The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 21 - ‘Mission: Impossible - Fallout’

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Big Picture – "The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 21 - ‘Mission: Impossible - Fallout’"

Release Date: April 30, 2025
Host: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Featured Guests: Chris Ryan

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1. Introduction to the Episode and Topic

In this special episode of The Big Picture, hosts Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins delve deep into their rankings of the best movies of the century. Breaking into their list at number 21 is "Mission: Impossible – Fallout," a film they hold in high esteem within the franchise. Joined by guest Chris Ryan, the conversation navigates the intricacies that make this installment a standout in the action and spy genres.

2. Why "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" Was Chosen

Sean Fennessey begins by reflecting on the personal connection to the film, mentioning it as a "sacred totem" of the podcast and noting its release coincided with a memorable birthday celebration (04:08). The decision to place "Fallout" at number 21 stems from its exemplary execution within the franchise, despite inadvertently letting it slip down the list (02:31).

Chris Ryan emphasizes the film's role in the evolution of the Mission: Impossible series, stating, "It is when the Mission Impossible project really comes together. It's the signature movie of the franchise" (04:27).

3. Analysis of the Film's Elements

a. Direction and Writing by Christopher McQuarrie

Sean praises Christopher McQuarrie's direction, highlighting his background as a screenwriter and his knack for mechanics and tone. "McQuarrie has an incredible mind for this stuff, but I think he's very underrated as a filmmaker" (37:07) he remarks. McQuarrie's ability to elevate a long-standing franchise is evident, blending adventure with high-stakes action seamlessly.

b. Tom Cruise's Performance and Evolution as a Movie Star

The conversation delves into Tom Cruise's portrayal of Ethan Hunt, noting his transformation and commitment to performing his own stunts. Sean observes, "Ethan Hunt as a real slapstick physical comedian" (05:51), pointing out the balance between humor and intense action. Chris adds, "Tom Cruise is just doing these stunts all of the time and landing in backyards in London" (10:33), underscoring Cruise's dedication and physicality that define his character.

c. Stunt Sequences and Action Choreography

One of the most lauded aspects of "Fallout" is its practical action sequences. The hosts discuss the HALO jump scene, praising its execution and emotional weight. Sean notes, "That sequence in particular is great because we watch Ethan get bullied by Walker and... Cruise then eventually saves Walker" (13:12). Chris appreciates the choreography, stating, "These are like earnest and over-committed movies. They mean it, but they're also having fun" (10:52).

d. Character Development and Dynamics

The film's character interactions, especially between Ethan Hunt and Henry Cavill's Walker, are highlighted as pivotal. Sean remarks on the depth added to Ethan's character, saying, "This movie has a lot of depth because it is the first movie in the franchise that spends a lot of time obsessing over Ethan's mortality" (07:47). The introduction of Vanessa Kirby's White Widow adds complexity and allure, with Sean praising her performance: "Vanessa Kirby's performance is wonderful" (21:09).

e. Cinematic Homages and Visuals

The film's homage to classic adventure movies is a recurring theme. Sean draws parallels to films like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "The Bridge on the River Kwai," noting McQuarrie's influences. The European settings, particularly in Paris and London, are commended for their beauty and homage to iconic cinema. "Uses these European cities so beautifully... which is rare in movies" (29:55) Sean observes.

4. Themes and Legacy of the Film

"Mission: Impossible – Fallout" is celebrated not just for its action but for its thematic depth. Sean interprets the film as a reflection of Cruise's own persona, suggesting it serves as an apology to someone in his life. He articulates, "I think it's an apology to someone in his life because... Ethan cannot stop apologizing to Julia" (26:23). The moral dilemmas faced by Ethan, particularly his choice between saving a single life over millions, add layers to the narrative.

5. Comparisons to Other Action Films

The hosts compare "Fallout" to other action-packed franchises like John Wick and Fast & Furious. Sean asserts, "Tom Cruise kind of lifts it over John Wick for me pretty significantly" (32:05), appreciating the film's larger canvas and seamless integration of high-octane stunts with storytelling.

Chris Ryan adds, "They do a good job of setting the stakes or even the suspension of disbelief" (16:11), highlighting how Mission: Impossible – Fallout maintains engagement without succumbing to overly schematic action sequences found in similar films.

6. Conclusion

As "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" secures its place at number 21 on The Big Picture's list, Sean and Chris concur that its combination of heartfelt character moments, breathtaking stunts, and masterful direction make it a definitive entry in the franchise. Sean concludes, "Banger movie recommended if you like... any spy movie" (40:12), affirming its status as a must-watch for fans of the genre.

Chris echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the film's ability to balance personal stakes with global threats, making it not only entertaining but also emotionally resonant.

"This is a banger," Chris affirms (40:11), solidifying "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" as a formidable contender in the pantheon of 21st-century cinema.

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Notable Quotes:

• Sean Fennessey [05:51]: "It is probably the funniest of all the Mission Impossible movies. It introduces the idea of Ethan Hunt as a real slapstick physical comedian."

• Chris Ryan [04:27]: "It is when the Mission Impossible project really comes together. It's the signature movie of the franchise."

• Sean Fennessey [07:47]: "This movie has a lot of depth because it is the first movie in the franchise that spends a lot of time obsessing over Ethan's mortality."

• Sean Fennessey [26:23]: "I think it's an apology to someone in his life because... Ethan cannot stop apologizing to Julia."

• Chris Ryan [32:05]: "Tom Cruise kind of lifts it over John Wick for me pretty significantly."

