Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Today while exercising, I finished watching “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” on Paramount+, which was released theatrically in May but on Paramount+ at the beginning of the month. After waiting for months for this to be released, and seeing how this is another movie that is near three-hours long, how is the last chapter in the near-death spy saga that has lasted three decades?

Espionage has always been fascinating for audiences. Sarah Gopaul said in her review, “he clandestine operations, fantastic gadgets, perilous romances and inevitable confrontations truly offer something for everyone.” That’s one of the long list of reasons the James Bond and Jason Bourne franchises are still popular, taking audiences on high-risk missions where the world is repeatedly saved from near-death threats. In 1966, the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) was introduced in a popular television series that lasted seven seasons to fan and critical praise. Thirty years later, the secret agency would be released theatrically and still continue for almost another 30 years, now coming to the eight and final film, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.”

Beginning shortly after the ending to the last film, Ethan Hunt, reprised by Tom Cruise, has been protecting the gold cruciform key from everyone, not trusting that any government or agency would destroy the major AI known as The Entity rather than try to connect its endless power. Now, with the development of a possible poison pill, it’s time to get the team, reprised by Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Hayley Atwell, and Pom Klementieff, back together so they can retrieve the source code from the bottom of the sea and stop The Entity before it destroys the world with its newly developed nuclear collection. Of course, The Entity has predicted their plans and has its own counterattack in place, while Ethan’s old enemy, Gabriel, reprised by Esai Morales, proves he is still a formidable opponent in this race for control.

Gopaul said, “It was obvious Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One was setting up an epic conclusion in which the fate of the world would once again be decided by its tried-and-true protagonist and his ragtag team of skilled rejects. This film opens with a trip down memory lane, recounting the journey so far via flashbacks that span the major events of the franchise’s three decades, essentially forming a highlight reel of Ethan’s wins and losses. Bringing the team back together is a bit like an overdue family reunion, but with more blood and violence since there’s always unwelcome party crashers.” There’s also a strange meeting with the American president, played by Angela Bassett, who has some generous decisions to make in the short time.

Ethan built his IMF career on near death for so long, never giving up until he’s completed his mission. Similarly, Cruise has admitted he’s preformed his own stunts no matter how dangerous, often pushing the limits in this famous franchise. Gopaul said, “These hazardous manoeuvres became a Mission: Impossible staple, bidding audiences to come watch the actor’s latest feat of bravery or insanity. But this final installment may have finally gone a step too far in its display of ability vs. probability. Viewers will find it difficult not to laugh at the absurdity of at least one of Ethan’s impossible stunts (especially if you’ve recently seen either the dramatized or documentary versions of Last Breath), while the other spectacular act is equally ludicrous but more convincingly impressive.”

If this is really Ethan Hunt/Tom Cruise’s last mission, it is a satisfying conclusion to the franchise. It connects storylines going back to the first film, while wrapping up everything that was left by the last couple of missions. Gopaul said, “The many ticking clocks keep everyone on edge for most of the picture with some unavoidable heartbreak, and a lot of breath-holding as decisions and actions come down to the wire.” It’s touching since audiences have possibly developed a liking to the top-secret team of underdogs, but it’s also a fond farewell…or maybe a “see you again” since nothing ever ends in Hollywood.

If you have been a fan of the franchise up to now, then this one you have to see, if you missed the chance to see it in theaters. The one complaint I have, which was probably the same complaint with the last film, is the runtime. Especially with the underwater segment, which did feel like it dragged. However, you can watch it in pieces on Paramount+, like I did. You need to see this because it is a fitting conclusion and you will love this one a lot. I think this might be the best in the franchise. Check it out, and enjoy the epic conclusion.

Thank you for joining in on this review. Stay tuned tomorrow for the continuation of “Disney Month 2025.”

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part One

Tonight, I finally got to see another one of my most anticipated movies of the year, “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1,” released in theaters back in July. Now I will let everyone know what I thought about the latest sequel in this ongoing franchise that is still going strong.

Last summer, Tom Cruise dominated the box office and some will say was responsible for getting people back in the theaters with his sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.” Well, Cruise is back with the seventh movie in the Mission: Impossible franchise.

This time Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and the IMF team (Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg) must find a scary new weapon that puts all humanity in danger if it is in the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at risk, going around the globe starts. Meeting with a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Hunt has his hands tied to think that nothing matters more than the mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.

