It is a bit strange that I was yet to write a review on a Mission: Impossible film on MS. Well, I’ve opened my account now. :D I thought it was a worthy sequel and in some ways, pays tribute to previous installments.
MAIN CAST
Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt
Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn
Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell
Alec Baldwin as Alan Hunley
Michelle Monaghan as Julia aka Ethan’s wife
Rebecca Ferguson as Isla Faust
Angela Bassett as Erica Sloan
Henry Cavill as August Walker
Sean Harris as Solomon Lane
THE ESSENTIAL PLOT
Solomon Lane was captured in the previous installment. But that in turn has spawned an organization called ’Apostles’, mostly consisting of his network who continue their endeavors of organised crime. They have their sights set on acquiring 3 Plutonium pieces for future warfare. They also want Solomon Lane returned. Apparently! The IMF want to avert the Plutonium falling into the wrong hands to avoid any possible mishap. ’Apparently’ is a keyword here, because ultimately how things develop, one would find it hard to keep track of who is actually after what.
To cut a long story somewhat short, Ethan & his team want to acquire the Plutonium before it can harm anyone. They have Solomon Lane as leverage. Isla Faust is still after Solomon Lane as British Intelligence wants him killed. A certain ’John Lark’ wants to meet up with ’White Widow’, regarding the Plutonium, who has connections with ’Apostles’. The’White Widow’ has the Plutonium. The CIA want in on this too, with August Walker assigned to oversee Ethan’s proceedings. But the CIA has been infiltrated. So, IMF, Ethan’s organization, don’t trust the CIA either. What follows, are battles of allegiance and trust where true purpose and identities of individuals come into question. Ethan’s wife Julia also finds herself incidentally involved.
Ultimately, main purpose of the mission is achieved. Should come as no surprise! But the suspense is contributed by the plot that unfolds in the ways it does, which entails a whole lot of interesting stuff. It would be best to find that out for yourself.
THINGS WORTH NOTING ABOUT THE FILM
PREVIOUS MI REFERENCES: This is the only MI film which strives to incorporate best elements of previous MI films, at the same time, not losing sight of its own purpose.
-> The plot is a bit convoluted, reminiscent of the first MI film. One has to pay serious attention to grasp the proceedings well.
-> It has some elaborate but not excessive action scenes, reminiscent of MI2. Except that in MI2, at times it appeared excessive.
-> For those wondering what happened to Julia who played such a key role in MI 3 and hardly anything in MI 4. This film addresses that aspect, not ignoring her existence but at the same time not over involving her where unnecessary.
-> Perhaps the good teamwork is uniquely reminiscent of MI4, other than some aspects which might have in common with other installments too.
-> It pretty much occurs after the timeline of MI 5 and picks up on subsequent proceedings with some recurring characters.
PERFORMANCES: The performances are quite good. Tom Cruise does well as the "scalpel" as opposed to Henry Cavill’s "hammer", who also doesn’t do badly.
Isla Faust puts in an interesting supporting turn as well, like she also did in MI 5. In general, the whole cast does well.
DIRECTION & SCREENPLAY: I think Christopher McQuarrie has lent some stability to this franchise in the last 2 installments with the story writing and the direction.
Ethan Hunt is the main character and he is the doing the most outstanding things in each film. But only in installments I, V and VI, is he in a non-supermanesque mode convincingly. He appears fallible but yet gets the job done when it matters most. I think that’s important in striking a chord with common audiences.
SUSPENSE & PLOT: The plot doesn’t really feel hackneyed although it has elements which appear familiar at times. There are some slight similarities to MI 1, for example. There is suspense regarding how the story will unfold and there’s also suspense regarding in a given situation, given where they’re heading, how would proceedings unfold. That is generally an important element of such films. So, it’s interesting to see that play out.
BEST SCENES: Well, things that were unsaid between Isla Faust and Ethan in the 5th installment are a bit more fleshed out here. It’s like a Cat woman - Batman dynamic, of sorts.
Similarly, the dynamic between August and Ethan is a bit like Superman-Batman.
1 of the best scenes are when August-Ethan combined don’t quite manage to get the best of a certain ’John Lark’ in the men’s toilet and the unexpected saviour is a bit of a surprise.
Ethan jumping from the window or the mountain climbing scene was also pretty damn good.
The scene in which Ethan & his team dupe "Nils Debruuk" is also worthy of mention.
SCORING: The scoring is as usual for MI films. I didn’t find it to be anything too extraordinary. It was apt, like it needed to be.
OTHER THINGS:
1) Tom Cruise is known for doing a lot of his own stunts and he continues the trend here. It’s true it gives the scenes a more realistic feel. But I hope he doesn’t die doing all this, some day.
2) The scenes in the movie are pretty well fleshed out and the cinematography, is in general quite good.
All in all, a good watch and a worthy sequel in the MI franchise which sort of brings closure to a lot of things, ends well and feels complete!