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This comprehensive analysis by Sean, Amanda, and Chris offers listeners an in-depth look at why "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" stands out as a significant film of the century, blending action, character development, and cinematic homage into a compelling narrative.

Transcript

[Matt Bellamy]

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[Sean Fennessey]

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[Amanda Dobbins]

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[Sean Fennessey]

I'm Sean Fet, Tennessee.

[Chris Ryan]

I'm Amanda Dobbins and this is 25 for 25, a big picture special conversation show about fate.

[Sean Fennessey]

Whispers to the warrior and the warrior whispers back. The storm is coming. I am the storm. Our pick today is Mission Impossible Fallout, the sixth installment in the franchise and a sacred totem of this podcast. Let's talk about Mission Impossible. It's Mission Impossible Month just about here on the Big Picture. I don't know that I strategized for this choice specifically, but I like where it landed in our mix.

[Chris Ryan]

It was just a tiny little bit.

[Sean Fennessey]

We did accidentally it slid down a little bit and this is a marvelous Movie that is written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. It, of course, stars Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Michelle Monahan and Alec Baldwin. It was released on July 27, 2018. It was a birthday movie for me, which was absolutely wonderful.

[Chris Ryan]

It was. But we went together. Do you remember this?

[Sean Fennessey]

Remind me. I think I do, but remind me.

[Chris Ryan]

So cruel. Once again, here we are. You can remember every single Criterion closet pick from, like, you know, someone I've never heard of, but you don't remember our shirt. Yes. So we went for your birthday. I'm trying to remember. I guess it would have been Arclight Dome. And we had center seats, which was like a little bit stressful and like 2:15 in the movie because we also got beers. But I made it through. And then we went out to sushi dinner. But it was you, me, our spouses, Chris. Juliet was there. I can't remember if Phoebe was in town.

[Sean Fennessey]

I remember the dinner very well because we ate at Matsuhisa, which was extremely nice. That was a very nice birthday dinner. It was a fancy birthday dinner that we had. And of course, this is a shared passion of ours. And this was. It fell right in between our birthdays, really, because this was your birthday weekend and two, essentially. And this franchise was getting long in the tooth, though it also felt like it was in its prime at this time. This is the sixth movie that they've made out of this franchise. And why did we choose it and why is it on this list? Is an interesting conversation to have. We could have chosen from all, but I believe one of the Mission films. I'm not sure when is Mission Impossible 2 might be just before 2000. So we had a bunch to choose from.

[Chris Ryan]

2000.

[Sean Fennessey]

2000. Okay. So we had five potential choices here. No, six potential choices, including Dead Reckoning. Why did we choose Fallout? When you think about this movie, what is it that resonates for you for the century?

[Chris Ryan]

I mean, it wasn't a question. Right. This is when the Mission Impossible project and really like the late stage Mission Impossible Project really comes together. It's the signature movie of the franchise. I would say it is when late period Tom Cruise really reinvents himself and you kind of. You see all the pieces come together and you're like, oh, I see what you're doing here, and it's not what you were doing in the 90s. And it. It's pretty weird. And we've come to a different place from the movie star that we know and love, but like jump out of planes. Got it. And in that Halo jump, which, you know, there are a lot of signature stunts and like, we can argue about it, but this has become the shorthand for what Tom Cruise is doing now. What late stage movie stardom is like, what practical action can be even now in the age of CGI and the good parts of franchise entertainment. Right. Like the best version of this serialized installment. We've been doing this for 30 years now we're selling you on some big corporate enterprise. But also it's well made, it's well acted, it is really over committed, but you're along for the ride and we all love it.

[Sean Fennessey]

Yeah. I think another reason why I really love this movie in particular and feel like it sets that new course for Cruise that you're talking about is because it's probably the funniest of all the Mission Impossible movies. It is the one that introduces the idea of Ethan Hunt as like a real slapstick physical comedian. He has moments where he is in peril that are funny in a couple of the previous films, but this one really leans into that. But then secondarily, I feel like it is actually legitimately the first psychologically probing mission movie since the first movie. The first movie is a movie where a guy thinks he has everything under control. He has his team, and then his team is murdered in the first 20 minutes of the movie. And you find him going through this really like this trauma search to figure out what happened to all these people that he cares about and then comes to find out that his mentor has betrayed him. Deeply.

[Chris Ryan]

Deep spoilers for Brian De Palma's Mission.

[Sean Fennessey]

Impossible 1996, 29 year old movie. If you're listening to this episode, definitely check out the original Mission Impossible. It's an excellent film. That is my second favorite mission movie. This is my favorite. And I think not just that slapstick and that psychology, but a portal into maybe how Cruise thinks about his movie star Persona while being trapped in this era where he knows that this is maybe the only real place where he can stay on top of the heat. You know, that there is this slight sense of sweaty desperation on his movie star Persona where a lot of the things that he was doing in the past have not been working in the recent past. And if you look at the movies that are around this time, you know, Oblivion, Lions for Lambs, American made a lot of Night and Day. A lot of those films, Night and Day, wow, on the surface, look like they should be classic Tom Cruise vehicles. And none of them really Quite get there. Some of them are out and out bad. And you know, that he is clinging to Ethan Hunt for dear life the same way he clings to, you know, the edges of a helicopter to survive. And that gives the movie, like an added weight.

