(Wow, Ethan… you were amazing. Again. Can I have a cigarette now?)
CAST: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Mikael Nyquist, Lea Seydoux, Josh Holloway, Vladimir Mashkov, Samuli Edelman, Anil Kapoor.
DIRECTOR: Brad Bird
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some damn good reasons to never go up in a skyscraper ever again - straight ahead…
IT’S LIKE THIS: At the end of the M:I 3, we found secret agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan) riding off into the sunset after Ethan rescued her from some particularly scummy baddies. Well, turns out they shouldn’t have celebrated too soon because at the start of M:I 4, we find out that: (1) Julia was soon murdered by a bunch of bat-shit Serbians, (2) Ethan tracked them down and killed each of them for revenge; and (3) he was imprisoned in a Croatian jail as punishment. So, basically, we’re looking at another version of ALIENS and ALIEN 3. As in: the awesome happy ending of the previous movie turns out be just a prelude for the very fucked-up beginning of the next one. Talk about a short honeymoon.
Anyhow, Ethan is soon sprung from the jail by two fellow agents: (1) Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), IT expert from the last movie who, in a sure sign that the world is coming to a ghastly end, is now a field agent; and (2) Jane Carter (Paula Patton), ultra-gorgeous and exotic brunette who is the poster girl for the saying “If Looks Could Kill.” Before you know it, these three are embroiled in a Kremlin op meant to extract some top secret files. But when the op goes south like the Titanic, the entire IMF is disavowed - leaving Ethan, Benji, Jane, and new team member Brant (Jeremy Renner) to figure out what the hell is going on - and what the fuck the new bad guy Hendriks (Mikael Nyquist) wants. Good luck with that, guys and gal. Me? I’m going to sit back and watch your fine bods for a couple of hours as you work this shit out.
THE DUDE (OR DUDETTE) MOST LIKELY TO SAVE THE DAY: Ethan, Benji, Jane, and Brant all get their chance to shine. So, this award goes to the whole team.
EYE CANDY MOST LIKELY TO FIRE UP A WOODY: Tom Cruise is super-fine, especially since he turns 50 soon and looks barely past 30. Jeremy Renner is a great team addition, and looks a lot like Daniel Craig‘s little brother. Paula Patton and Lea Seydoux as French assassin Sabine Moreau represent the fairer sex very nicely. Meanwhile, Simon Pegg has got that “lovable dork” thing going. Again, this award goes to the team.
MOST INTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: Ethan trying to break into the server room of the tallest building in the world - from the outside. Did I mention the server room is on the 130th floor? No? Well, it is. Get the barf bag ready.
MOST UNINTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: Jane and Sabine going mano-a-mano. It‘s like Jason Bourne squaring off against James Bond - except they‘re hot chicks.
HOTTEST SCENE: Jane infiltrating a party and seducing an Indian billionaire - by using my patented “Shove a grape in your mouth suggestively while giving him serious bedroom eyes then turn away coyly” technique. Jane, girl, you owe me for this one.
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: What exactly is our baddie up to? Is he trying to start World War 3, just like Ethan suspects? Or does he have something more nefarious in mind? What could be more nefarious than World War 3? What secret does Brant have in his past that might affect Ethan and the rest of the team? Will Benji’s electronic equipment be able to save the day? Or will they conk out at the worst possible time? Will Jane be able to freeze her rage at Sabine for killing her boyfriend? Or will she unleash that shit and kick some French assassin ass? Well, you guys saw their catfight pic above. What do you think?
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH “M:I 4”: If you liked M1:3, because this film continues that movie’s cool mix of dynamic action, dry humor, and touching depth - then amplifies it by ten.
WHY YOU MAY NOT ENJOY “M:I 4”: If you don’t particularly care for the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movies. Or if you just don’t like action movies that will dazzle you. In which case, please go watch THE REMAINS OF THE DAY.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: After the very good film that was MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3, I wasn’t sure how the series would top itself. In my view, M:I 3 had a lot going for it: a perfect cast, great action, top suspense, and a personal touch courtesy of the subplot showing Ethan Hunt’s complicated marriage - or rather, the complicated issues surrounding it, such as his secret life as a spy. As good as the original M:I was, it was also just a tad chilly and impersonal, giving M:I 3 the edge in the quality department. We’re not even going to discuss M:I 2, except to say that it was a necessary off-moment in the series that had to happen, so that we could realize what we really want in an M:I film.
In fact, M:I 3 was so enjoyable, that I was afraid the next entry to the series would somehow revert to the grandiose histrionics of the second film. How could M:I 4 top M:I 3? There could only be one way to go: down. My apprehension was further stoked by the trailers which, while exciting, just didn’t grab me as much as I though they would. They just didn’t seem as intriguing as the trailers for M:I 3, even with tantalizing glimpses of new team members Paula Patton and Jeremy Renner in action. Put simply, I was steeling myself for disappointment.