Carla Renata said in her review, “This is the best addition to the franchise providing more thrills, stunts, romantic complications and a new villain proving to be quite the adversary.  Franchise tropes such as face changing masks, comedic quips in the midst of danger and next sequel cliffhanger are to be expected and work quite well.  However, the stunts this time around had me stressed out, clutching my pearls and unable to catch my breath.  Now, THAT is a sign of a film that has succeeded in having its audience members suspend their disbelief while becoming completely engrossed with the onscreen action and shenanigans.”

As great as everything is, it is Hayley Atwell as Grace who stole the film. Renata noted, “Having been introduced to her as Agent Carter in the now defunct television series for Marvel Studios, this film welcomes all of her talents to the big screen in spades. Originally to be played by Nicholas Hoult, Esai Morales reminds audiences of why we fell in love with him decades ago in ‘La Bamba.’  He is a rare gem of an actor whose sheer presence elevates every scene to a whole other level.”

You can praise this film for making the women in this film more than just eye candy. Vanessa Kirby, Hayle Atwell, and Rebecca Ferguson all had portrayals that praised not only their acting ability, but their physical strengths in every fighting scene. Renata admitted, “However, if I had one gripe on that tip, it would be the fact that Pom Klementieff’s character could have been a little more than the stereotypical silent Asian villian with rival fight skills who eventually succumbs to her wounds.”

Speaking of stunts, the train scene took nearly six months to a year to film, taking up 50 minutes of total screen time and the motorcycle jump from the mountain took less than a few hours. Renata admitted, “We all know that Tom Cruise loves his stunts and every last one wrecked my nerves in the best sense of the word.” With that said, you should find where this is streaming and see it because it is not one to miss.

We also have greats like Henry Czeny, Shea Whigham, Carey Elwes, and Greg Tarzan Davis as people who are trying to find IMF specialists and how they come close, but no cigar.

As you may have already guessed, I seriously think that this is the best of the franchise. The last four entries in the franchise have gotten significantly better with each installment, and this one is no exception. Sure, it may start slow, but it does pick up gradually fast. You will get into the dialogue, the characters, the plot, the action, and of course the stunts. The only problem I have with this movie is that it is nearly three hours long. However, that's not to say that there are parts in here that make you feel the length and you want it to end. The fourth John Wick movie was around the same runtime as this and both really did a great job utilizing their runtime to make the audience not feel the runtime and want them to hurry up and finish. This film is not one to be missed and you should see this. I’m waiting to see when this will be available for free on streaming, whether it be Netflix or Paramount+.

Thank you for joining in on this review. Stay tuned tomorrow for the next installment in “Disney Month 2023.”

Mission Impossible - Fallout

Tonight at work, I got a chance to check out the latest film, “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” released last Friday, and I feel like I should let all of you know what I thought about this.

Neil Soans started his review out by saying, “Some things age like fine wine and in the cinematic world the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise is a great example of the adage.” Maybe it’s because Tom Cruise, now 56, who forgets age and goes all out for his fans? The answer is very clear in this film as the character Ethan Hunt is amazing as a comic book superhero in the sixth film in the franchise. The story isn’t really new with the twists and turns. However, the latest film builds on the last films in the franchise by bringing back previous allies and enemies, along with some new ones. Henry Cavill as August Walker is perfect in this franchise as the villain to Ethan Hunt. Soans commented, “His presence is looming enough to fill the entire screen whenever he appears.” Simon Pegg takes on the role of a series regular along with Ving Rhames, whose Benji and Luther respectively play more than just simple sidekicks as they add comic humor and heart. Alec Baldwin and Angela Bassett also make a mark in their small appearances but look out for great returns by Rebecca Ferguson and Michelle Monaghan along the way. Sean Harris and Vanessa Kirby are also amazing in their roles.

Writer and Director Christopher McQuarrie allows each character equal time while building on their story with each other, which makes them engaging to the audience. This only makes the stakes increase while they’re in danger. Soans said, “McQuarrie also lets the story breathe by bringing some calm before the storm hits.” This brings us to the most important part of the series, and one that McQuarrie clearly masters at in this film – the action sequence. Soans said, “Not only are they meticulously planned; they are executed with precision, even when the fist fights are gritty and gruesome. Rob Hardy beautifully choreographs the camerawork following these intricate set-pieces, either allowing you to take in the expanse or bringing you up close and personal when required.” This comes with a soundtrack by Lorne Balfe that adds to the intensity by giving the iconic “Mission: Impossible” theme a creepy sense of importance.