[Chris Ryan]

I think totally. You and I, I think, differ a little bit on how much authorship we attribute and self awareness to Tom Cruise himself versus Christopher McQuarrie who wrote and directed this film. And it's become like Tom Cruise's like Sherpa, you know, creative partners. Exactly. For lack of a better word, through this. And, you know, they work together on a few projects before this. And I would say the Tom Cruise films of the era that we actually like at least, but this is like, where he really takes the wheel.

[Sean Fennessey]

Yes.

[Chris Ryan]

And I do think also, you know, obviously knows how to write a movie, but has an understanding of both what, like, Cruise can do and also that movie star Persona and how to make it work and how to bring out the best in the new Tom Cruise.

[Sean Fennessey]

I totally agree with you. I think this is the apotheosis of the franchise in this period of time of franchise filmmaking. And I think that point about McQuarrie is interesting because if you talk to McQuarrie, I talked to him on this show for Fallout, which I guess is seven years ago now. And if you read interviews with him or you listen to him talk about movies and movie craft and storytelling, and he started as a screenwriter, not as a director. Won an Academy award in his 20s for the usual suspects. He's really interested in mechanics and he's really interested in tone. And the tone that he favors is adventure movies. And I think, like, we think of Mission Impossible and we think of the stunts that we see with Tom Cruise, and we think of action and action franchises, and that this is a movie that lives alongside the Fast and the Furious and Jurassic World, and those are sort of its contemporaries.

[Chris Ryan]

Spoiler alert. Jurassic World and Fast and the furious F5 did not make our list.

[Sean Fennessey]

Not on the list. I can assure you those movies are not on the list. But this movie, I really see more in a lineage of the adventure movies that McQuarrie likes to talk about. So the movies that you hear him cite all the time are like the Bridge on the River Kwai, the Three Musketeers, Raiders of the Lost Ark. I think these are movies he's framing them on, but it goes all the way back to like, you know, the Adventures of Robin Hood or the Great Escape. He sees, I think, Cruise in the mold of a Steve McQueen kind of figure and you could make the case that these are the best movies. Like these are the best kinds of movies when executed well. You know, like there are obviously going to be the wizard of Oz and Casablanca. Have something to say about what is the best kind of movie, whether it be fantasy or romance. But in terms of crowd pleasing mainstream film, when you get one of these. Right.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessey]

There is nothing better.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah. You go to see someone you're rooting for, do impossible things and win the day.

[Sean Fennessey]

Yes.

[Chris Ryan]

And. And. And do it sincerely, since.

[Sean Fennessey]

Exactly. Sincerely, but with a sense of humor, which is the. That is the. That's the piece of the target.

[Chris Ryan]

These are really. These are like earnest and like I said, like over committed movies. Like Tom Cruise is just.

[Sean Fennessey]

Is.

[Chris Ryan]

Is like doing these stunts all of the time and landing in old ladies like backyards in London. Right. He is given his life over to this. But they're never winking. Right. They don't take on this like, glib tone that so many action movies of the last 20 to 25 years, they are like, they mean it, but they're.

[Sean Fennessey]

Also having fun 100%. So this film comes three years after Rogue Nation, which is the first Macquarie film. And the film that precedes that film is Ghost Protocol, which is Brad Bird's entry in the franchise, which. Which I think is an important movie, somewhat flawed movie. Some people that are listening to this episode right now might say, actually Ghost Protocol is my favorite. Or actually Rogue Nation is my favorite. I think that these three are kind of in a battle. There's a lesser group of people who love three. You and I are a little bit more down on three than the consensus.

[Chris Ryan]

Shout out Bobby.

[Sean Fennessey]

Especially at the ringer. Bobby loves three. CR loves three. I think Bill Simmons loves three. Three is a little bit too JJ TV show for me personally. But it's interesting because Three is very, very important to this movie because three introduces the Michelle Monahan character and the idea of Ethan Hunt as a regular person. And if we didn't have that movie, we would not have the depth of this movie. People might be laughing, listening to me say that. I think that this movie has a lot of depth. But I do think it has a lot of depth because it is the first movie in the franchise that spends a lot of time kind of obsessing over Ethan's mortality and what he's done to other people.

[Chris Ryan]

Right.

[Sean Fennessey]

Which I think is like now McQuarrie's critical obsession with the, with the story. Now we see we have not yet seen the final reckoning. We're recording this just a week before we get a chance to see it. Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

But we do know that the entire campaign is centered around that. I'm asking you to trust me one last time. Quote, which brought both of us to tears in the theater.

[Sean Fennessey]

It truly did. And so I think it is. All of the movies matter to the story in a way that I never would have expected, even when I was watching Rogue Nation, which I thought was a super cool movie, introduced us to Rebecca Ferguson's character Ilsa, who I think kind of supercharged the franchise in a few ways.

[Chris Ryan]

That's the one where he's hanging off the plane at the beginning, correct? Yeah. I mean, good one.

[Sean Fennessey]

I think a lot of these movies are best remembered for those stunt sequences that you're talking about. I've got six all world sequences.

[Chris Ryan]

One, two, three, four. Yeah, well, I added one of them. You had five.

[Sean Fennessey]

I had five. And you've added one of them.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessey]

You mentioned the HALO jump.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessey]

Which is not the first action sequence of the film, I suppose, because there is a kind of shootout in a tunnel for three nuclear warheads, but plutonium. Yes. But I don't view that as a set piece.

[Chris Ryan]

It is action that is also putting together exposition and setting up the story.

[Sean Fennessey]

But I agree, the HALO jump, after we are introduced to Henry Cavill's character Walker, in which they both leap onto what is the building that they're leaping onto in Paris?

