Tag: Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Review

In their latest and supposedly final entry in the franchise, Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie choose to extend their mission. Not only does Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning sport the longest running time of the eight features (170 minutes), there’s extra characters to keep up with. You’ll need to extend your knowledge of previous installments for certain plot points and surprise cameos to properly land.

For all the extra padding, the main storyline is not complicated. Kicking off a couple of months after predecessor Dead Reckoning (this was originally Dead Reckoning – Part Two), Cruise’s IMF agent Ethan Hunt and team are still trying to stop The Entity. That’s an AI program whose algorithms equal world destruction, including scenarios where nations turn their nuclear arsenals against one another. Ethan’s Mission buddies include vets Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg) as well as master thief Grace (Hayley Atwell), assassin turned asset Paris (Pom Klementieff), and Theo (Greg Tarzan Davis). That trio were all first seen in Dead Reckoning. Theo is the former partner of Jasper (Shea Whigham) from Dead Reckoning, who doesn’t trust Ethan and is by the side of Henry Czerny’s CIA Director Kittridge.

This whole review could be a rundown of the players in the potential global endgame. Angela Bassett from sixth feature Fallout was Deputy Director of the CIA in that one and is now POTUS. Familiar faces including Hannah Waddingham, Nick Offerman and Janet McTeer are part of her inner circle. I didn’t anticipate Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire being a part of this write-up, but it suffered from too many characters and so does this. That’s the first time I’d say that about a Mission movie. President Bassett and her band of character acting advisors could have been written out entirely and we’d have a leaner viewing to show for it. On the other hand, Tramell Tillman makes the most of his brief role as a submarine commander.

The main human villain continues to be Entity liaison Gabriel (Esai Morales). He shares a checkered past dating back thirty years with Ethan. That was an underdeveloped plot point in Dead Reckoning and it is here. Gabriel is not one of the memorable antagonists in this series.

These Mission‘s have leaned into the stunt work from #4 Ghost Protocol to present. Cruise and McQuarrie’s dedication to coming up with tremendous action set pieces revolves around an underwater task (like in 2015’s Rogue Nation) and another in the skies (reminiscent of Fallout but with older timey aircrafts). That’s not to say these sequences are derivative of what we’ve witnessed before. They’re both excellent with the aquatic part providing white knuckling claustrophobic thrills and the flight acrobatics offering its own delights.

So while Final Reckoning has its defects, the highlights continue to make it a franchise each is worthy of recommendation (and yes I mean Mission: Impossible 2 too). Some callbacks to earlier pics are sharper than others. Without spoiling them, a minor character from a major scene in part 1 coming back is fun. Another character’s family tree connection to a former Ethan associate feels more like a stunt. Speaking of stunts, Cruise continues to wow us with his insistence on keeping it real in a storyline about artificiality attempting domination. This might be the finale. I’ll trust him if he changes his mind.

*** (out of four)

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Box Office Prediction

The 8th and seemingly last installment of the franchise that first hit multiplexes in 1996 drops May 23rd with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Tom Cruise is back in super spy mode with Christopher McQuarrie directing his fourth Mission in a row. Costars include Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simong Pegg, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, and Katy O’Brian.

With a gargantuan budget of reportedly $400 million, Paramount is banking on the series going out with a financial bang. The grosses of the previous three installments have been rather consistent. 2015’s Rogue Nation debuted to $55 million with a $195 million eventual domestic take. Fallout in 2018 came in with $61 million for starters and $220 million overall. 2023’s Dead Reckoning arrived with high expectations as it was pegged to bask in the afterglow of Top Gun: Maverick‘s massive grosses the summer before. It didn’t quite turn out that way with a $54 million premiere and $172 million stateside.

Final Reckoning should see increased numbers due to the finale status. While critical reaction is mostly positive (83% on RT), many reviews are saying it among the weakest of the octet. My hunch is the three-day is higher than Dead Reckoning with a four-day holiday total in the high 70s to low 80s.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning opening weekend prediction: $64.4 million (Friday to Sunday); $80.8 million (Friday to Monday)

For my Lilo & Stitch prediction, click here:

Lilo & Stitch Box Office Prediction

For my The Last Rodeo prediction, click here:

The Last Rodeo Box Office Prediction

For my Friendship prediction, click here:

Friendship Box Office Prediction

Oscar Predictions – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the eighth feature in the franchise that kicked off nearly 30 years ago and looks to be Tom Cruise’s closing adventure as IMF agent Ethan Hunt. Christopher McQuarrie returns to direct his fourth M:I entry in a row. The supporting cast includes Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, and Katy O’Brian.