McQuarrie has now directed two “Mission: Impossible” films. His understanding of the franchise and its characters prove to be the important aspect of the franchise. Seeing how the stunts are hugely done with practical effects with the cast, and the most importantly Cruise himself, gives an entire new level for action films. “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is a great mix of plot, pacing and performances that is obviously the best in the franchise, while it re-establishes Cruise as an action actor.

Like I have already stated, this one is the best of the franchise. Each installment got better and better, but the only one that I didn’t like was three. Besides that, you will love the action scenes, car chases, special effects and set pieces that really has you on the edge of your seat. Sure, you might predict what’s going to happen, but you will absolutely love this movie. If you haven’t seen it, go see it in theaters, it’s worth seeing it, especially in IMAX.

Ok everyone, thank you for joining in on this review. Check in next Friday for the next installment in “The Muppets Month.”

Mission: Impossible - Rouge Nation

Last night, I finally got to see “Mission: Impossible – Rouge Nation,” which came out at the end of July, and now I will give everyone my thoughts on it. Brian Truitt of USA Today said that this movie “doubles as a two-hour celebrity episode of American Ninja Warrior for Tom Cruise.”

Truitt goes on to say, “Watch Tom use acrobatics and tight abs to escape capture! Watch Tom hold his breath for a long time underwater! Watch Tom hold on for dear life as he dangles outside a plane mid-takeoff!”

Truitt also added, “Cruise’s superspy Ethan Hunt continues to hang with the Bonds, Bournes and Bauers of the world in the fifth Mission: Impossible movie, written and directed by Edge of Tomorrow scribe Christopher McQuarrie.” The action prize gets a little lost in its own spycraft, but offers scenes both fast and furious and a fabulous couple of additions to the company of IMF (in case no one knows, it stands for Impossible Mission Force).

The “Rouge Nation” part of the title means a reprehensible new secret organization called the Syndicate, which utilizes presumed-dead operatives from around the world to carry out terrorist acts and tear down the global system that initiated them. Well, Ethan Hunt will not tolerate that as America’s top secret agent, though he’s a fugitive from the government itself after one too many rouge missions.

From Belarusian airspace to the Vienna Opera to the streets of Morocco, Ethan is playing cat-and-mouse with a new villain in this one – Solomon Lane, played by Sean Harris – while making an ally in the mysterious Ilsa Faust (the hot Rebecca Ferguson), a capable agent and lethal weapon herself who has been dealing with the deadly Lane.

I guess Truitt is right when he says, “With a number of movies under its belt, the M:I franchise finally has Avengered itself” – previous movie missions are referred to when CIA chief Alan Hunley, played by Alec Baldwin, makes a strong statement to shut down the IMF crew forever. It’s like action genre’s best stars of supporting characters around Ethan, including by-the-book agent William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), hacker extraordinaire Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and tech guy Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg from the “Cornetto Trilogy”), who finally gets thrown into some dangerous fieldwork.

“Rouge Nation” gets complicated in its series of twists, though McQuarrie gives a surprising amount of welcome humor, sometimes with the gadgets – watch Tom use a bass flute as a rifle – and other times in the tiring that comes after one close-to-death episode or another.

While not as nice as the action scenes in the last “Mission: Impossible” movie, “Ghost Protocol,” there’s some stellar moments here, especially a adrenaline-rushing chase through Casablanca on motorcycles and in sports cars, with a soundtrack consisting only of revving engines and Pegg’s frightened screams.

There’s not much character development in here with Ethan this time around, though you don’t need it as much with all the stunts Cruise is doing. (At 53, Cruise’s still outstanding.) Yet he has met his match in Ferguson’s mysterious Ilsa, an attractive bone-breaker female fatale who looks like she stepped right off the set of a James Bond movie.

Put her together with Cruise again would be a “Mission: Impossible” not to watch.

In the end, I would have to say this movie will not disappoint fans at all if they have seen or are going to see the movie. You have to see this movie if you haven’t, so go see it if you haven’t and if it’s still playing in a theater near you. I actually think this is the best in the series. When Tom Cruise was interviewed on “The Daily Show,” he hinted at a sixth movie to be made starting next year, so let’s see if they will because I will welcome another movie, since this series is running on a high note right now.

