Ving Rhames

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

22/05/25

Cineworld, Edinburgh

And so, it would seem, the end is nigh – though I’m cynical enough to believe that will depend entirely on The Final Reckoning’s box office. It’s been a long and varied ride for Mission Impossible. As I’ve observed before, most franchises start strong and have a couple of decent follow-ups, before eventually running out of ideas and becoming pale shadows of their former selves. MI – based on the popular 60s TV series – began its cinematic journey way back in 1996 (originally helmed by Brian de Palma) and then struggled through a bunch of variable sequels until director Christopher McQuarrie came on board for 2015’s Rogue Nation. In that film, all the disparate elements finally gelled.

For my money, 2018’s Fallout was MI’s pinnacle: tense, propulsive, gloriously inventive, it kept me hooked right to the final frame and earned itself a five star B&B review. 2023’s Dead Reckoning wasn’t quite as perfect and the fact that it was a Part One didn’t help, particularly when Part Two wasn’t set to rear its head for another couple of years. Realising, no doubt, that viewers’ memories will need a significant nudge, The Final Reckoning opens with a kind of overview: a greatest hits package offering glimpses of a younger, leaner Ethan Hunt going through his frenetic paces.

After that, we arrive in a darker, gloomier world than we’re used to seeing in MI, where super-powerful AI Big-Bad, The Entity has taken control of the entire planet’s nuclear weapons and appears to be on the verge of initiating World War Three. (Sound familiar?) Ethan Hunt is now in hiding after the shenanigans of Part One so the American President (played by Angela Bassett, who, let’s face it, is the leader we all wish America currently had) puts out an urgent plea for him to show himself and to bring along that mysterious key he got hold of in Part One.

Will Ethan step up to this new challenge? Well, what do you think?

Aided by Grace (Hayley Atwell), Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benjie (Simon Pegg), plus former adversary, Paris (Pom Klementieff), Hunt devises ever more ingenious ways of taking on the all-powerful Entity and, if the storyline is patently absurd, well of course it is. This is Mission Impossible, FFS!

To give Cruise and McQuarrie their due, they have put everything they’ve got into making this the ultimate MI adventure and, to a large degree, they’ve succeeded. There are some incredibly-assured sequences, not least a claustrophobic and nail-biting return to that Russian submarine we saw in Part One. There’s also a nerve-racking aerial routine, where Hunt clambers all over the fuselage of a single-engined plane (in mid-flight) in a desperate bid to come face-to-face with human villain, Gabriel (Esai Morales). The fact that Cruise has done all these stunts for real is, of course, admirable, though I do wonder what professional stunt performers must think about such grandstanding. (I note from the credits that Cruise actually employs a stunt double, which begs the question ‘What does that man do to earn his fee?’ Make the coffees?)

On the debit side, the film’s ponderous running time does leave me with the onerous task of choosing the right moment to nip out for a toilet break – and I’d argue that thirty minutes could easily be clipped from this, simply by removing some of those references to past adventures. Having a call-back to a character who actually appeared in the very first movie is a nice touch, but I ask myself how much does it actually add to the story?

Still, kudos to Team Cruise-McQuarrie, who have devoted so much of their time, energy and (let’s face it) money to this franchise. But it does seem like the right time to bow out. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only film fan who wistfully remembers Cruise in films like Jerry McGuire, Rain Man and Magnolia, where he was actually required to act and turned out to be pretty damned good at it.

I’m already looking forward to seeing what he does next.

4 stars

Philip Caveney

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One

10/07/23

Cineworld, Edinburgh

Most long-running movie franchises start strong and steadily run out of steam. The Mission Impossible series, however, seems to be running in reverse. It kicked off way back in 1996 (inspired by Bruce Gellar’s groundbreaking 1960s TV series). Even with seasoned director Brian De Palma at the helm, the results were sort of so-so. Each successive film tried a new director with similar results and it wasn’t until Christopher McQuarrie came aboard for 2015’s Rogue Nation that the gears finally began to mesh. Indeed, 2018’s Fallout was an adrenalin-fuelled, five-star smash and I really didn’t see how McQuarrie and everybody’s favourite Sandi Toksvig-lookalike, Tom Cruise, could ever hope to reach such stratospheric heights again.

My doubts are reinforced when it’s revealed that Dead Reckoning is only Part One of a story. While I understand that films continually strive for ‘bigger’, if a tale cannot be fully encapsulated within the confines of a 163 minute running-time, then surely something is amiss?

But I’m happy to report that I’m wrong on this score. The latest instalment might not be the perfectly-crafted beast that was its predecessor, but it nonetheless runs a pretty close second.

