The title explicitly says ‘Part One’ so questions had to be asked. Was it just the franchisor’s ploy to haul us back in again? Could the film stand alone? Could it top the other MI movies? Could Cruise cut it? Well…Yes! Yes! and Yes!
From the get-go, the action grabs you by the eyeballs and doesn’t let up. Kudos to the scriptwriters (Christopher McQuarrie, Eric Jendresen) for getting the script right, skilfully weaving flashbacks into Ethan’s (Tom Cruise) present journey – with the excellent McQuarrie on direction once more.
What’s the Mission Impossible this time? The film opens with a Russian submarine, a deadly weapon and Ai that’s gone rogue. (Nor will you forget the epic shot of drowned sailors floating under the ice.) Ethan and his IMF team have to find the keys to the weapon (and actual deadly weapon) before the bad guys do – and thus save all of humanity!
Ethan’s nemesis Gabriel, is played by Esai Morales, who unfortunately, is a bit too doe-eyed to get the evil quite right. Villainess, Vanessa Kirby, reappears as the memorable White Widow, but Pom Klementieff’s performance as Paris is plain irritating. Cruise himself hits a bit of a patch with one or two emotive close-ups; cosmetic realignment can really play havoc with dramatic expression, can’t it?
Like any good helpers, Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rames) are gleefully deployed and their scenes include genuine laugh-out-loud moments; in fact, when Cruise sends up his own character too, it really adds to the fun.
The side-kick Gals, more than hold their own: Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust, resurrected, and newb, Hayley Atwell as pick-pocket turned kick-ass IMF-chick. Bringing up the rear, we have good old troopers, Kittridge, Briggs and Degas, charmingly played by Henry Czerny, Shea Whigham and Greg Tarzan Davis.
Of course, MI is all about globe-trotting glory, and the eye-popping feast doesn’t disappoint; we get Abu Dhabi, the Doges Palace in Venice and the breath-taking Helsetkopen Mountain in Norway – thank you very much.
Visual gags abound too, not least the getaway chase in a yellow Fiat 500e, with nice touches like the Battleship Potemkin, pram-on-the-Spanish-Steps moment. Following the movie adage, “never make life easy for the protagonist,” obstacle falls upon obstacle without let or hindrance. From parachuting off a motorcycle, from a mountain top, STRAIGHT in through a moving train window to the fight scene on top of the train — only in a tunnel. Cruise sprints his way through the film like Usain Bolt; it really is hold-your-breath, white-knuckle stuff.
OK! The voice of God narration was a bit D’oh, but the rest of the film made up for it. This was FUN, a non-stopper that had me gulping my Aperol Spritz like my life depended on it.
Rating: Confirmed booking for MI 8 Part Two, folks!
The excellent answer, gallantly 🙂