Alright everyone, thank you so much for joining in on my reviews all throughout September, and…wait a minute. Next month is October. You know what that means? HALLOWEEN MONTH!!! It’s time to start prepping for those horror movie reviews again because it will be an exciting month. See all of you then and stay tuned.

Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol

Now let’s close out “Mission: Impossible Month” with a bang. It’s time to look at “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” which came out in 2011. This is a pretty tricky thing to pull off, but it has been said that Tom Cruise insisted on doing his own stunt work. You can see that when Ethan Hunt ends up looking like Spiderman when he clings to glass, thousands of feet in the air, which you would think would be CGI. It that’s really Tom Cruise, he seems like a suitable case for treatment.

Even it is or isn’t, the sequence is one of the most hypnotizing sections in a film I’ve seen. The late Roger Ebert even admitted, “In the way it's set up, photographed and edited, it provided me and my vertigo with scary fascination.” The movie has other achieved set portions as well. The movie starts out with Ethan Hunt breaking out of a Russian prison. There is an amazing fight scene inside of a space-age parking garage where moving steel platforms lefts and drops cars, and the fighters jump from one floor to another. There’s a smart moment in the vaults of the Kremlin Archives in which a virtual reality delusion is used to trick a guard. And the scene at the fancy Mumbai party where Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor thinks he’s attracting MI team member Jane, played by Paula Patton (I highly doubt she is related to the late General Patton), in a complexly choreographed diversionary procedure.

Ethan and Jane are joined by Mission comrades Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Benji (Simon Pegg) in an effort to ruin the villain named Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), who has gotten control of a satellite and control of Russian nuclear codes, and wants to start a nuclear war. His reason, from what I have gathered and can be considered a cliché, is that life on Earth needs to be demolished once in a while to start all over, and Hendricks can’t wait for another asteroid that killed all the dinosaurs to come in his lifetime.

The movie benefits greatly from the amazing performances of the Mission team. Cruise, who is in pain from his wife’s death (remember her from the third movie?), plays the likable man of, if we can say, infinite courage. Simon Pegg, with his owl face and bad temper, is funny as the computer genius Benji, one of those men that can walk into the Burj Khalifa with a laptop and immediately takes over the elevators and security cameras. Paula Patton is a charming Jane, combining sweet steaminess with ferocious hand-to-hand fighting techniques. And Jeremy Renner’s Brandt, coming into the story late as an “analyst” for the IMF secretary, played by Tom Wilkinson, is told to have a great many extra-analytical skills.

Brandt and Benji have a scene that arrives at a new level of action absurdity even for a “Mission: Impossible” movie. Brandt’s mission, and Ethan makes it clear that he has to accept it, is to wear steel net underwear and jump into a ventilating shaft with evil spinning fan blades at the bottom. Benji will stop his fall with a little mobile magnet at the bottom of the shaft, so Brandt can hack into massive computers. Renner does a believable job of looking very scared when he does this.

The movie has an unexpected director: Brad Bird, the same man who gave us such classic animated films like “The Iron Giant,” “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille.” Animation concentrates in action, and his films are known for strong characterization, so I think this was a smart choice of Brad Bird. You’d think he was going to be doing thrillers for years.

Now here is what Ebert said about Cruise, who I said was clinging to the side of the Burj Khalifa, supposedly doing his own stunts. “I'm not saying he didn't. No doubt various unseen nets and wires were also used, and at least some CGI. Whatever.” Then again, didn’t Cruise do all of his stunt work in the first movie? Oh well, I guess if you want to believe that Cruise was doing his own stunts in this movie, by all means go ahead because I will.

So that ends “Mission: Impossible Month.” I hope you all enjoyed it and…these reviews will self-destruct in five seconds.
Five, Four, Three, Two, One…GOTCHA!!!!!

Mission: Impossible 3

Ethan Hunt is in some respects the least interested man in action movie history. In the first “Mission: Impossible,” he risked his life to (quoting from Ebert’s original review) “prevent the theft of a computer file containing the code names and real identities of all of America's double agents.” But Ethan must stop this theft after it happens, because first he must “photograph the enemy in the act of stealing the information, and then follow him until he passes it along.” The plot also involves essential uses for latex masks and helicopters, one that flies through the Chunnel from England to France, which is hard, since helicopter blades are wider than the Chunnel.

