He runs across London, dives to the depth of the Baltic Sea, flies through the South African sky, most of the time outside an airplane, and never misses a beat — and I was exhausted just watching him do it all…
Tom Cruise looks young but the man is over sixty! He could ride for free on London buses and in Norway and France (his birthday is in July, so he’s officially 62.5 for French rules) he could retire. And yet, in the latest installment of MI, he jumps, fights, swims, cuts, punches and runs like he’s a thirty year old. A very healthy, fit, and conscious 30-year old that is! Mission: Impossible — The Last Reckoning is the eighth, yes you read that right 8th, installment of the MI franchise and he doesn’t look to be slowing down any. In fact, this latest film, for any who were wondering, is left with a kind of cliffhanger at the end, so we imagine that if Cruise feels like it, he could return at least one more time as Ethan Hunt.
So what makes this series of films so successful? Well, first and foremost, Tom Cruise. He should take credit for being much like his character in that he also allows his co-stars to shine. As someone points to Hunt’s shortcoming in the film, that he is never willing to compromise/sacrifice those on his team, so is Cruise someone who demands excellence from his fellow cast members and crew, but he also gives each and every one of them their moment in the sun. Down to the smallest roles, in size not in impact I mean, played by some big actors like Katy M. O’Brian, Rolf Saxon, Lucy Tulugarjuk and Shea Whigham.
This latest “episode” of MI is three hours long and we were treated by Paramount to a special IMAX screening of the film, introduced by IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond at the Cineum. The film was shot on IMAX cameras and requires the extra technology to be enjoyed. You shake in your seat, feel like you’re part of the screen, and for yours truly, I caught myself experiencing mild claustrophobia during the deep water scenes. That’s how realistic IMAX makes everything.
Speaking of the underwater sequence, which lasts a good while and is complete with a diving Cruise (first in a diving suit and then naked down to his black shorts), who is rocked around by the movement of a sunk Russian submarine at the bottom of the ocean, and which involves the actor moving around like in a maze of water, missiles and hatches… Talk about the reason we go to the movies! That’s one for sure. If you want to watch intimate masterpieces, please feel free to do so at home on your TV or even on your laptop. But if you wish to experience a film like Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, you must-must-must go to a theater to view it. And an IMAX one to boot. Please.
Among the welcomed cast members are Angela Bassett as a Black, Woman, American President. If cinema and TV are often prophets of things to come — note the Black President on 24, and an American at the head of the Holy See, in Paolo Sorrentino’s The Young Pope as just two examples — then perhaps Bassett is a good indication of some great change to come, soon, hopefully. Other welcomed cast members include Ashley Atwell as Grace, the pickpocket who isn’t just good, she’s great! And Esai Morales as the perfect villain, Gabriel. I’ve long been a fan of Morales as an actor, and think him highly underrated, so the latest installments of MI have been a gift to me. And of course, Simon Pegg’s Benji, who goes without saying, plus Paris played by Pom Klementief and Ving Rhames as Luther.
Now about the story. Well, for three hours I can’t be blamed if I couldn’t keep track of all the nuances of the plot. What I do know is that The Entity, a rogue AI program, has taken over and created a New World Order, where false information and people spreading propaganda are creating havoc, complete with the threat of a nuclear war. One not started by world leaders, mind you, but by a kind of computer virus. Sound real enough, in our age of social media, AI and the disappearance of any semblance of real news? No wonder it felt claustrophobic at times to watch the film! And for Cruise to be the spokesperson, warning us of this awful future that awaits us is simply perfect.
There is even reference to a Doomsday Cult, which keeps itself safe and sound in the green wilderness of Southern Africa.
Only Ethan can save humanity, because he’s both crazy enough to try and courageous enough to attempt to. And also, he’s fit as hell and has amazing hair. “I like the longer hair” someone tells him early on. Well, me too. It suits a man growing older but not gracefully. Because F**k that! We all should fight aging every step of the way. As I tell my friends as a joke, in this war of age vs. Nina, I’m going to win, not my body. And Cruise thankfully seems to feel the same way. Just one scene on him running on that treadmill, or the underwater naked scene prove it completely.
At the core of the film is also a sentence, an idea, which several characters, including those played by Saxon and Tulugarjuk — as William Donloe, the former CIA analyst who walked in as Ethan broke into the Langley Black Vault in the first Mission Impossible and his Innuit wife Tapeesa. The sentence is “We’ll meet again,” and perhaps seeing a tiny glimpse of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who played Owen Davian in M:I-3, there for a moment on the big screen made me think of all whom we have lost. But I imagine, as a mildly spiritual person, that we will all meet up again. Sometimes, somewhere and our love for cinema here on earth will bring us together there. For some long, meaningful magical movie moments in the sky.
Have I made you yearn to watch Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning yet? Yes. Good! Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who has made it a habit to work with Cruise, this is a film that is worth a watch and starts screening next week at a cinema near you.
Images courtesy of Paramount and Festival de Cannes.