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“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”
Sure, the movie runs two hours, 43 minutes, but I’ll predict that you won’t care. Director Christopher McQuarrie has brought us a film that will grab your attention from beginning to end.
I strongly feel that Tom Cruise has become a Hollywood legend. Along with having starred in Brian De Palma’s first “Mission” film (1996), he helped the movie industry survive the pandemic with “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022).
Here, he resurrects his role as Ethan Hunt, a superspy out to keep the world safe. Uniting with his old friends Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg), he is on a mission to find the Entity, an artificial intelligence that can dominate the world. He needs to find two keys to complete his mission.
While he has to battle Gabriel, a villain played by Esai Morales, what elevates this film above the recent “Indiana Jones” film are some magnificent female performances and some incredible special effects.
Hayley Atwell plays Grace, a criminal who joins forces with Ethan to use her pickpocket skills to good advantage. Rebecca Ferguson appears as Ilsa Faust, who is romantically involved with Ethan. In one of the film’s powerful moments, Ethan has to choose who faces death — her or Grace.
Also keep an eye on Vanessa Kirby as the White Widow and Pom Klementieff as Paris. They both play active roles in trying to thwart Ethan’s attempt to locate the Entity. Also keep in mind Klementieff’s role as Mantis in this year’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”.
The special effects elevate “Mission” above such films as the last “Indiana Jones.” Ignoring the sad fact that Ethan is never injured despite violent encounters, his stunts where he parachutes after driving his motorcycle over a cliff and crawling back to safety as a train dangles over a canyon help elevate this film to a gigantic box office hit.
“The Miracle Club”
Set in Dublin, 1967, “The Miracle Club” involves several aging friends trying to win a prize to travel to the sacred French town of Lourdes. A good friend has just died and the arrival of her forgotten daughter from America has left them in turmoil.
The visitor is played by the talented Laura Linney. She was forced to flee to the states 40 years earlier at the age of 17 when she was pregnant. The friends of her mother, played by Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates, drove her into exile to avoid shame. Tragedy immediately happened when Linney’s boyfriend drowned in a suspected suicide.
The film revolves around Linney’s sudden reappearance to attend her mother’s funeral. In the process, Smith, the mother of the dead boy, and Bates must confront their past when Linney decides to join them on their trip to Lourdes. They discover that you don’t experience miracles in that legendary Catholic site — only forgiveness.
Let me close by saying that this film is not for everyone. While it has great actors ranging from Smith and Bates to Stephen Rea and Niall Buggy, who play their angered husbands, the film resembles a 1940 Hollywood movie.
It really works as a one-dimensional provincial film. Yet I enjoyed it, so keep that in mind.•
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Robert Hammerle practices criminal law in Indianapolis. When he is not in the courtroom or the office, Bob can likely be found at one of his favorite movie theaters preparing to review the latest films. To read more of his reviews, visit www.bigmouthbobs.com. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
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