In “Mission: Impossible 2,” Ethan has to stop a villain who owns a deadly virus: Twenty-four hours after you have been exposed to it, you die. However, Nyah survives by the end of the movie, leaving her available for a sequel, but in “Mission: Impossible 3,” released in 2006, Ethan is engaged to a nurse named Julia, played by Michelle Monaghan, who thinks Ethan is a highway traffic control engineer. (This is going to be a tough one to review. Keep reading to find out why)

Helicopters are involved again, and Ethan becomes a victim of the latex mask trick again, and even uses a latex mask himself, so that everyone else can be tricked and he doesn’t feel so bad. In a nice visual pun, the helicopters come across giant energy-generated windmills in deserts near Berlin that strangely look like deserts near Palm Spring. It’s kind of cool when one propeller slices off another, wouldn’t you agree? Ebert said in his review, “Observing the curious landscape outside Berlin, I was reminded that Citizen Kane built his Xanadu "on the desert coasts of Florida."”

Ethan Hunt’s mission in “Mission: Impossible 3” is to fight the villain Owen Davian, played by the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman (do I have to say why I said this was going to be difficult?) for control of the Rabbit’s Foot. In Ethan’s last line of the movie, after a handful of people have been blown up, shot, crushed and otherwise bothered, he asks his boss Brassel, played by Laurence Fishburne, “What is a Rabbit’s Foot?” Ethan should have known by now that it’s a MacGuffin, just like the virus and the computer file.

Why does Ethan risk his life and lives of the people he love to chase objectives he doesn’t understand? Obviously the answer is that the real objective of all the “Mission: Impossible” movies is to provide a clothesline for some amazing action scenes. Nothing else matters, and illustrative dialogue would only slow the movie down. The formula worked acceptably in “Mission: Impossible,” directed by Brian de Palma, and “Mission: Impossible 2,” directed by John Woo, and I guess it does work up to a certain point in “Mission: Impossible 3,” directed by J.J. Abrams, if what you want is endless, nonstop high-tech action. Even the deadlines are paced up this time. Instead of a 24-hour deadly virus, we have an explosive case that sets off five minutes after it shoots up your nose.

The action takes us to Berlin, Vatican City, Shanghai and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, although there seems to be no real reason to see any of these places except to make stunts involving their landmarks using computer-generated imagery. Here’s what Ebert said: “I did smile at a scene where Ethan parachutes from a building and ends up hanging upside down in his harness in front of a speeding truck. I liked a moment when he jabs a needle of adrenaline into a woman's heart to bring her out of her drugged stupor; Quentin Tarantino should send him a bill. And there is the intriguing speech by an agency techie about the Anti-God Compound, a deadly byproduct of technological overachievement, which might simply destroy everything. If there is an "M:I IV," I recommend the Anti-God Compound as the MacGuffin.”

Ebert also said (which I do see where he is going with), “I didn't expect a coherent story from "Mission: Impossible III," and so I was sort of surprised that the plot hangs together more than in the other two films. I was puzzled, however, by the nature of Ethan's relationship with Julia, his sweet fiancee.” If he belongs to a secret organization that controls his life and can order him around, shouldn’t Julia know that? Or, if not, is it right for them to get married? And when she meets his co-workers from the office, do they all talk like he does, about the fact that if you hit the brakes, it can cause a chain reaction slowing down traffic for hundreds of miles?

These questions are beside the point. Either you want to see mindless action and computer-generated sequences performed with rapid speed and technical accuracy, or you do not. Ebert said that he was getting to a point where he didn’t care. There is a theory that action is exciting and dialogue is boring. Ebert’s theory is “variety is exciting and sameness is boring.” Modern high-tech action sequences are just the same thing over and over again: high-speed chases, desperate gun battles, all possible modes of transportation, falls from high places, deadly deadlines, exotic locations and characters who hardly ever say anything interesting.

I gave positive reviews to “Mission: Impossible” 1 and 2 because they delivered exactly what they promised. But now that I’ve been there, done that, and I’ll just say to look out next week for the finale to “Mission: Impossible Month.”

Mission: Impossible 2

If James Bond is still going to appear in movies at the end of the 21^st century, I bet he will look an awful lot like Ethan Hunt. You could say that Hunt, the hero of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, is a 007 for our time.
 

Definition: Intercourse is more of a surprise and a distraction than a lifestyle. Stunts and special effects don’t distract the plot, but are the plot. The hero’s attention in new user items is geared more towards cybergadgets than sports cars. He isn’t a nationalist working for his government, but a hired agent working for a vague international agency. Most importantly, this agent doesn’t smoke, hardly drinks, and is in the physical condition of a triathlete.

