A Pop Culture Detective Case File Extra!
Key takeaways:
The franchise acquires a sense of humor about itself, further tightening the template established in Mission Impossible III.
The centerpiece stunt gets bigger. (The Burj Khalifa climbing sequence.) Beyond how impressive the sequence is in itself, it’s and indicator of Tom Cruise’s patience and shrewd understanding of show business. He bids his time over three films, agreeing to green screen for the dangerous sequences, taking a cut in pay for the third installment to appease the insurance companies that underwrite the films, to finally have his way on a big scale stunt. (And the $695 million box office gave Tom Cruise the green light to go even bigger on the stunts for the next one.)
The introduction of Jeremy Renner as William Brandt. He was solid as Jason Bourne’s replacement in The Bourne Legacy (2012) as Aaron Cross, and as Sargent first Class William James in The Hurt Locker (2008.) He starred in a great neo-noir, neo-western made for Netflix titled Wind River (2017) where the fury and pain he hides is used to great effect. It would have been so cool to see Jeremy Renner in a second IMF team doing stuff while Ethan did other stuff with his team. Do you think it could still happen?
The decision to drop numbers from the title, while annoying for movies, makes me happy because it reminds me of the titles of the vintage paperbacks I love to collect. Someone in that franchise has an appreciation for old school thrillers. (I suspect Christopher McQuarrie.) Are you ok with no numbers? Or would you like to see them come back?
The red theme continues as the franchise gets bigger.