[Chris Ryan]

It's the Palais Royale. Okay, Right.

[Sean Fennessey]

That sounds right.

[Chris Ryan]

You wrote it down in the document. But it is. It's the Palais Royale, which I think was built at some point as like. It's Paris's version of like Convention center.

[Sean Fennessey]

You know, it's significantly nicer than the Javits Center.

[Chris Ryan]

I mean, I think it's like, you know, like 250 years old and other. So like, I could be wrong. Also, Palais means palace, so I assume at some point someone fancy was living in there. But now interesting, like exhibitions and things are there.

[Sean Fennessey]

That sequence in particular is great because we watch Ethan get bullied by Walker and we see that the dynamic between these two guys is going to be pretty fascinating. Cruise then eventually, of course saves Walker. But Walker doesn't realize that he's been saved by. Or does he realize that he's been saved by Ethan Hunt at this point of the film? If you've never seen it, I don't know what the fuck you're doing when you re look at this movie. And you know the role that Walker eventually plays.

[Chris Ryan]

Right.

[Sean Fennessey]

Which is that he is ultimately the heavy of the film, he is the John Lark character who is identified as the target in that early mission delivery. Do any of the decisions as to how the missions are executed leave you scratching your head at all? I don't want to pick too many nits on fallout, but Walker is going to some great lengths to get closer.

[Chris Ryan]

To what I would say that the Walker Angela Bassett plotlines, which in some ways are like a classic double cross, and other ways are like, what the hell is going on? You know, I would say that logic is not the primary goal of that particular setup.

[Sean Fennessey]

So let's talk about suspension of disbelief.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessey]

Because a lot of times we'll record an episode of the show about a new big budget movie and I, at least I can say will be like, what the fuck was this? Like, how could this happen? And maybe it's because I can't get emotionally invested in what's happening in the story. So logic takes over.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessey]

And I start thinking through the problem of the plotting.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessey]

I very rarely have that issue in this franchise. Now, obviously I have a big Tom Cruise blind spot. I have a mission blind spot. But what do you think it is about the movies that allows us to just say, yeah, John Lark, he's going to jump out of a plane now just because he's got to get into the Palais Royale and fight a guy in a bathroom.

[Chris Ryan]

But they do a good job of setting the stakes or even the suspension of disbelief and the theatricality of everything that's going on, like, very early on. I mean, there is the classic setup in each of these movies where your mission, should you choose to accept it. And I just want to note if you don't remember that Ethan's mission in this film is delivered in literally a copy of Homer's Odyssey, which is just really funny. And also like, hello, Christopher Nolan.

[Sean Fennessey]

But we've talked before about the relationship between Nolan and the mission movies and that they are trying to. Trying to one up each other every time. This was a big leveling up. And I don't think we get tenet if not for this movie.

[Chris Ryan]

Totally. So your mission, should you choose to accept it. And then there is just a huge dialogue or, you know, exposition dump that is always like a little bit ridiculous and a little bit. It's usually made up. I mean, sometimes it's like Russian mob or something. They're not afraid of certain geopolitical hotspots.

[Sean Fennessey]

But this one is particularly high level because it is about anarchy, essentially about disassembling the world order.

[Chris Ryan]

But there is something they're real, but not real. It's not particularly grounded. And then within 20 minutes, a mask shows up and you're like, oh, okay. So the rules of this world and of this franchise are larger than life, right? There is something where you're either like, you know, masks can't be put on and revealed. Like, we don't have this technology yet.

[Sean Fennessey]

You know, the Wolf Blitzer reveal fairly early in the film, which is such a magnificent scene. So fun when Nielsdale Brook, the scientist who they capture to then try to get closer to John Lark right before this Halo jump sequence. It's a defining silliness that I think aids my comfort with some of the strange plotting.

[Chris Ryan]

It's silliness, but also like a little clever. And you're just. And. And it gets you on their side. Like you. You. You don't believe it, but you're along. You buy in. And if you don't buy in, then this is like just not the movie for you. And you should get up right now.

[Sean Fennessey]

I fully agree.

[Amanda Dobbins]

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[Sean Fennessey]

The bathroom fight, sure, yeah. Which comes after they have landed post Halo jump. And to me, that is cinema. To me, that fight is. Makes me as excited as I get at the movies.

[Chris Ryan]

And really good screwball moments from Cruz within it where he's kind of roaming around in between like whacking people with.

[Sean Fennessey]

Stuff and playing the older and weaker guy. I mean, he takes some real blows and he kind of like starts developing, I think, this particular tick and Edge of Tomorrow where he gets killed over and over and over again. And he very smartly realizes that to win, he doesn't have to be the strongest and coolest guy all the time. He takes some absolute shots from the supposed John Lark stand in in this figure, who's an amazing stunt performer who's been appeared in a number of movies. But that battle between him and Walker and Ethan Hunt is exquisite choreography, all practical, all shot against the glimmering white of the bathroom.

[Chris Ryan]

The set design is a phenomenal.

[Sean Fennessey]

And it is.

[Chris Ryan]

And moments of humor, too, like the French guys, drunk guys, just singing La Vie en Rose for whatever reason, which is the funniest. Like, we're in France guys. And then also, you know, when Walker is like, hope isn't a strategy and Rebecca Ferguson's character is like, you must be new.