Opening over Memorial Day weekend, Reckoning has premiered at Cannes to mostly decent reviews with a note of caution. The Rotten Tomatoes score is 88% with Metacritic at 71. The latter score is telling as the two previous installments were at 87 (2018’s Fallout) and 81 (2023’s Dead Reckoning). While praising the action sequences, there are critical complaints about its length and excessive reliance on exposition.

Any hope that Final Reckoning could achieve above-the-line awards nominations as the series bids farewell has fallen by the wayside. On the other hand, predecessor Dead Reckoning was the first Mission to generate Oscar nods and they were in Sound and Visual Effects. This could do the same with Sound as perhaps a better possibility. As you may have seen, the Academy Awards will implement a category honoring stunt ensembles. However, that won’t be until 2028. The Mission‘s probably would’ve flourished in those competitions but it wasn’t to be. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

The Fall Guy Review

We all know Tom Cruise does his own stunts. He reminds us of that frequently and is the biggest artist handling the bulk of those duties himself. David Leitch’s The Fall Guy takes time to honor those performers doubling for the non-Cruisers and that’s a noble cause though it often plays like a long shaggy dog story.

Sort of based on the 1980s TV show with Lee Majors, Ryan Gosling is Colt Seavers. He’s Cliff Booth to Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Rick Dalton… or rather Tom Ryder, who’s a mega action superstar with a penchant for hard partying. Seavers does the trickier work while Ryder takes all the credit. A prologue details a setup gone wrong that derails Colt’s career and his budding relationship with camerawoman Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt).

A year and a half later, Colt is parking cars instead of crashing them. He is summoned by producer Gail (Hannah Waddingham, kind of looking like 70s era Robert Evans in a wig) to set in Sydney. The selling point is the opportunity to make up with Jody, who is now directing the sci-fi saga Metalstorm with Ryder headlining. Upon his arrival down under, it turns out Jody has no idea what’s up or that he was joining the production.

The picture’s lead has mysteriously disappeared and Colt is tasked with tracking him down while also stunting by day. And, of course, there’s some serious and humorous tension with his ex.

I was reminded at times of 80s action comedies like Beverly Hills Cop or Fletch where the plot is inconsequential and where coasting on the above the title players’ charisma is enough. Obviously Gosling and Blunt have that level of appeal.

Somehow I didn’t fall for it despite their efforts. They have chemistry, but this fails to coast on their charms. The action scenes are well-choreographed. They should be given the subject matter and Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Bullet Train) in charge. Yet there’s not one sequence that rivals, say, the antics of you know who in fill in the recent Mission: Impossible entry.

There are more references to Miami Vice or other 80s artifacts than the TV show it takes its name from. This includes Jody belting out “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins at a karaoke bar while Colt is engaged in an elaborate car chase. Blunt being more involved in the fights might have helped. Her one scene where she gets to do so is memorable.

The Fall Guy, given the personnel, is a minor disappointment especially with how convoluted it gets in the denouement. The occasionally on point self-referential jokes and the Barbenheimer cast mates provide the highlights. When they’re apart, it can feel like just an empty space.

** (out of four)

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Review

The key to the Mission: Impossible movies are the set pieces that continue to wow us in a way few other franchises do. This has been amped up in the Christopher McQuarrie era that began with 2015’s Rogue Nation, continued with Fallout three years later, and now with Dead Reckoning Part One. Tom Cruise and his director appear determined to outdo themselves when it comes to Romanian car chases and battles set aboard the Orient Express and motorcycle stunts that defy gravity. In the seventh M:I saga, there’s also a welcome dose of humor that’s occasionally reminiscent of Roger Moore’s Bond stretch. We’re not talking Moonraker. I’m referring to the high point of that run in 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me where elements of the plot might be borderline silly, but we don’t care because the stunts and choreography are thrilling us.

