There’s simply no excuse for a film that runs 163 minutes…
…unless it holds our attention the entire time.
Unlike half a dozen recent examples of self-indulgent tedium, this one delivers.
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| After being chased halfway around the globe, Ethan (Tom Cruise) and Grace (Hayley Atwell) abruptly find that their carefully planned undercover operation aboard the Orient Express has taken an unexpected turn. |
Mention also must be made of the frequent dollops of welcome humor, intercut with bits of unexpected pathos.
Oh, and running. Showing off his sprinting prowess has long been a Tom Cruise signature, and he gets a lotta mileage outta that here.
He simply refuses to go gently into the quieter phase of less hectic film roles. More power to him.
Cruise’s Ethan Hunt — introduced back in 1996; can you believe it? — is once again joined by his faithful Scooby Gang members: analyst Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), sniper/close combat expert Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) and legendary hacker/tech genius Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames).
On the adversarial side, a figure from Ethan’s long-ago, pre-IMF past: Gabriel (Esai Morales), a stone-cold sociopath who enjoys killing people while their loved ones watch. He’s assisted by the ruthless, relentless Paris (Pom Klementieff), a grinning danger junkie who gets off on hurting people.
Happy surprises include Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny), resurrected from this franchise’s 1996 debut, when he was a mere government wonk; he has risen to become the CIA director who sends Ethan on his impossible missions, via an old-school cassette tape that self-destructs in 5 seconds. Cary Elwes joins the crew as Denlinger, director of National Intelligence, and — in an amusing early scene — the only person who literally has no idea what the IMF is.
This mission’s threat is ripped right out of today’s unsettling headlines: an artificial intelligence program that has infiltrated all world-wide, Internet-linked communications systems. Known obliquely as “The Entity,” it has developed enough semi-sentience to understand how to manipulate information and events by means both random and calculated.
Imagine — as one character explains, early on — a world where online newspaper headlines cannot be trusted; where email communication can be “spoofed” well enough to fool recipients; where nuclear command codes can be changed and then activated; and where even voices can be imitated, so that one never knows who’s on the other side of a cell phone call.
Scary stuff.
Every world power both fears and desires to control of The Entity, which makes this a truly dangerous assignment.
The only possible hope for salvation involves the recovery of two linked keys believed to access The Entity’s source code … although nobody knows where that is located. Meanwhile, one key is believed to be in the hands of Ilsa, who — according to Kittridge — has gone rogue. Rumor suggests interest from a buyer who possesses the second key.
McQuarrie and co-scripter Erik Jendresen shrewdly divide this lengthy saga into distinct chapters, wherein the action is dictated, in part, by the locations themselves. Cinematographer Fraser Taggart and production designer Gary Freeman cleverly turn each setting into its own unique character.
Ethan first heads into the sandstorm-driven Abu Dhabi desert, hoping to find Ilsa; to his dismay, he’s flanked by a squad of mercenaries also after her. How did they know?
By this point, the principled Ethan has realized that no country — or individual — should have control of something like The Entity; this puts him at odds with Kittridge, who wants the United States to obtain it. When Ethan goes off book, he winds up in the crosshairs of “enforcement operatives” Briggs (Shea Whigham) and Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis). Briggs believes in following orders to the letter; Degas is more thoughtful and inquisitive.
The action then shifts to Abu Dhabi International Airport’s massive, brand-spanking-new Midfield Terminal, where Ethan encounters Grace (Hayley Atwell), a grifter, thief and artful dodger hired as courier for the rumored holder of the second key. Having been a lone wolf her entire life, she’s not big on trust; her involvement unintentionally puts Briggs and Degas — and Gabriel — on her tail, as well.
Atwell, easily recognized from many prestige British films and TV shows, plays Grace’s rapport with Ethan as flirty, fun and spontaneous. Every time Ethan thinks she has seen (his) reason, she double-crosses him again. Which gives Cruise another chance to use his deadpan, I-can’t-believe-you-did-that expression of disappointment.
The action subsequently shifts to Rome’s ancient cobblestoned streets and fabled Spanish steps, for an alternately exhilarating and humorous car chase between Ethan and Grace, handcuffed together — first in a BMW M5 Competition, then in an adorable bright yellow Fiat 500 — and Briggs’ crew, dozens of police cars, and the adrenaline-fueled Paris, roaring behind them in a ginormous, military-grade Hummer.
A (somewhat) quieter shift to Venice reunites Ethan with Alanna Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby), best known as The White Widow: a morally fluid character introduced in 2018’s Mission Impossible: Fallout. This also is where the mocking, quietly lethal Gabriel takes center stage, Morales making him impressively evil.
Everything builds to a dog-nuts, gotta-be-seen-to-be-believed climax that involves the Austrian Alps, Ethan’s Honda 300cc motocross motorcycle, a parachute, the Orient Express and a high mountain bridge. Knowing the degree to which Cruise and McQuarrie insist on real-world stunts, with as little CGI as possible, makes this true edge-of-the-seat excitement.
All of this works, of course, because of the rapport we’ve developed with so many of these characters. Rhames’ Luther is calm, philosophical and the voice of reason; Benji is frantic, jittery and prone to emotional meltdowns (played hilariously by Pegg). Kirby’s purring White Widow is seductive and impossible to read; Ferguson’s Ilsa is cool, resourceful and impressively lethal.
Lorne Balfe’s score enhances the thrills but too frequently relies on thundering synth; he does, however, find ample opportunity — during the title credits and elsewhere — to employ Lalo Schifrin’s iconic “Mission: Impossible theme.”
Unlike Fast X, which turned out to be a surprise first half that left its characters in cliff-handing peril, this Mission entry telegraphs its intentions, and pauses at an obvious chapter break. We’ll need to wait until next summer to see where all this goes.
Based on this thoroughly satisfying first half, I expect great things.
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