[Sean Fennessey]

Yeah, exactly. It's a franchise that, like, knows who it is, knows what it is. And even when you. You know. I think there's a little bit of John Wick inspo going on in this sequence, too, where this is probably maybe short of some of the John Woo stuff. The best pure fight scene in all of these movies. And that eventually leads very quickly. I mean, this all happens in a very tight succession, these three sequences, but very quickly to this kind of gala shootout, stabbing fight. When we're introduced to the White Widow, the Vanessa Kirby character. And I brought up the first film and the emotionality and the connectivity. Because, of course, this character, Alana Mitsopoulos, is the daughter of Max, who is portrayed by. Is it Vanessa Redgrave. Vanessa Redgrave in the first film. And she also is a kind of connective tissue in the criminal underworld. Someone who is constantly seeking and redistributing awful information to bad people. Vanessa Kirby, lights out performance. Yeah, definitely. I'm trying to not say something inappropriate.

[Chris Ryan]

No. But it's really, really powerful. And she's playing into it, and they just let her have fun. It's really. The Tom Cruise playing opposite her is great because he doesn't always respond to the person opposite him.

[Sean Fennessey]

Yes.

[Chris Ryan]

And he is definitely seeing what's going on and is, like, kind of amused by it and is also just hanging in, which is great.

[Sean Fennessey]

I assume this was written into the script. Maybe it was a choice that Kirby made. But every time Tom Cruise posing as John Lark does something incredibly devious and violent, Alanna gets really turned on. And you can see it in Vanessa's face. She's, like, so twitchy and like, oh, wow. I didn't know you would go to that terrible place. That is just a great choice. And I think that kind of elevates some of that weird, muted sexuality that Cruz, like, he's kind of lost the ability to be like, we're gonna fuck now. Like, he just can't do it. Anymore. He's just been in too many movies and is too strange a person. But when you get the right performer, Hayley Atwell, I think, does this very well with him as well. Yes. And they're very good in these movies that locating who can give him that energy. She's fabulous. And she also fits very well, I think, with some of the physicality of this part. The moment when she, you know, removes the knife. Right, right, right, right leg holster, her thigh holster. And they're stabbing people together. And that. That this is really the sex scene of this movie. I don't know anything else but the gala shootout.

[Chris Ryan]

She's just. She's very funny in it too. You know, like there is. And even the next scene when they're. They're doing the plans for the Solomon Lane extraction, you don't really know where she's gonna go. And she's playing off of, like the dumb brother and Walker at something. She's pretty extraordinary.

[Sean Fennessey]

She's wonderful in this movie. They eventually do plan an extraction of Solomon Lane, who was the villain from the previous film, portrayed by Sean Harris. We first see him at the top of the movie in a dream that Ethan has in which he is the wedding officiant for his marriage before a nuclear disaster. To Michelle Monahan's character, Julia in a dream, Solomon Lane. Is Solomon Lane the best villain in these movies?

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessey]

Is Cavill a better villain?

[Chris Ryan]

Well, Cavill's better at what he's doing, which is being along for the ride until he's not.

[Sean Fennessey]

Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

But he doesn't spend a lot of time in villain mode.

[Sean Fennessey]

It's true.

[Chris Ryan]

And what he's actually. The parts when he's in villain mode, he's just throwing helicopters around. So, I mean.

[Sean Fennessey]

Which he's very good at, I find. I think the best performance pretty clearly is Philip Seymour Hoffman in Three. But I don't have some questions about that character, about the Rabbit's Foot, about all the kind of chicanery in that movie. Owen Davion is that character's name. The extraction is a very cool sequence because it is an expectation subverter. You know, it does feel like a sequence out of the Great Escape where you think things are going to go one way and they go the complete opposite way. Everyone knows. No one knows what's going on, except for the two leads of the movie. Which then brings us to this moment of Ethan Hunt morality in which he saves the life of a French police officer and murders nine goons that. I'm trying to figure out what this still Means to Cruz that Ethan, like what his code is will only.

[Chris Ryan]

Well, there's a whole theme in this movie about how he's the type of guy who will save one instead of the millions. And that's his flaw. But Alec Baldwin gives that whole speech about. But it's actually what makes you important to me. Incredible. Alec Baldwin yelling in airplane hangars movie. Yeah.

[Sean Fennessey]

I would like to do a dramatic reading of that sequence, if you don't mind. You had a terrible choice to make in Berlin. Recover the plutonium or save your team. You chose your team and now the world's at risk. Some flaw deep within your core being simply won't allow you to choose between one life and millions. You see that as a sign of weakness. To me, that's your greatest strength.

[Chris Ryan]

That also like, basically is the line delivery. He's just like yelling rapidly, like very angrily, intensely, but also like no breaks between sentences.

[Sean Fennessey]

You know, it explains. He uses this as an explanation of why he basically took a demotion to work with Ethan Hunt.

[Chris Ryan]

Sure. Yeah.

[Sean Fennessey]

Which is like, that's every director making a choice to work with Tom Cruise. Like, there's so much self mythologizing going on in the Ethan Hunt character and that's why that like you choose one over millions and you don't really know how to manage your emotional personal life. You know, I have some strong feelings about why this movie is the way that it is that you've been encouraging me to share. I'm trying to figure out what's the best way to share it on this podcast.

[Chris Ryan]

You think that it reflects some well publicized events in Tom Cruise's personal life?

[Sean Fennessey]

I do. I think it's an apology to someone in his life because especially as the film goes on and we see that Julia actually does enter this story and Ethan cannot stop apologizing to Julia. He just says, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. And we know that he's apologizing for.

[Chris Ryan]

I mean, she is like in mortal danger. She's in mortal danger. Once again. She has been given like her own Doctors Without Borders camp, just basically in order to set up world destruction.

