Of all possible cliché entries for the hero, Tom Cruise (the seemingly self-funded spy, Ethan Hunt) steps into the latest/seventh instalment of Misson: Impossible franchise, with a whimper
A still from Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One
U/A: Action, adventure
Dir: Christopher McQuarrie
Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell
Rating: 3/5
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Of all possible cliché entries for the hero, Tom Cruise (the seemingly self-funded spy, Ethan Hunt) steps into the latest/seventh instalment of Misson: Impossible franchise, with a whimper.
Casually standing as a silhouette, in a dark room, meeting a handler, who’s come to drop off a consignment. He calmly asks for a secret password; satisfied, goes, “Hey, swagat hai, IMF mein. Tumne sahi faisla liya (Welcome to IMF, you took the right call)!” IMF, of course, being Impossible Mission Force.
Yup, I watched to write on this film in its Hindi dub—where else in the world can you? Also, forever, I’ve believed Tom Cruise to be a desi/Bollywood star (trapped in the wrong country). Wanted to hear him speak Hindi to confirm.
And this isn’t only because of his height, smile, skin-tone and jet-black hair (can easily pass off for a North Indian good-looker).
It’s obviously got everything to do with his career choices, throughout his phased career—from romcoms, graduating to action thrillers. Notably, the Mission: Impossible series that seems a 70s-level Bollywood blockbuster, only scaled to impossible heights of VFX/tech, and incredulity.
It feels like comfort food/film then. Right down to the grand get-together in ‘aiyashi ka den’ for the pre-climax, where villains vet each other in Venice, as women dance around. The only thing missing is the ‘item song’. That Beta Tom must fix at some point!
The plot here centres on two keys that must meet, in order to open an unknown lock, that we know nothing about, besides that it can unleash power enough to “bring the world to its knees.”
The keys travel between mercenary owners. As does the irrepressible Ethan, on the merciless hunt—from Amsterdam, “Arabian desert”, UAE, Australian Alps, Rome… The upgraded twist is that we’re dealing in cryptocurrencies, and for all you know, the AI/algorithm could be the main villain.
The way to avoid such a foreseeable catastrophe—and let this be the lesson for the world—is to go progressively electronic/analogue, in your dealings. Rather than rely on everything digital, that is so easy to trace and trap. Which is precisely what the American intelligence has begun to do, going back to landlines, and cassette recorders, if you may.
None of which should mean much for Ethan/Tom and his crew of two-three. No bullet can ever touch Beta Tom, who’s capable of magic tricks as well. Nothing fazes him—not the train charging into his dinky Fiat, stuck on the rail tracks, inside a tunnel. Least of all, a ticking nuclear bomb, that must be diffused within seconds of solving stupid puzzles!
That latter sequence, though—a long passage, set inside what’s supposed to be Abu Dhabi airport—I enjoyed the most. Any of those fellows at the airport, catching a flight, could be Ethan Hunt, technically. How do you find out?
Stop each to check, if they’re wearing one of those random masks so tightly fitted, that it becomes another human face altogether. Glad, you’re not an Etihad passenger being stopped by loony goons, trying to pull your face out, to verify!
The obvious money-shot takes place on a train, with Ethan/Tom chasing it down from the mountains, as he jumps off the cliff on his bike, and the parachute glides him in. Say, what?
Is there a box that Beta Tom hasn’t ticked for his fans? Well, if you are one, surely, what you’ll look out for is him, running. Just running. It’s the Tom Cruise, 61, thriller thing, isn’t it? He sprints, as if unbolted, unhinged, like Bolt—not once even vaguely panting, when he gets on the phone right after. Love it!
I don’t know at what point Hollywood decided to steer away from its well-paid star-system, to wholly invest in superhero franchises. They certainly never told Beta Tom, the superhero without superpowers, about it. And he carried on running a theme park of his own—saving the universe, on occasion, from an overload of Marvel, maybe.
Surely, it’s a chicken-egg question—yet, if you replace Tom, who we’ve grown up on the big screen with, it’d be hard to digest such madness, with a younger/newbie alternative. One feels the same about Bollywood, probably. What’s Shah Rukh Khan, if not closely following/taking the Tom Cruise trajectory.
That he sits with Salman in Pathaan (2023), boasting about how younger stars can’t take their place yet, is vanity alright. But it emerges from the comfort of vintage alone. Keanu Reeves (John Wick) is the other old-world star, with similar cred.
With some people on the giant screen, you simply don’t mind murmuring under the breath, “Kuch bhi! (Whatever, seriously?).” And happily move on!
Same with this picture. Not that anybody’s asking for intellect—it’s probably more puerile in its plotting than I expected still. Tom’s Top Gun reboot (2022) is a masterpiece in comparison. Don’t know why, Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol (2011) remains my favourite from the franchise still.
And if you go, “Meh,” while streaming out of this M:I; be ready, don’t be surprised. But it’s Tom Callin’. And this is merely Part One of Dead Reckoning. Will save the next for IMAX.
As for this Hindi dub—“chetaavni” (warning), “aakar” (shape), “sandigdh” (suspicious)—when you’re familiar with the original language, and the Hindi film star is not on the screen… Arrey, doesn’t cut it, bhai!
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