That’s not to say there aren’t bad guys in this film. You don’t have the potential for a true villain showdown. As others have pointed out, a faceless villain is risky because you don’t have a face for the audience to root against. But it was, in itself, a great character! These McGuffins today are just cool-looking keys?īut let’s move on to the big story gamble in the script – incorporating an AI villain. That McGuffin not only held the plans to the Death Star. Ideally, you want your McGuffin to be more than a McGuffin. It’s just a means to get characters to run around. But one thing that really bothers me in McGuffins is when the McGuffin isn’t relevant. I’m not going to say it was a bad McGuffin. The key, is of course, split in half, which gives us an opportunity to extend the plot out (cause you’re looking for two things instead of one). There’s the McGuffin of all McGuffins – a key that opens something. The script is very much a Mission Impossible script. I think that’s exactly what McQuarrie attempted to give us. And I’m looking for one visually jaw-dropping set piece. I’m looking for one really clever set piece. I think with the modern-day Mission Impossibles – the ones written and directed by McQuarrie – I’m looking for a better written blockbuster than most (since McQuarrie started out as an Oscar-winning screenwriter). And I’m looking for two imaginative set pieces that blow me away. I’m looking for an awesome lightsaber battle. I’m looking for new revelations into the lore. When I watch a Star Wars movie, for example, I’m looking for insane imagination. Midway through my Mission Impossible viewing, it occurred to me that I wasn’t sure what I actually look for in a Mission Impossible movie. Along the way, Grace will have to decide if she wants to level up to become a true spy, and Ethan will have to… well… continue to achieve the impossible. This begins a cat-and-mouse game between Ethan, Grace, the CIA, AI, and even Ethan’s own boss, which takes them across the globe and concludes on a runaway train. Things take a turn when a low-level pickpocket named Grace steals the other half of the key and now Ethan is forced to team up with her. The AI recently destroyed a Russian nuclear sub and an operating thesis is that the US could be next.Įnter Hunt, who has to get the second half of the key (he got the first half in the Arabian desert) from a mystery seller at an airport, all while being chased by the CIA.

Meanwhile, the government is dealing with an increasingly unpredictable new AI that has, in their estimation, become sentient. But that’s not of Ethan’s concern, he’s told by Recorded Voice Guy. This special key, which has two halves, has a mystery purpose. Once we lose that, it’s blue beetles all the way down!Įthan Hunt is tasked with a mission (should he accept it). Tom Cruise is basically the last actor opening movies all on his own. Then again, defenders of the film will point out that Mission Impossible is not a domestic film. Still, I can’t help but feel like this latest iteration needed to do better in order to justify the continuation of the franchise.ĥ6 million dollars for a weekend haul is not a great showing in 2023. It’s never quite a hit but it’s never quite a bomb either. The Mission Impossible franchise continues to confuse the world with its box office reception. Writer: Erik Jendresen and Christopher McQuarrie (based on show by Bruce Geller) That big job that’s going to change your life is always right around the corner.

Oh how your fortunes can change in this business. And now he’s got a Mission Impossible credit under his belt. A bit of a surprising choice at screenwriter for McQuarrie as he handpicked a guy named Erik Jendresen, who has not written anything of note.

It pulled in 56.2 million for the 3 day weekend and 80 million for the 5 day. Who was going to make it out alive? Who would fall? Cruise and McQuarrie’s latest, a labor of love that, at one point, had Cruise famously terrorizing his crew over broken Covid protocols, has finally arrived. Indiana Jones, Barbie, Oppenheimer, Mission Impossible. Premise: Ethan Hunt must battle his biggest threat yet – AI!Ībout: July was the summer’s biggest movie month.

Pickpocket movie 2012