Turns out I needn’t have worried. Put equally simply, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 4 is an excellent action film, even better - if you can imagine - than the third one. This film is near-perfect and will have you gripping the arm rests of your seat with tension and excitement, especially with those IMAX-enhanced action scenes at the Burk Khalifa tower in Dubai, and the climactic battle in a Mumbai parking garage. But even the less action-intensive sequences have the same kinetic kick to them, such as the “double hand-off” scenes where Jane impersonates Sabine, and Ethan and Brant impersonate the baddies, in a tricky and deadly game of dual deception. You have to see them yourself to fully appreciate their graceful execution.
There’s a distinctive Hitchcockian feel to these setpieces that harkens back to the original film. But this time, director Brad Bird combines the chilly precision of M:I 1 with the warm accessibility of M:1 3, and ends up making a film that is better than both. Basically, this film combines all the good things about the films that preceded it. And what good thing does M:I 4 take from M:I 2? Well, there’s Ethan’s great longer haircut. And I’m not kidding. With it, Ethan has never looked better - and the great thing is Cruise plays him as down-to-Earth and accessible despite his stunning good looks. And I should add that for a man who is turning 50 soon, Cruise looks terrific. We should all age so well.
The rest of the team is similarly strong. As Benji Dunn, Simon Pegg could’ve easily overstayed his comic relief welcome from the last film, but wisely uses droll British understatement to keep his humorous presence fresh. He gets a bigger role this time around, and he deserves it. Benji also gets a nice setpiece where he finally is allowed to wield a gun, and he does it smashingly. It’s about time he was given an opportunity to be a field agent. I hope to see more of him in the next film.
I’ve been a huge fan of Paula Patton since I saw her a few years ago in DÉJÀ VU. As Denzel Washington’s ethereal love interest in that film, she was simply unforgettable. Here, she is much more deadly and athletic, but with some of the same vulnerability that made her so hypnotic to watch in DEJA VU. Jane Carter is a highly-skilled and highly-lethal agent, but Patton and the script always keep her humanity visible. This is accentuated by her losing her lover and fellow agent Hanaway, played by Josh Holloway in a small but vivid role. Jane spends the rest of the movie trying to keep a cool control on her desire for revenge against Sabine, the slinky French assassin responsible for Hanaway’s death. And when the expected battle between Jane and Sabine arrives, it ends up being a very dynamic encounter. Suffice it to say, Sabine gets what’s coming to her - and Patton nails both the scene and her character of Jane Carter, overall.
Another terrific newcomer is Oscar Nominee Jeremy Renner as Brant, the IMF analyst who may or may not be hiding some secrets concerning Ethan. Renner brings a no-nonsense aura to this role, while also blending in a certain mystery. The result is a character that is appealingly approachable, but also just a little bit aloof and distant. And when we find out later on the reason for his secrecy, it ends up giving M:I 4 added gravity and depth. Renner also nails his action scenes and stunts, exhibiting a cat-like grace and lethality - it’s like watching a lion defend his cubs. He also gets the film’s best line: after nearly getting killed in a particularly harrowing stunt designed to help Jane infiltrate the party in Mumbai, a breathless Brant snaps to Benji: “Next time, I get to seduce the rich guy!” The whole theater burst out into laughter at this point - and this line typifies M:1 4’s intriguing clever blend of danger, humor, suspense, and humanity.
As the main villain Hendriks, Mikael Nyquist is particularly formidable. He doesn’t get much dialogue to expound upon his deadly agenda of nuclear annihilation, but he doesn’t need it. Nyquist projects menace and foreboding with simple facial expressions and bodily movements. It’s a welcome change from the chatty villains of previous films. Sometimes, the quieter the villain, the deadlier they are. In this case, that is entirely true: Hendriks know what he is doing, and doesn’t need to share it with the world until it’s too late - which makes him even more frightening. Nyquist makes him a solid adversary in the classic old-school tradition.
Then there’s the other major female character in the film, the elusive French killer Sabine Moreau. As played by Lea Seydoux, Sabine looks as innocent as the girl next door - when in reality she is a cold-blooded killer. This deceptive façade is what allows her to get the jump on Hanaway in the beginning, and it also lends a chill to her encounter with Ethan and Brant in the Dubai skyscraper during the crucial handoff scene. Seydoux’s ability to mask malicious intent behind a placid smile is what makes her villainess so memorable despite her relatively small screen time. Good job.
In the end, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 4 is a cinematic experience not to be missed, especially in IMAX. I can’t remember the last time we were gripped by action sequences and suspense setpieces that left our stomachs in knots with anticipation. You know what happened with this movie’s release? The bar for action films was just raised. Action movie directors out there, take note…
Bravo, Tom and the rest of the gang…