Since I haven’t seen any of the Bond movies, I’ll let the late Roger Ebert go ahead and describe what the new Bond (at the time) looked like through his description: “The new Bond, in short, is a driven, over-achieving professional -- not the sort of gentleman sophisticate the British spy family used to cultivate. His small talk consists not of lascivious puns, but geekspeak. When he raised an eyebrow, it's probably not his, because he's a master of disguise and can hide behind plastic face masks so realistic even his cinematographer doesn't know for sure.”

The first “Mission: Impossible” had a plot no one understood. “Mission: Impossible 2,” released in 2000, has a plot you don’t need to understand. It’s been put together by the expert Hollywood script guy Robert Towne out of trademarks of other movies, most notably from Hitchcock’s “Notorious” in which the he takes the part of the hero first falling in love with the heroine, then cruelly assigns her to resume an old love affair with an ex-lover in order to spy on his scheming plans. In both films, the woman agrees to carry out this plan because she is in love with the hero. In “Notorious,” the hero loses respect for the woman after she does what he asks. The modern hero is too dishonorable to think of this.

Ebert said in his review, “Towne's contribution is quite skillful, especially if it's true, as I've heard, that he had to write around major f/x sequences which director John Woo had already written and fine-tuned.” His strategy is to make Ethan Hunt into a sympathetic yet one-dimensional character, so that motivation and emotion will not be a problem. He’s a cousin of Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name – a hero defined not by his values but his actions.

The villain stays in the traditional Bond way: A megalomaniac who wants power or wealth by holding the world payment. In this film, he wants control of a deadly virus, but the virus is what Hitchcock called a MacGuffin. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it will make everyone want it or fear it. Here’s the clever part: the movie only explains little on the details, but smart in the way it uses the virus to create time pressure. An entire day after you’ve been exposed to the virus, you die, and that brings to a showdown right on time which consists of the hero, the villain, the woman the hero loves, the virus, and a ticking clock.

Thandie Newton plays the heroine, and the most significant thing about her character is that she remains alive at the end of the movie, quite possibly so that she can be available for the sequel. Ebert complains, “The Bond girls have had a depressing mortality rate over the years, but remember that 007 was formed in the promiscuous 1960s,” but if you look at Ethan Hunt, he lives in a time where even spies seem to remain in old relationships, maybe because it’s hard to start a new one.

Newton’s character is unique in the sense she plays a key role in the plot, taking her own plan. Ebert says, “Bond girls, even those with formidable fighting skills, were instruments of the plot.” Newton’s Nyah Hall not only requires a name that is pun, but surprisingly makes a one-sided decision that influences the ending of the movie. The playing field will be more level in the “Mission: Impossible” battle of the genders.

For Tom Cruise, this series is a franchise, similar to Mel Gibson in the “Lethal Weapon” franchise. “Mission: Impossible 3” was already starting to get planned, with the great action director, John Woo as the director, and there’s no reason why Tom Cruise could not continue as long as Tom Cruise can still star in the action scenes (or computer-generated parts). This is good for Cruise. By more or less guaranteeing his box office power, it gives him the ability to try out with more offbeat decisions like “Eyes Wide Shut” and “Magnolia.”

As for the movie itself: If the first movie was entertaining as sound, rage and movement, this one is more evolved, more confident, more sure-footed in the sense it marries small character development to flawless action. It is a global movie, flying no flag, requiring little dialogue, featuring characters who, as Ebert says, “are Pavlovian in their motivation.” Ebert also says, “It's more efficient than the Bond pictures, but not as much pure fun. But in this new century, I have a premonition we'll be seeing more efficiency and less fun in a lot of different areas.” The movement started around the time when college students decided management was hotter than literature.

How did “Mission: Impossible 3” turn out? Stay tuned next week to find out what I thought of it.

Mission: Impossible

Your mission should you choose to accept it. Dedicate the entire month of April to one of the best action-packed franchises based on a hit television show from the 1960s. That is, of course, none other than “Mission: Impossible.” This series kicked off with the very first film released in 1996. The story is a nearly impenetrable labyrinth of post-Cold War double-dealing, but the details hardly matter. It’s all a build up to the chase sequences and a delicate computer theft operation, intercut with that most reliable of spy movie standbys, the midnight rendezvous under a street lamp in a cold foreign capital.