[Sean Fennessey]

Not ideal. Not, not ideal. She. She got kind of duped pretty hard on that one. And that was obviously a.

[Chris Ryan]

It is like a little bit like call. Someone calls up and is like, I just want to send you two to this particular place. Like do ask some questions, you know.

[Sean Fennessey]

But if someone called you and was like, I want to send you to movie paradise in Europe for two weeks, you and you And, Zach, you wouldn't you be like, sounds good.

[Chris Ryan]

I mean, I don't know. It's like we're in the era of, like, too many spam phone calls and scams.

[Sean Fennessey]

Okay.

[Chris Ryan]

You know, all right. Like, anyone who's just coming to you with, you know, there's no free lunch, so.

[Sean Fennessey]

I don't know, man.

[Chris Ryan]

A rando. Just being like. I mean, I'm sure that, you know, Lane built out this ask with a lot of shell companies, and you could trace back the email addresses or whatever and had people on retainer.

[Sean Fennessey]

I suspect that's true.

[Chris Ryan]

So, you know, if the Can Film Festival is calling me themselves, if it's Thierry and he's like, hey, come on over, sure, then I guess I would do it. But I do think, you know, we gotta ask questions. That would be another nitpick.

[Sean Fennessey]

That's not something that Ethan does very well. You know, he's a man of action. He likes to get down to it. He knows he's always gonna have Luther and Simon Pegg's character at his side, no matter what. I think this film also kind of concretizes that. That is the core team. And Rebecca Ferguson eventually reintroduces herself into this story. And we see that, like, for this little stretch of the series, this is the defining unit. These are the people who execute on the missions, and they are the people who Ethan is ultimately most loyal to. In addition to Julia, the final two action set pieces that we were talking through, you added the London chase sequence.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessey]

Which does feature the signature move. Which is what?

[Chris Ryan]

Right? Tom Cruise running. Just like running over many bridges throughout London at top speed. And you just get these, like, beautiful panoramic shots. That is also. It was that sequence where he injured himself, and they had to pause for however many weeks because one of the jumps didn't really land the way it was supposed to.

[Sean Fennessey]

There's one extraordinary jump sequence where he lands and he is hanging right off the edge of the building. That is one, I think, in part because of the way that the camera zooms in as he lands and the sound design on that sequence. It really feels like he has just sacrificed his life. It really does. And it's silly to say that because we see all this behind the scenes featurettes about the stunt work in these films, but I remember watching that movie in real time and thinking, like, that's not. He's gonna die. He's gonna fall.

[Chris Ryan]

That sequence also. So it starts, he's in St. Paul's Cathedral, like the giant dome in London. And you know, there's the funny moments where the Simon Pegg character is following him on, you know, like, iPad tracking, and he's like, why is he running in circles? Because he's, like, running through the dome and then out through windows. And, you know, I'm jumping out a window, right? And, like, you know, I'm sure it's, like, stitched together a little bit, but he does go. They design it in such a way where he goes from St Paul's in London, like, across, like, to the Tate Modern. It's. It is, like, designed in the city and, like, a very cool, exciting way, which is true also of the Solomon Lane instruction, like, rewatching this movie for the 40th time or whatever. I was like, this might be one of the great Paris movies. It uses these European cities so beautifully. And, like, actually, which is, as we know, rarer and rarer in movies.

[Sean Fennessey]

Yeah. I think the White Widow's Parisian estate, them looking over the bank of the Seine. At a certain point, there are a series of visuals that are just gorgeous. And then likewise in London and being at the Tate and being in St. Paul's and being on those rooftops, which has a little bit of, like, Vertigo going on there as well. There's a lot of homage to a lot of classic Hollywood films going on throughout this film. And then the fifth and final sequence is when they arrive at that camp with Julia and Wes Bentley's character, one of the funniest characters in the movie, Cuck Daddy himself.

[Chris Ryan]

Again, I'm just like, this guy needs to ask a question or two.

[Sean Fennessey]

Yeah, that's a fair point. We get this extended intercutting between Solomon Lane attempting to murder Ilsa, to murder Simon Pegg's character and to execute his plan alongside Walker. And then Walker and Ethan engaging in an airbound helicopter fight that then becomes, I think, probably the gnarliest fight and survival sequence in this entire franchise. After Walker has had his face burned after the helicopter crash and they are beating the shit out of each other on a cliff and eventually all hanging from that cliff.

[Chris Ryan]

And then Tom Cruise is doing free climbing in order to get as is his want. Yeah. Pretty stressful, though.

[Sean Fennessey]

Yeah. You take those six scenes. There's nothing even really close to them in action filmmaking. I love the John Wick movies. The John Wick movies are not on our list. I think they're great, but they feel very designed in a video game fashion and they can be thrilling. They feel schematic. I often find that these sequences tell the story of the movie in A way that makes me feel like I forget that I am awaiting another action set piece. Sometimes in John Wick you can be like, okay, when will be the next time when he will go into gun fu? So, you know, I think that they're really important to each other, you know, And I do feel like I can see the filmmakers behind both of these movies kind of working in conversation. But Tom Cruise kind of lifts it over John Wick for me pretty significantly.

[Chris Ryan]

I agree. I mean, also, you know, this is. These are more like death defying, spectacular, jumping out of planes and like running and jumping off buildings as opposed to. There are just a lot of gunfights in John Woo, you know, and there are a lot of people punching each other here and there, guns or whatever.