Cruise’s Ethan Hunt has entered the elder statesman portion of his service to the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). He should be making retirement plans. However, disavowed MI6 colleague Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) is partially responsible for the latest assignment. She possesses half of a key that could unlock the secrets to the Entity, an AI device that’s working overtime to retire defense systems across the globe. Their mission that they always choose to accept is finding the other half of that key to bring this dangerous new world to a semblance of order. The usual colleagues Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg) join in while master thief Grace (Hayley Atwell) is a fresh addition. For her set of skills, she’s sought after by arms dealer Alanna (Vanessa Kirby) from Fallout to broker her own deal with the key. Yet Grace might be exactly the kind of recruit that IMF employs. She’s absolutely a value add with Atwell’s spirited performance.

There are callbacks in Dead Reckoning that dive deeper into our main character’s backstory than ever before. It’s well established that Ethan will do whatever it takes for his profession and we’re getting more clues as to why. I suspect the fleshing out will go on in part two. The screenplay does a commendable job of (for the first time) explaining why the IMFers keep accepting these missions rather than politely declining. Another form of callback comes with Kittridge (Henry Czerny), who hasn’t been seen since his iconic appearance in 1996’s original. His duplicitous presence is a bonus.

With the notable exception of Philip Seymour Hoffman in M:I III (2006), villains haven’t overshadowed the heroes in the quarter century plus canon and that’s accurate here. Esai Morales as Gabriel is a shadowy figure whose motives may not see the light until the second part. Considering the Entity he represents, he’s not actually the main antagonist. When it comes to those opposing IMF, Kirby and Pom Klementieff as a quietly deadly assassin are the most memorable.

Ultimately it’s those lengthy chases and fights that make Dead Reckoning the summertime adventure delight that it is. I’d put it a tad behind 2011’s Ghost Protocol and predecessor Fallout in the official rankings. Cruise and McQuarrie know their formula. Nobody does it better, it makes you feel bad for the rest, and it can make the rest look artificial.

***1/2 (out of four)

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Box Office Prediction

Paramount hopes to post franchise best numbers for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Tom Cruise’s action series that began some 27 years ago and has now reached its seventh installment. It opens Wednesday, July 12th and is the third M:I pic in a row directed by Christopher McQuarrie. Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and Henry Czerny (returning for the first time since part 1) reprise their roles with Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, and Pom Klementieff as newly assigned cast.

With a 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating, Reckoning is receiving the same acclaim that greeted predecessors Ghost Protocol (2011), Rogue Nation (2015), and Fallout (2018). Perhaps most importantly, this should benefit from being Cruise’s follow-up to last year’s box office phenomenon that was Top Gun: Maverick. It was easily summer 2022’s (and the year’s) largest grosser and the goodwill left over could launch this Mission to new heights.

In order to do so, Part One (part two is out in a year) would need to top the $61 million that Fallout took in five summers ago in its debut. With a Wednesday head start, a five-day haul over $100 million is certainly achievable.

The Mission movies traditionally leg out nicely throughout the season. With the exception of Ghost Protocol, all have premiered in summer. Many older filmgoers that will make the theatrical trek may not rush out opening weekend.

I’ll project low to mid 70s for the Friday to Sunday earnings as it should come awfully close and potentially exceed nine figures from Wednesday to the weekend’s end.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One opening weekend prediction: $72.7 million (Friday to Sunday); $102.3 million (Wednesday to Sunday)

Oscar Predictions – Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Arriving five years after Mission: Impossible – Fallout and one year following the biggest hit of his career, Tom Cruise returns as IMF agent Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One on July 12th. The seventh feature in the franchise that began in the summer of 1996 looks to be one of this season’s largest domestic and worldwide earners.

The review embargo ended yesterday and the current results are a sizzling 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s currently the highest of the group though the last three entries have all topped 90% – 2011’s Ghost Protocol (93%), 2015’s Rogue Nation (94%), and Fallout at 97%. While Reckoning can boast the best percentage for now, numerous critics are putting it in the middle as far as best of for the series. In other words, don’t expect this to nab a Best Picture nomination like Cruise’s phenomenon Top Gun: Maverick did last year.

While the Daniel Craig James Bond pics and the Jason Bourne movies can boast nods from the Academy, the six previous M:I installments have netted a surprising total of zero mentions. It’s too bad a stunt category doesn’t exist, but it’s also been ignored in Sound and Visual Effects.

Sound seems to be the strongest chance though I wouldn’t count on it. Oppenheimer and certainly Dune: Part Two likely have reserved spots and if Fallout couldn’t make that cut, it might be 0 for 7 for this franchise. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Top Gun: Maverick Box Office Prediction

***And a final update for Top Gun: Maverick as my prediction rises again to $113.4 million for the three-day and $138 million for the four-day. That it gives it the #2 all-time Memorial Day for both frames.