Tom Cruise (an actor who I think is there for girls to go crazy over) plays Ethan Hunt, a professional spy whose assignment, which he chooses to accept, is to prevent the theft of a computer file containing the code names and real identities of all of America’s double agents. It’s not enough to simply stop the guy. Cruise and his team (who consists of Jon Voight, Kristen Scott-Thomas and Emmanuelle Beart) are asked to photograph the enemy in the act of stealing the information, and then follow him until it passes along. This process involves a check list of Cold War spycraft and clichés: Eye glasses with built-in TV cameras, concealed microphones, laptop computers, agents in elaborate disguise, exploding cars, knifings, shootings, bodies toppling in the river, etc. Of course the whole sequence centers on a diplomatic reception in Prague.

Because “Mission: Impossible” was directed by the great Brian De Palma, who Ebert describes as “a master of genre thrillers and sly Hitchcockian wit,” it’s actually a nearly impossible mission to take the plot seriously.

He is more concerned with style than story, which is smart because if this movie stopped and took a moment to explain what is going on, it would take too long.

There are a number of double-reverses in the first half hour, where we learn to accept nothing but face value (not even the faces, since they might be a mask). And the momentum of the visuals doesn’t make us ask logical questions, for instance, is physically copying a computer file onto another disc the only way to steal it? “Mission: Impossible” is all superficial surface and technical skill. The characters are not very interesting (except for Vanessa Redgrave, as an information broker, and Jon Voight, who expresses a sad boredom in a film too impatient for exhaustion of any kind). The plot is impossible to follow. The various strategies of Cruise and his allies and foes don’t stand up under inspection. And none of that matters.

This is a movie that exists in the instant, and we must exist in the instant to enjoy it. Any troubling questions from earlier in the film must be tightly withdrawn.

De Palma is an expert at sustained nonverbal action sequences, and there are three in this film: The opening scenario at the diplomatic reception; a delicate act of computer theft; and a chase in which a helicopter follows a high-speed London-Paris train into the Chunnel with Cruise and a bad guy clinging to the top of it.

Ebert said in his review, “The computer theft scene will ring a bell with anyone who has seen "Rififi" (1954) or "Topkapi" (1964), both by Jules Dassin, who became famous for his extended theft sequences done in total silence."Topkapi" also used the device of suspending a thief from a hole in the ceiling, to avoid anti-theft devices on the floor.” This time, De Palma gives us a computer “safe room” rigged so that the alarms will sound at any noise above a certain chatter level, any pressure on the floor, or any change in the temperature. Cruise hangs in a harness while carefully inserting a blank disc and making a copy of the file.

Of course it’s convenient that the chatter level is set high enough that it isn’t triggered by the noise of a computer copying a disc – which is precisely what it should be guarding against. Convenient, too, that the infra-red rays guarding the ceiling hatch can be so conveniently handled with. And very convenient for the audience that the rays are made visible to a normal eye. Ebert recommends, “If you want to see infra-red rays -- really -- exploited in a heist movie, have a look at "Grand Slam"(1968).”

If the heist has been done before, and better, not even the James Bond films have ever given us anything quite like the ending chase sequence, with a bad guy in a helicopter flying into the Chunnel linking Britain to France. Earlier it’s been established that the train through Britain is traveling so fast that Cruise, clinging to it, might easily be blown off. Ebert said in his review, “This will cheer the film’s British viewers, who can forget a moment that the Chunnel train goes that fast only on the French side, since the high-speed tracks on the Britain side have not yet been completed. (Inaugurating the Chunnel, Francois Mitter and wickedly described a traveler "Speeding through France and then enjoying a leisurely view of the British countryside").”

No matter. The train goes fast, and the helicopter follows it right under the Chunnel, and De Palma’s special effects (by Industrial Light and Magic) are clever for obscuring the scale involved, since a helicopter’s blades would obviously not fit into a tunnel – but then why, Ebert asks, “am I quibbling, since the whole stunt is obviously impossible?”

The bottom line on a film like this is, Tom Cruise looks cool and holds our attention while doing neat things that we don’t quite understand – doing them so quickly and with so much style that we put our questions on hold, and go with the flow. When the movie is over, it turns out there wasn’t anything except the flow. Our relief, Ebert guessed, is that we had fun going with it.

If you haven’t seen “Mission: Impossible” yet, I highly recommend you watch it, it’s really good, especially if you’re a fan of Tom Cruise. Stay tuned for I will review the other films in the series for “Mission: Impossible Month.”