Tag: tom cruise

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Ethan Hunt is back. Its the seventh in the franchise, and this time he’s up again something even more real than we like to admit. A.I: artificial intelligence. I mean, it makes so much sense. The very first mission impossible, back in the 90s, dealt with something called the NOC list, which threatened the identities of every spy in Langley’s payroll. M:I-2 was about biochemical warfare and slo-mo doves. M:I-3 was about a rabbits foot and there was nothing lucky about it. Ghost Protocol was about the disavowment of IMF and had a huge sandstorm in Dubai. Rogue Nation saw Hunt and Co. up against a group of rogue agents called the Syndicate, and Fallout had Henry Cavill with a moustache and shotgun-loading arms.

Going in, i knew the following about Dead Reckoning. 1) its part one of a two parter and will therefore probably end on a cliffhanger, probably involving Ethan’s survival after a plane crash / train crash / particularly difficult fight with the bad guy. 2) Hayley Atwell is in it, and i love her dearly. 3) there is a record breaking bike stunt in it that involves our man Cruise leaping off a cliff 1746ft up (i guessed the number, so don’t penalise me for that).

And thats about it.

So lets drill down into the narrative. The aforementioned AI, known as the Entity for enigmatic purposes, requires two halves of a cruciform key to unlock its hard drive and shut it down. Obviously then every major power (and a few minor ones) want this powerhouse weapon for their own, to become the ultimate superpower in the world. But where are the keys? Unfortunately, Hunt’s friend / colleague / girlfriend Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson, third film in a row) has one of the keys so is the target of a group of bounty hunters. Kittridge (Henry Czerny, from the very first film) calls in his rogue for hire Ethan Hunt to track her down before the mercenaries do.

Thats obviously just the beginning. The rest of the plot is a meandering trip full of twists, betrayals, violence, espionage, face swapping and ludicrous stunts. All glued together with gratuitious shots of Tom Cruise running like an olympic athlete.

Returning players Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg (who once again manages to take the sheen off every action scene with some ‘comedy’) provide backup for Ethan Hunts derring-do, and we have a new head of CIA in the shape of Cary Elwes – possibly the first time i’ve seen him since Saw. The franchise has had a habit of attracting excellent supporting actors: Jeremy Renner, Henry Cavill (obvs), Sean Harris, Alec Baldwin, Billy Crudup, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Dougray Scott, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Thandie Newton. Heck, even big guns like Anthony Hopkins and Jon Voight, so its excellent to see even more added to the roster. And a shout out to Vanessa Kirby, who possesses possibly the most intoxicating eyes in Hollywood. Oh and i should mention Pom Klementieff; putting aside her fame as the slightly simple Mantis in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies to play a stone cold lunatic.

I read somewhere that Tom Cruise has saved the Hollywood blockbuster, and its not difficult to see why it might be said. Top Gun: Maverick brought audiences back to the cinema after a very dark time for the entertainment industry, and with so many flops of late – The Flash, Indiana Jones – the faith in the big blockbusters is faltering. Sure we’ve got Oppenheimer coming very soon – but thats not the same category. Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part 1 will not win the Oscar for best film.

It is vastly enjoyable. The claustrophic airport scenes contrast vividly with the insane stunts and the emotional scenes hit hard. A load of actors having an absolute blast, with a story that, despite involving a Fiat being chased through Rome by an APC driven by french samurai, is absolutely believable in this era of digital dependence.

Now. The wait till next summer for the conclusion is going to be difficult. But this isn’t Mission: Difficult, its Mission: Impossible. So wait, i will.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

The Danger Zone – sequels to established classics, many years later. Indy 4 tried it and failed, and no doubt as will Indy 5. The ‘sequel trilogy’ of travesties have devastated the Star Wars franchise. Even the Fantastic Beasts series is struggling to recreate the magic of the original Harry Potters. Its a difficult line to tread.

Of course, you could remake. But thats a whole other minefield, and is only likely to succeed if a) the original wasn’t actually that good (like Oceans Eleven), or b) not well-recieved (like Dune) – but trying to remake classics is simply a no no. Total Recall, Conan the Barbarian, Ben Hur, Robocop…no. Simply, if you don’t mind me saying so, f*ck off.

However. Rise of the Planet of the Apes and its two sequels proved something. You could make follow ups to old classics and have them still be good. And more recently than that, Ghostbusters: Afterlife showed us that it can be done well if you’re clever – enough nods to the past but some of its own energy, and you might be on to something. Jurassic World’s trilogy is currently hovering between awful and great but thats another story.

Its been a hell of time since Tom Cruise first donned the aviators of Pete Maverick Mitchell: 36 years, in fact. Top Gun is a classic movie; love it or not, its a milestone of moviemaking. Fast paced dogfights, classic quotes and unforgettable music, not to mention the birth of Tom Cruise as an outright movie star, the film has a legacy. (its just not as good as Hot Shots).

Can a sequel NOW, so much later, come remotely close to its predecessor? Or more to the point, can it be any good?

The answer is simple. Yes, it f*cking can.

Top Gun: Maverick is a stunning achievement. It recreates all the magic of cinema; a bombastic score that you will literally use to narrate your life for about six hours after the cinema trip, a desire for all men to don aviators and act like American Assholes in uniforms and get away with it. Its a throwback to the 80’s much in the same way as Rambo (2008) – lets not mock the way 80’s movies were dunked in synth and had enough cheese to feed a churchful of mice. Even the ham is fully roasted, and thats an acting joke, not a reference to Jon Hamm. Although he does get roasted by Maverick’s afterburners in the punch the air start to Act III.

However look beyond the initial mumbo-jumbo (jet) and there is something far better at its core. The opening moments show us a wonderful “touching the void” scene where Maverick becomes the fastest man alive. Eye wateringly beautiful cinematography takes the film to a new level. And, excuse my french, fuck me when the Top Gun anthem kicks in. I could’ve cried. I did, in fact.

Then the second kicker – the heart. You think you’re being bowled over with the visuals, and then we have the (admittedly cliche) plot just tug at your heartstrings. Maverick is an asshole, but he’s no bastard. The loss of Goose in the original film has left him a broken man. A man who is happy to play his superstar card but hides his guilt behind Tom Cruise’s boyish veneer. This man is in search for something beyond glory, beyond speed. He needs forgiveness.

Val Kilmer’s cameo is tastefully cautious; showcasing the legend but not shy of portaying the ravages of life as an inescapable enemy. Val – heres to you. The hero i didn’t know i had.

Its a hell of a film. I don’t see it being topped for film of 2022.

I’m going to put on my aviators and dance about my life playing an invisible guitar. This is the film i need in my life right now.

“The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind are heading for extinction.”

“Maybe so, sir. But not today.”