If there is one thing we can say about Tom Cruise with certainty, he knows how to entertain. Just like the Top Gun movies, he knows how to entertain us with Mission Impossible. The plots of each movie can be convoluted and not make much sense, but like a good action spy thriller, Tom Cruise will always find a way to entertain the masses and Mission Impossible 7 is no exception. It’s not my favorite of the Mission Impossible movies, I certainly have some minor critiques, but for 2 hours and 40 minutes, I was entertained and that’s all I can really ask for. The biggest thing to know about this Mission Impossible movie is it feels unfinished, it’s meant to be because it’s part one of a two-part movie. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of when I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, but if there’s one good thing about the first part of a movie or a movie that’s unfinished, it really makes you want to see the finale and I’m anxiously waiting until next summer when we get the final Mission Impossible movie. Like every one of these movies, they are filled with over-the-top spectacles and death-defying stunts that you know in real life, nobody can do, but at least with Mission Impossible, it does make sense because of the name of the movie unlike the Fast and the Furious movies where it just really isn’t believable that a bunch of former car thieves can do secret agent stuff. I think that’s why I like Mission Impossible movies more. Sure, it’s not supposed to be believable, but like Anthony Hopkins pointed out in the second mission impossible movie, “This is not Mission Difficult, this is Mission Impossible!” So, I can’t really complain when I see Tom Cruise jump off a motorcycle from the top of a mountain and parachute onto a moving train and then have to jump from train car to train car as the train is going over the cliff like he’s in an Uncharted video game. It’s just pure fun!
This particular mission is about the past coming back to haunt Ethan Hunt as he and his team battle their deadliest foe, artificial intelligence. Now I know what you’re thinking, the story is already convoluted and yes to a point that may be true. One of my biggest complaints as much as I enjoyed this movie is there’s a lot they leave out that needs to be explained in the second movie or the whole plot about a dangerous artificial intelligence taking control over the intelligence Network throughout the world will just be convoluted and stupid or start treading slightly into the overall plot of The Terminator. But I get it, you got to have a little bit of mystery to make people want to see the second movie as if we weren’t going to see it anyway as fans of Mission Impossible Ethan Hunt will face a character from his past that led him to make the choice to join IMF, a mysterious character named Gabriel to which we were really not know anything about except his actions help create the Ethan Hunt we know in the Mission Impossible movies. Esai Morales does a great job playing this mysterious character and he is one of the best parts of the movie. But one of the reasons these films work besides all the great action and the incredible stunts is having a good cast. Ving Rhames is back as Luther and Simon Pegg is back as Benji.
And of course, you have Rebecca Ferguson back as Ilsa. The newcomer to the film is Grace, played by the lovely Haley Atwell. She’s a thief and a bit of a magician, you love to hate her, but you know what will end up happening with her character. She will be put into a position where she must make the ultimate choice and eventually join IMF. That may be a bit of a spoiler, but I think we all know her story is fairly predictable. There has always been a female member of the team if not two. The making of this team is very reminiscent of the first movie and a great nod to the original series. But it all works, and you’ve got incredible characters that you don’t hate and make you want to see that’s the best part of this film and I have to admit that Haley Atwell is the perfect casting choice.
As great as Mission Impossible 7 may be, it’s not without its problems. As I said before, it’s an unfinished movie because it is the first part of an overall story. It also feels long. It clocks in at 2 hours and 40 minutes and that should be plenty of time to really explain a good backstory for some of the new characters which we just don’t get. Gabriel is completely shrouded in mystery except that we know he and Ethan Hunt have history. We also find that he has a history with everybody, but that’s never really explained. That will need to be explained in the next film. We don’t even really get a backstory of Haley Atwell’s character, Grace! We know she’s a thief and we know that she’s wanted in many countries, but unlike Ilsa, who we found immediately was former MI6 and disavowed which led her to join the IMF team, there’s too much mystery surrounding Grace. She’s a great character and you can tell instantly that she will be perfect for this team, but we need to know more of her story. She’s likable and you root for her, but you also keep getting annoyed at her throughout the film and it makes it hard to sympathize with her if we don’t really know her story. The best scene is when Luther and Benji are telling her that they all had to make a choice at one time, which led them to join IMF and now it’s her turn. I just wish we knew more of her story. Where did she come from, was she really an orphan? She’s very reminiscent of Selena Kyle from the Batman movies and in fact, I kind of gave her the same backstory without knowing too much because that’s all I really have to go on. There are a lot of great action sequences throughout this movie, but you could have cut 20 or 30 minutes out of it and saved it for the second film. It gets drawn out too much and if Mission Impossible 8 has the same runtime, then you’re basically watching a 5-hour Mission Impossible movie. On a streaming service that’s called a limited series.
Overall, this is a fun movie and it will make you excited to see the next one. Even though there’s a lot left unexplained, the cast makes this movie worth watching especially with the newcomers. Gabriel is a great villain. And it was great to have Agent Eugene Kittredge back from the first movie because everything really comes full circle in this film. He’s a great villain too, and you love to hate him, but you also sympathize with his reasons for wanting to keep Ethan Hunt in check. Despite the story being shrouded in more mystery in a lot of stuff not being explained, the action will keep you engrossed until the very end. Mission Impossible is about doing the most incredible stunts that you don’t see in any other films and they always find a way the top themselves from movie to movie. This might be the most Mission Impossible film to date. That is certainly not a bad thing. This is a movie meant to be seen on the big screen and is definitely worth the price of a movie ticket. Tom Cruise does not disappoint! So, while I have some minor complaints, overall, I definitely enjoyed the film and think it should be seen by fans of good action movies, especially the Mission Impossible movies.