***Blogger’s Update (05/25): Significantly up-ticking my estimate once again. Now projecting a three-day of $103.7M (good for second biggest Memorial Day Friday to Sunday) and $124.4M for the four-day (third largest all-time). Sky is increasing the limit…

**Blogger’s Update (05/24): Estimate updated from a three and four-day projection, respectively, of $75.6M and $98.8M to $86.6M and $104.9M. That now gives Maverick the #7 largest Memorial Day weekend three-day and #6 four-day

It could be a record breaking memorable weekend for Tom Cruise as Top Gun: Maverick finally lands in theaters. The long gestating sequel arrives 36 years after the original made Cruise a superstar. The wait was only supposed to be 33-34 years, but production delays and COVID postponements altered the plan.

Joseph Kosinki, who previously directed the lead in 2013’s Oblivion, directs. Costars include Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Ed Harris, Monica Barbaro, and Val Kilmer reprising his role as Iceman. Critics have certainly indicated this is worth the wait. Budgeted at a reported $150 million, reviews are impressive with a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score. There’s even Oscar buzz as it will surely be a contender in Sound and Song (with Lady Gaga crooning “Hold My Hand”).

Paramount is hopeful that Maverick will take the breath and money away from moviegoers over the Memorial Day frame. The loud buzz generated by critics should make this soar even higher than previously anticipated.

In doing so, we could see Tom cruise to a personal best opening. Somewhat surprisingly, his all-time largest opening is War of the Worlds at $64 million for the traditional Friday to Sunday period. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (the last flick to feature Cruise four years ago) is close behind at $61 million.

Maverick will, of course, have a four-day tally. That’s familiar territory for Cruise as the first three Mission: Impossible tales premiered over Memorial Day with the second one doing $70 million from Friday to Monday. However, it opened on the Wednesday before to bring its gross to $91 million.

First things first. I do believe Tom’s latest sequel will achieve his highest three day take ever. I also suspect there will be some projections for Maverick that will be too high. A four-day take of over $100 million is absolutely doable (and my prediction could rise in the coming days), but I’m skeptical. That’s uncharted territory for Mr. Cruise. A Friday to Sunday haul in the mid 70s seems likelier. If that happens, it should achieve mid 90s for the whole frame. That would give it the ninth best Memorial 3 day start – in between Solo: A Star Wars Story ($84 million) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park ($72 million). It would rise a spot to 8th for the four-day between the same two features at $103 million and $90 million, respectively. And that would be a memorable start indeed.

Top Gun: Maverick opening weekend prediction: $113.4 million (Friday to Sunday); $138 million (Friday to Monday)

For my The Bob’s Burgers Movie, click here:

The Bob’s Burgers Movie Box Office Prediction

Best Year’s Ever

As one year turns to the next in short order, it got me thinking. What are some examples of actors and directors who had remarkable calendar frames over the past few decades? The guidelines are pretty simple – the individual must have had two (and in a couple of cases, three or more) pictures that made an impact during 19(fill in the blank) or 20(fill in the blank).

And wouldn’t you know it? My ruminations quickly turned into a lengthy list that I’ve paired down to a top 25. Let’s call this Best Year’s Ever and count down from #25 to #1!

25. Channing Tatum (2012)

It was a busy year for the performer to say the least. Tatum was in Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire, but three major roles made him the star he is today. There was the hit romance The Vow, hit comedy 21 Jump Street, and his signature and semi-autobiographical title role in the summer sleeper Magic Mike (also from Mr. Soderbergh).

24. John Travolta (1996)

Two years following his major comeback in Pulp Fiction and a year following his Golden Globe nominated lead in Get Shorty, Travolta’s hot streak continued with three hits: John Woo’s action thriller Broken Arrow and fantasy dramas Phenomenon and Michael.

23. Clint Eastwood (1971)

The last two months of 1971 were fruitful for the legend. In November, he made his directorial debut with the well-reviewed psychological thriller Play Misty for Me. This began a career of dozens of behind the camera works, including Best Picture winners Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby. In December, Eastwood starred as Dirty Harry which spawned his lucky cop franchise.

22. Sigourney Weaver (1988)

Weaver won two Golden Globes 30 years ago – Best Actress (Drama) for Gorillas in the Mist and Supporting Actress for Working Girl. She would be nominated for two Oscars as well, but come up short. All part of a remarkable decade that included Ghostbusters and Aliens.

