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**Mission Impossible continues to create the 'impossible' American version of James Bond. At least 007 was debonair in merely attempting to perfect his skill and gadgetry. Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and Co. now battle rogue plutonium bomb planting villains.
Don't get me wrong. Every time I watch an episode of M: I, I want it to surpass Bond. Yet, there's always one most improbable stunt scene that's genre transforming into fantasy. This time, Hunt is battling his new nemesis, John Lark (Henry Cavill). He is desperately trying to remove an atomic detonator from Lark. The detonator sits at Lark's side during a helicopter chase. In a crescendo of impossibility, Hunt chases Lark in a helicopter like a pro, by reading the labels on the helicopter pivot. Hunt rams the helis, leaving Lark's hanging along an icy crag. Meanwhile, Luther (Ving Rhames) is giving two other agents instructions to simultaneously disarm atomic bombs over a cell phone. The detonator end up perched on the edge of the cliff. Hunt locates it in the middle of climbing out of the wreckage. "Showtime" takes over, diluting the super spy narrative.
In defense, an increased attention to quality was obvious. Christopher McQuarrie created Parts 5 & 6, and brought in J.J. Abrams and Cruise into the production team. The villain is elusively hidden throughout, CIA and MI6 add to the mix, multiple key players are involved like the White Widow (Vanessa Kirby)-an arms dealing mediator-, and Soloman Lane (Sean Harris) returns as the bomb mastermind. Cruise continues to do some of his own stunts and even breaks an ankle (see above).
For a Part 6, this was quite a sleuth movie, but with Abrams involved, it was bound to go over the top. His sensationalism is only tolerable in sci-fi. It still read too much like the comic book-type style of the original 60s series. Millennials enjoy a good spectacle, but some change is required over time for us movie buffs, as the Daniel Craig Bond movies accomplished. I bring this up to the Winning 35 yd. Line.
* Paramount Pictures. "Tom Cruise Breaks His Ankle (Mission Impossible 6 Stunt)" imgur, redditmason, Video to GIF, Jan. 26, 2018, https://imgur.com/gallery/DGPsOlg.
** Paramount Pictures. "Showtime." gfycat, #missionimpossible, https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/GloriousMasculineHoatzin
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