[Sean Fennessey]

But yes, let's not forget Henry Cavill loading up his arms before attempting to beat the shit out of the John Lark. Stand in.

[Chris Ryan]

But I don't know, this has a bigger canvas.

[Sean Fennessey]

I guess it does. I also love the score in this movie. Lauren Balfe does this score. This might be my favorite. That's kind of an interesting conversation. I just have to go back and listen. But this one has this sort of like, martial drum scheme that keeps returning. Every time you see Angela Bassett walking aggressively through a hallway, her heels are kind of in time.

[Chris Ryan]

She's never in a hallway. I mean, she's definitely like green, screened into various, like, beautiful Paris locations. But like the Shandomar scene with, like, her and Cavill and then the Eiffel Towers back behind. It's, you know, what is that sequence.

[Sean Fennessey]

Though, where she's, I think, is she talking on the phone or maybe just talking to Walker and he's walking behind her and she's walking in, her heels are clicking and Balfe's score is in tune with her heels, which is just a great little sonic moment. And then also just these huge, heavy, expressive strings. This is a big cello movie. And some of them are different. The music of Mission Impossible is weird. Let's not forget that Limp Bizkit once participated in the musical score of Mission Impossible. So every movie is different in that respect. I do think that this film's legacy is interesting and a little bit hard to settle on because we have not seen the new film. So is there any chance, any chance at all that we see the new movie and think we should have taken fallout off and put. Put Final Reckoning on?

[Chris Ryan]

I mean, there's always a chance. I think they have so many loose ends to tie up. They're bringing everybody back, you know, from all of the. And so it is a little bit overloaded. We kind of know what some of the plot will be from an AI thing perspective and the cruciform key and all this sort of stuff. We know there's got to be an underwater element because of the submarine. I have to be honest, I don't really like underwater stunts as much as sailing around stunts. But the biplane that we've seen in the trailer, the emotions. Maybe, maybe I think this, the last one, has too much to do, which is always the way. Right? Like, the finale of anything is rarely the best episode installment, you know, what have you.

[Sean Fennessey]

What about Avengers Endgame? That was the last Marvel movie ever made.

[Chris Ryan]

Okay. Yeah. That's not what my Google calendar tells me.

[Sean Fennessey]

I don't know. I would love for it to be better than. If it's better than Fallout going to be a great movie year, that's a really good sign because this is definitely, probably one of the absolute best movies. I think another reason why this movie's legacy is really strong is it kind of saved Paramount. These movies in. In the 2010s.

[Chris Ryan]

And look where we are now.

[Sean Fennessey]

I know. Well, I'm not sure if it's. We don't. We honestly don't know if it's going to be a good outcome or a bad outcome. But Skydance participates in mission and mission success and Skydance's partnership there matters. And just like it matters to this, these companies coming together to make Top Gun Maverick. And so I'm grateful for all of.

[Chris Ryan]

Those films, but otherwise. And I think all the people that Paramount employs deserve a job. And otherwise, let's light it all on fire, in my opinion.

[Sean Fennessey]

Well, I think it's important to have big movie studios in some ways. How they do their work, we can debate. But when you look at their highest grossing movies, five of them are Transformers films in the 2000s. After that, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

[Chris Ryan]

Shrek. That was tough.

[Sean Fennessey]

Shrek sequels.

[Chris Ryan]

Listen, don't speak ill of Shrek Madagascar. You know, Jack's back there.

[Sean Fennessey]

I have no beef with Shrek1 whatsoever. In fact, I quite like it. I can't remember anything about Shrek 2, 3 or 4.

[Chris Ryan]

Nor do I.

[Sean Fennessey]

We're going to find out because Shrek 5. Coming.

[Chris Ryan]

Listen, I know the youth have told me that it's really important.

[Sean Fennessey]

Should we do a Shrek movie marathon at Idiots this year?

[Chris Ryan]

Oh, that's funny. And then we all have to sit there.

[Sean Fennessey]

Yeah, we all sit together arm in arm.

[Chris Ryan]

I guess our children could come to at Least a couple of them.

[Sean Fennessey]

Absolutely.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessey]

Donkey. Donkey's just crushing with little kids. But Top Gun Maverick and the Mission films are by far the best films that are, you know, high grossers for this studio other than, like, I don't know, Forrest Gump, you know, Titanic, like these. We gotta go back to the mid-90s.

[Chris Ryan]

Those are good, though.

[Sean Fennessey]

They're great. That's like 30 years ago.

[Chris Ryan]

That's.

[Sean Fennessey]

Listen, I hear you.

[Chris Ryan]

I really like the Paramount lot. There we go. I said something nice.

[Sean Fennessey]

It's a truly great lot. Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

I think they're going to like, turn into condos. Thanks, David Ellison.

[Sean Fennessey]

I hope that doesn't happen. I really hope that does not happen. I. I like visiting and I like watching films.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessey]

Macquarie, I think this is the one that certifies him. He had directed a bunch of films before this and he had been a fixer on a lot of films. Like, for example, it's. It's been reported that Macquarie wrote a lot on Rogue One before Tony Gilroy came in. What did he do? We don't know what specifically did he do to Top Gun Maverick? Even though he's a producer, I think he has a writing credit on that one, but I'm not sure.

[Chris Ryan]

I think he does as well.

[Sean Fennessey]

We know that he had a kind of script doctor skill that is very rare. And I think that's one of the reasons why Cruise adopted him. But I think he was told a.