21. Joe Pesci (1990)

Pesci won an Oscar for his unforgettable supporting work in Martin Scorsese’s GoodFellas. That same fall, he was a burglar terrorizing Macaulay Culkin in the holiday classic Home Alone.

20. Kevin Spacey (1995)

Current scandals aside, there’s no denying Spacey was the movie villain of 1995. He won an Academy Award as (spoiler alert!) Keyser Soze in The Usual Suspects and as a demented serial killer in Seven. Earlier in the year, he costarred with Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman in  Outbreak and headlined the critically approved indie comedy Swimming with Sharks.

19. Nicolas Cage (1997)

Leaving Las Vegas awarded Cage his Oscar two years prior. By the summer of 1997, he was a full-fledged action hero with two blockbusters in the same month: Con Air and Face/Off.

18. Will Ferrell (2003)

Ferrell’s transformation from SNL favorite to movie star happened here with the spring’s Old School as Frank the Tank and in the winter as Buddy in Elf.

17. Morgan Freeman (1989)

The nation’s Narrator-in-Chief had a trio of significant roles nearly three decades ago – his Oscar nominated chauffeur in the Best Picture winner Driving Miss Daisy, a dedicated and stern principal in Lean on Me, and a Civil War officer in Glory.

16. Steven Soderbergh (2000)

The prolific filmmaker made two Best Picture nominees with Erin Brockovich and Traffic (he would win Best Director for the latter). Both surpassed the century mark at the box office and Julia Roberts won Best Actress for Brockovich and Benicio del Toro took Supporting Actor in Traffic.

15. Halle Berry (2001)

Ms. Berry had a revealing role in the summer action fest Swordfish. She then became the first (and thus far only) African-American to win Best Actress for Monster’s Ball. This was all sandwiched between X–Men hits.

14. Hugh Jackman (2017)

Berry’s X–Men cast mate Jackman retired his Wolverine character to critical and audience admiration with Logan in the spring. At the end of the year, his musical The Greatest Showman was an unexpected smash.

13. Leonardo DiCaprio (2002)

Five years after Titanic, the jury was still out as to whether DiCaprio’s leading man status would hold up. His roles in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York and Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can left little doubt. He’s been one of Hollywood’s most dependable stars since.

12. Francis Ford Coppola (1974)

In 1972, Coppola made perhaps the greatest American film of all time with The Godfather. Two years later, its sequel came with enormous expectations and exceeded them. Like part one, it won Best Picture. As if that weren’t enough, he made another Picture nominee in ‘74 with the Gene Hackman surveillance thriller The Conversation.

11. Michael Douglas (1987)

His signature role as greedy tycoon Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street won him an Oscar and gave him one of the most famous cinematic speeches ever. He also lit up the screen in the blockbuster thriller Fatal Attraction, which was the year’s second largest grosser.

10. Julia Roberts (1999)

She started the decade with a smash star making turn in Pretty Woman. Julia Roberts ended it with two romantic comedy summer $100 million plus earners: Notting Hill with Hugh Grant and Runaway Bride (which reunited her with Pretty costar Richard Gere). She’d win her Oscar the next year for Erin Brockovich.

9. Tom Cruise (1996)

1986 wasn’t too shabby either with Top Gun and The Color of Money. Yet it’s a decade later that serves as Cruise’s year with the franchise starter Mission: Impossible in the summer and Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire, which earned Cruise a Golden Globe award and an Oscar nod. They were the third and fourth biggest hits of the year, respectively.

8. Sandra Bullock (2013)

Nearly two decades after her breakout role in Speed, Bullock had a banner 2013 alongside Melissa McCarthy in the summer comedy The Heat and her Oscar nominated turn as a stranded astronaut in the fall’s Gravity.

7. Sylvester Stallone (1985)

Sly was the undisputed champion of the box office (not to mention sequels and Roman numerals) in 1985, notching the second and third top hits of the year behind Back to the Future. They were for his two signature characters with Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rocky IV.

6. Robert Downey Jr. (2008)

A decade after all the wrong kind of headlines for his drug addiction, Downey Jr. pulled off perhaps the most impressive comeback in movie history. 2008 saw him as Tony Stark in Iron Man, the film that kicked off the MCU in grand fashion. Later that summer came Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder, which earned Downey a rare Oscar nod for a comedic performance.

