPERS AT THE SUNDANCE PREMIERE OF CRIP CAMP: A DISABILITY REVOLUTION TALK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE AND THE FILM.
Ford v Ferrari Stunt Coordinator, Robert Nagle
Interview with Waves stars Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Taylor Russell and Writer/Director Trey Edward Shults talking teen angst, family and sound design.
