directed by Christopher McQuarrie
written by Drew Pearce and Christopher McQuarrie
Mission Impossible movies, like James Bond movies, are relatively simple affairs: there's a mysterious, megalomaniacal threat somewhere in the world, and Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt accompanied sometimes by his Impossible Mission Force, at other times just his buddy Luther, played by Ving Rhames, must hunt in down and neutralize it. The fun, of course, is in watching Ethan and company do their thing, particularly considering that it invariably involves high-speed chases, death-defying stunts and bone-crunching fight sequences. To wax cliche, it's about the journey, and not the destination.
That said, while the MI series has had its ups and downs over the course of five films (and counting), I personally feel the series received a real creative shot in the arm when J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Star Wars Episode VII) took over the directing duties around ten years ago and produced the next couple of films, including this one. There's a bit more cleverness to the way Hunt and his friends take on the bad guys and the introduction of supporting characters like Simon Pegg's Benjie Dunn (who has quite a lot of screen time here) has really made the movies more entertaining overall.
In this particular installment, Hunt and his team take on the mysterious Syndicate, a collection of secret agents from all over the world who have either been declared missing or dead, who are apparently in the business of destroying governments. Led by the ruthless former MI6 agent Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), the Syndicate seems to perpetually be one step ahead of Hunt and his IMF, who are also facing the problem of having their budget cut off as Central Intelligence Agency Director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) seems intent on demolishing them during Congressional hearings. Fortunately, however, Hunt and his team may have an unexpected ally in double-agent Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) who may or may not be an MI6 agent also fighting the Syndicate. Time, however, is running out.
Truth be told, after the inventive and entertaining Edge of Tomorrow which was basically Groundhog Day but with a sci-fi/action flavor, I'm vaguely disappointed that Cruise went back to his comfort zone, though to be fair he did try a number of different kinds of films between this film and his last MI film. The good news is that as well-worn franchises go, Cruise and his crew have done a great job of keeping things fresh with some tightly-filmed action sequences, the highlights of which include a really good motorbike chase scene and a death defying underwater sequence.
Cruise's Ethan Hunt and Pegg's Benjie Dunn see the most action here, though Jeremy Renner's William Brandt and Ving Rhames' Luther Stickell have crucial roles as well. I guess Renner was taking a break from all the action he saw in Avengers: Age of Ultron in which his character Hawkeye had a dramatically expanded role; he doesn't throw a single punch in this film.
Cruise, on the other hand, goes all out with his stunts here, and considering he's dangled from a cliff connected to only a thin wire in Mission Impossible 2 and did the same thing, except from Burj Khalifa in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, that's saying a lot. The very first sequence, featured prominently in the trailers and other marketing materials, has him clinging to the side of a flying plane. He apparently has ambitions of being the Jackie Chan of Hollywood.
McQuarrie, probably best known as the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Bryan Singer's The Usual Suspects, has only directed two films previous to this one, Way of the Gun, and Jack Reacher (which also starred Cruise), both of which had a bit of a crime noir sensibility, which makes it even more impressive that he was able to handle this high octane affair with such panache.
The thing about this movie is that it really is a case of not fixing something that isn't broken. It's a good thing in that it makes for an entertaining film viewing experience, but Cruise and crew don't really reinvent the wheel here, so there really isn't much by way of original thrills either. It feels that way after a while, too.
Still, this was good fun.
7.7/10
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