5. Tom Hanks (1993)

There’s more than one year to consider for Hanks… 1995 (Apollo 13, Toy Story) comes to mind. Yet 1993 saw him with Meg Ryan in the now classic Sleepless in Seattle and winning an Oscar in Philadelphia as a lawyer diagnosed with AIDS. His status as a romantic and dramatic lead was solidified in a matter of months. A consecutive Academy Award followed in 1994 for Forrest Gump.

4. Mel Brooks (1974)

The director managed to make two of the most beloved comedies of all time in one year… Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. The two features combined contain some of the funniest scenes ever filmed.

3. Jennifer Lawrence (2012)

Already an Oscar nominee two years prior for Winter’s Bone, Lawrence’s road to superstardom was paved in 2012. In March came The Hunger Games, the year’s third top earner that spawned three sequels. In December came Silver Linings Playbook, where she won Best Actress.

2. Jim Carrey (1994)

In 1993, Carrey was known as a great cast member of Fox’s groundbreaking sketch show “In Living Color”. By the end of 1994, he was the most bankable comedic star in America as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber all hit screens.

1. Steven Spielberg (1993)

In a list filled with lots of choices, the #1 selection was rather easy. The highest grossing filmmaker of all time’s 1993 was astonishing. Dino tale Jurassic Park in the summer was a marvel technical achievement that began a franchise. At the time of its release, it became the largest grosser in history with the top opening weekend yet seen. Six months later, Holocaust epic Schindler’s List won seven Academy Awards (including Picture and for Spielberg’s direction).

I hope your New Year is your best yet, readers! Have a happy one…

Mission: Impossible – Fallout Movie Review

The Mission: Impossible franchise has now reached its sixth feature and its 22nd year of existence, providing the seemingly ageless Tom Cruise with a hit making series that continues to deliver. That’s a rather remarkable accomplishment and Fallout belongs in the upper echelons in terms of bang for your buck entertainment.

Truth be told, there’s been no total dog yet in the Mission sagas. My one minor complaint about its predecessor, 2015’s Rogue Nation, was its lack of directorial vision. Christopher McQuarrie and his large squad of tech and stunt wizards pulled off some impressive action sequences in that picture. However, unlike the previous four pics, it didn’t feel quite as distinctive. Part 1 was certainly a Brian De Palma experience and the first sequel was all kinds of John Woo (for occasionally better and more for the worse). Same goes for J.J. Abrams and Brad Bird in the next ones (Ghost Protocol still stands as my personal favorite).

McQuarrie is the first filmmaker to return in the director’s chair. I must admit that maybe I just didn’t fully recognize his stamp on the series the first time around. These latest missions are all about spectacle and not really concerned with melding the mayhem to its maker’s vision. In Fallout, that’s pretty much perfectly OK even more so than in Rogue. That’s because the team of people making the action are the best at it. We’ve seen plenty of car chases, helicopter battles, and bathroom brawls in our time. This franchise excels at it in ways few others do.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF squad (including Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames) pick up two years after the events of the fifth installment. Learned Mission watchers know the plot will likely be convoluted and a secondary consideration. That’s true here, but let’s go over the basics. We have lost plutonium that IMF must find or risk nuclear attack. Part 5’s villain (Sean Harris) is involved. Ethan is forced to partner with a bulky CIA agent (Henry Cavill). MI6 agent Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) from Rogue resurfaces. She continues to be one of Hunt’s more interesting partners. And the short-lived wedded bliss that we witnessed Ethan in during part 3 with Michelle Monaghan becomes a focal point. Oh… and there’s plenty of double crosses. And those masks. Fallout also features the most satisfying use of a CNN anchor ever committed to film.

Of course, all of this leads to Ethan globe-trotting from London to Paris to Kashmir. And the song remains the same: our hero is the only one capable of figuring out how to keep the world from crumbling. What’s often startling is just how much care is expended in creating the impossible situations he finds himself in. McQuarrie’s biggest contribution may just be the go for broke style vibe to Ethan’s dangerous exploits. As always, Cruise is a more than willing subject and he even broke his ankle during one stunt.

Cruise and McQuarrie simply refuse to allow Mission to coast on auto pilot. The franchise continues to come up with new and exciting ways to put our mega star in peril. Six films in, that is quite a feat.

***1/2 (out of four)