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‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING’ Sees One Last Sunrise

Allegedly, the mission is over. You can see it in the weathered map that is Tom Cruise’s face. Feel it in his and frequent collaborator Christopher McQuarrie’s willingness to get a little saccharine and sentimental with this nearly 30-year-old property. It lingers in the final acknowledgments exchanged across the ragtag team—the old, the new, and the totally WTF. This is the end. And yet, after The Final Reckoning, I wish that Mission: Impossible—much like Cruise himself—could run forever. Read More

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Only Tom Cruise Can Stop Dastardly A.I. in ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE’

A lesser Mission Impossible movie is still better than 90% of the dreck that passes for big budget blockbusters these days. Unfortunately, though, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is lesser Mission Impossible. A handful of the choices made by writer-director Christopher McQuarrie in his third effort behind the camera for this franchise just didn’t quite work for me. The array of villains are undercooked and ill-conceived, particularly the introduction of a sinister mystery man from Ethan’s past who falls mostly flat by virtue of his story feeling either one-dimensional or incomplete; the attempt to capitalize on AI (2023’s buzziest buzzword) as the ultimate baddie didn’t quite feel in step with the franchise; a decision to remove a particular character (in a weirdly blatant attempt to “make room” for another younger version) irked me; as did the bifurcation of this film into two halves, leaving this particular installment hanging as if Tom Cruise himself dangling from a precarious cliff face. A lot of complaints, I know, but there’s also plenty to love here. Read More

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Out in Theaters: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION

For the sake of honesty, I’ll report this: I loved 2011’s Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol too much. So much so that it earned a slot in my top ten that year. To this day, it’s my favorite of the series and an improbably rewatchable event film. Even with a somewhat spotted past (Mission Impossible 2 is fun though objectively not the greatest film accomplishment), the Mission Impossible franchise is one of my sleeper hit favorites, with the last two entries –  the aforementioned addition from Brad Bird and J.J. Abrams‘ Phillip Seymour Hoffman-starring threequel – delivering some of the series’ absolute best material. When it was announced that Christopher McQuarrie (director of Jack Reacher, screenwriter of Batman & Robin) had mounted the directorial stool for the fifth iteration of Ethan Hunt’s impossible missions, my anticipation shuttered and cautiously withdrew. Read More