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Starting a pre-production without a finished script is not something that’s unheard of, but it’s not what we can call a good omen. Yet, eight films later, whatever worries there were proved to be unfounded.
So with the release of the new and apparently final (????) installment in this Tom Cruise vehicle, I’d be watching all the films.
Starting off, we got a film that both features a lot of the franchise’s trademarks and also manages to stand on its own. One thing I loved about this franchise is how every new director injects a signature style of its own, at least the first three. Bird set the foundations for what Christopher would later improve…
…but I am getting ahead of myself.
Back to this film, in terms of its direction, I loved De Palma manages to strike the balance between the 70s spy thrillers and the modern era. There’s a thought put into every angle, every camerawork, and every slow motion, whether to highlight something or someone, like those zooms in on people that feel very much 70s spy thriller. Those closeups of Cruise’s sweating and catching the drop, the way it’s all executed—damn, the whole scene is a masterful exercise in tension and suspense. Some of the best work not only done by De Palma but in cinema as a whole. I mean, there’s a reason why this scene in particular has become part of the cultural zeitgeist, being replicated in so many other films. And don’t get me started on that whole train sequence; I always forget how exhilarating it is. I never got distracted by the CGI and De Palma and the visual effects team do a brilliant job of helping me feel I was there in the moment, seeing Cruise hanging on a thread.
Speaking of a bygone era for that time, Elfman’s score also does a great job evoking these two distinctive eras. There are times when it sounds like something out of a 70s or even earlier film but then it seamlessly blends it with more of that 90s dramatic music, though the latter is done in a more low-key fashion. There’s truly a subtlety to Danny’s score. Apparently Silvestri was originally hired as the composer but his music got rejected. He has more of an orchestral, classic sensibility, so it would be interesting to see what his work would sound like.
Another thing I liked about the film was the script. In recent installments, the film has leaned more into the spectacle and while the writing is far from bad, I don’t feel there’s really that much thought put into it as there was here. We got three screenwriters though apparently Koepp and Towne remained as the credited screenwriters with Steve Zaillian getting a “Story By” credit. In the end, from what I could gather, Towne basically helped structure the script with later Koepp and De Palma collaborating on the plot. A lot of the aforementioned crossover elements of the then and now can be appreciated throughout the story. The basis of the premise is very much something you could expect of, say, something like a Le Carré novel or one of the many “paranoid thrillers.” I was eating up all the twists, turns, and backstabbing.
Last but not least, the performances are all great. Nowadays Cruise is seen as an action star but back then he was known as a dramatic actor. This is truly the birth of the ultimate action star. A breed of its own. Tom infuses Ethan Hunt with such a magnetic charm that one can’t help falling in love the instant he appears on screen. Voight makes for a pretty good antagonist. I know a lot of people were angry at that twist with his character; it was a bold move but I respect it. Czerny’s Kittridge is also a standout. Rhames also leaves an impression. The rest of the cast are solid, but really very forgettable. I honestly didn’t care much about them. Reno got a few cool scenes and he’s good-looking and all suspicious, but honestly he doesn’t have much to work with. Again, it’s clear this film was meant to be a star vehicle for Cruise and in that case, needless to say, it succeeds in spades.
All in all, a pretty entertaining film that serves as a great cross between the old and the new in a story that’s simple and familiar, and it drags a few times, especially in the second act; but it gets elevated by some terrific direction, exciting action sequences and a stellar performance by Tom Cruise.