This time around, the antagonist is not a person so much as a thing: an AI creation known as The Entity. (Brilliant timing on this, I have to say, with everyone and his dog looking at ChatGPT and predicting imminent doom.) When we first witness The Entity’s powers, it is taking out a Soviet nuclear submarine and pushing the world to the brink of destruction, so it’s pretty clear that Ethan Hunt and his merry crew are going to have their work cut out to bring this mission to a satisfactory conclusion.

Said merry crew includes old hands, Luther (Ving James), Benji (Simon Pegg) and Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson), and there’s also new recruit, Grace (Hayley Atwell), a talented pickpocket but – as it transpires – a pretty average driver. The boo-hiss brigade features the return of The White Witch (Vanessa Kirby), who is as smirkingly horrible as ever. The McGuffin this time around is a pair of interlocking keys, which have somehow become separated from each other. When combined, they will grant the possessor access to the sunken submarine where The Entity is currently housed. But the AI has a human ambassador called Gabriel (Esai Morales), who is accompanied everywhere by his enigmatic hit-woman, Paris (Pom Klementieff, without her Guardians of the Galaxy antennae). This formidable duo will go to any lengths to thwart Ethan.

Meanwhile, Hunt’s employer, Kittridge (Henry Czerny), continues to be as fiendish and unpredictable as the villains he’s supposedly trying to defeat. Which side is he on, anyway? I’m still not entirely sure.

As ever, the extremely complex plot is mostly an excuse to link together a whole smorgasbord of action set-pieces, which somehow manage to feel fresh and innovative, no matter how mundane they sound when listed: car chases and countdowns, punch-ups and explosions, mix-ups and murders – and, of course, Tom Cruise running across a variety of landscapes like Mo Farrah on poppers. All the usual suspects are here for your delectation and, it must be said, they are brilliantly executed. A final confrontation aboard an out-of-control Orient Express racks up the tension to such an unbearable degree, I’m virtually chewing my own fingers off.

And then…. Lalo Schifrin’s immortal theme music kicks in, the credits roll and, against all expectations, I find I’m still up for another instalment. Honestly, I can’t wait. Except I’ll have to. Dead Reckoning Part Two is currently scheduled for June 2024 and I’ll be one of the first in the queue – assuming AI hasn’t taken over mankind by then and turned us all into human kitty litter.

Just saying.

4.8 stars

Philip Caveney

Mission Impossible: Fallout

 

27/07/18

Most film franchises follow a familiar trajectory. They start well and, through the rules of diminishing returns, steadily become ever more feeble until somebody finally has the good grace to pull the plug on them. The Mission Impossible series, however, seems to have gone in the opposite direction. After a couple of so-so efforts, episodes three, four and five really managed to cut some mustard – and this sixth instalment of the TV-inspired show is surely its strongest manifestation yet. Indeed, this audacious thrill-ride, courtesy of returning writer/director Christopher McQuarrie is so enthralling I occasionally find myself holding my breath as Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) jumps off buildings, races on motorbikes, dangles from helicopters and runs for miles, all in the name of truth and justice. Yes, it’s complete tosh, but when it’s done this well, who cares?

When we first meet up with Hunt, he’s worrying about Julia (Michelle Monaghan), the wife he’s been forced to live apart from in order to keep her out of danger. But of course, for an IMF operative, danger is never very far away. Old adversary Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) is being used as a pawn by various secret powers, who aim to utilise his special skills to convert some stolen weapons grade plutonium into deadly nuclear devices. Hunt and his sidekicks, Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames), are assigned to take care of securing Lane and the plutonium and, for this mission, they are assigned an extra player – August Walker (Henry Cavill), a hard man with a high opinion of himself. But, when things go awry, the team are faced with a even trickier challenge. They must track down two nuclear weapons before they are detonated – an occurrence which will destroy huge areas of the planet. (So no pressure there.) Luckily, Hunt’s old flame Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) is on hand to lend her own special talents…

There’s quite a tricky story line here, with plenty of unexpected twists and reveals – and naturally, some of those hi tech masks that the makers are so fond of, but really, it’s all just a linking device for a whole string of spectacular set pieces, which are so triumphantly realised, you’ll barely have time to stop and speculate how far-fetched they are. Cruise, looking far better than anyone his age has any right to be, revels in some of the most hair-raising stunts this side of a Jackie Chan movie – indeed, the scene where he actually breaks his leg is included in all its wince-inducing glory. Cavill, who I’ve never really rated as Superman, is a lot more interesting when given a bit more character to play with and there’s excellent support from the rest of the cast.

Okay, you can argue that this film isn’t really about very much, but you’d be missing the point. It’s all about action and only a very few movies have managed to do it as effortlessly as its done here. My advice? Strap yourself in and enjoy the ride. And Mission Impossible Seven? Well, I certainly wouldn’t rule it out.

5 stars

Philip Caveney