[Chris Ryan]

Great story at CinemaCon, which I'm sure he's told a million times about McQuarrie coming on the set of Ghost Protocol and. And they're trying to figure out that. That scene, the. The climbing, the Burj Khalifa. The Burj Khalifa scene. And Tom is like. He says, like, this is McHugh. And then McHugh says, okay. So they explain how it works and McHugh just goes, okay, so blue is glue, red is dead. And that, I mean, that is like very illustrative of what he can do.

[Sean Fennessey]

Yes, he has an incredible mind for this stuff, but I think he's very underrated as a filmmaker. I think he's like a very, very, very, very skilled director. So I think there's that. And then I think that that self mythology that he imparts into this film.

[Chris Ryan]

Or that we impart for him, but, you know, either way it is.

[Sean Fennessey]

It's a rich text, if you had to guess. Do you think he has a discrete consciousness about putting himself into his character? Or is it something that McQuarrie compels him to do? Or that it is Just an abstraction that just can't help but find its way into the movie. This is the kind of thing I would ask a director.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, I mean, I think that he has some understanding. I mean, it's just an entire school of medicine and therapy is dedicated to how much can someone understand themselves and then, like, channel into this? So, you know, I don't know if he has, like, his arms around all of it, but he does seem to understand his Persona at least a little bit. You know, he's out there posing with the movie posters and being like, stay to the end of the credits for Sinners. Thank you, Tom Cruise. Motion smoothing forever. So I think that he has some knowledge, but the level of psychology that you and I want to read into it is, I think, either being developed with McQuarrie and with others, or as just us being, like, you know, huge nerds.

[Sean Fennessey]

The division between the intentionality and the meta text, that's what we do here. You know what I mean? These are very important things. Even if he doesn't know what he's doing, I think it's undeniable that he has made Ethan the most important man in the universe, and only he can solve problems. But he will never abandon his friends. And when he transgresses against someone he loves, he will profusely apologize and make it clear that he has done well.

[Chris Ryan]

Also make sure that everyone in the movie tells him 45 times what a good man he is.

[Sean Fennessey]

Yes, absolutely. There's nothing going on there whatsoever. I'm sure that's a complete mistake. Okay. Any other thoughts about the film's legacy before we move on?

[Chris Ryan]

No, just a banger.

[Sean Fennessey]

Banger movie recommended if you like. Yeah, obviously any Mission Impossible movie, I think any spy movie, candidly, would probably go pretty well.

[Chris Ryan]

Like, I put Bourne Identity on here, which is, you know, a guy in various European locations trying to figure things out bit by bit and save someone that he loves.

[Sean Fennessey]

Absolutely. It would be pretty weird. If you, like, we're really into Bourne Identity, but we're like, I don't want to watch a Mission Impossible movie. That would be a bit strange. You know, I think these are all fairly obvious, but they speak to the power of this movie. You know, Skyfall, I feel like, also has a lot in common with this movie in terms of the history of the character.

[Chris Ryan]

Is this where we announced that Skyfall is not on our list?

[Sean Fennessey]

I guess you just did, yeah. How do you feel about that?

[Chris Ryan]

I mean, we had to make choices, but I do think that this is, like, the Skyfall spot. This movie is carrying a lot of our favorites. There's another movie recommended if you like.

[Sean Fennessey]

Tenet.

[Chris Ryan]

No. Well, yeah, Tenet's not on our list.

[Sean Fennessey]

Tenet. It's not on our list.

[Chris Ryan]

And neither is Top Gun Maverick. I had to choose and Mission Impossible was the right choice.

[Sean Fennessey]

So let's make that the closing conversation because I'm grateful to you Top Gun Maverick, which is a movie I really quite like. And to me it is a four star movie and these are five star conversations. So was this hard for you?

[Chris Ryan]

Of course it was. But that's okay. I think you can only have one late stage Tom Cruise movie about the former glory of Tom Cruise and also what Tom Cruise still means to all of us and how Tom Cruise is the only good man who saves the rest of us. You know, like you can't have both of them. And I think, you know, Top Gun Maverick was a massive success. Some of it was about the weird moment in time and kind of like the first movie theater back. And also, you know, it obviously has personal significance to me in that my son is deeply obsessed with it because it just has like a lot of planes and it goes really fast. But we do like literally every night I tell him the story of Top Gun, an abridged version that we do in the, you know, like oral history form. But this, what mission, what Fallout stands for is franchise movies. I think it is more signature of the range of action. Like Tom Cruise is flying all the planes in Top Gun Maverick, but he's doing literally everything. He's jumping off these buildings in Impossible Fallout. And also they both are I guess a team that's gotta come together sort of. But the Mission Impossible movies are like built around Ethan and Top Gun Maverick is at least trying to introduce all of these other people. It gives Glenn Powell its nice moment. So it's the signature. I understand that Mission Impossible is the signature, but I love you forever. Top Gun Maverick.

[Sean Fennessey]

I appreciate you being open minded about this as I do think it is the superior movie. But Tom Cruise needs them both for his self mythology. Well, that's. What was this. Number 21 seems right. Number 21.

[Chris Ryan]

This seems like one that most people probably could have predicted. I think every.

[Sean Fennessey]

We've been incredibly effusive about it in the past. Yeah, I mean this was number one on our shared rankings after Dead Reckoning came out. And I think for most Mission Impossible heads this is the best one. But not for everyone.

[Chris Ryan]

Also overlaps with the timeline of the show. It does pretty neatly.

[Sean Fennessey]

That's something we should do the math on at some point is how many of the films were films while we were making the show versus what?

[Chris Ryan]

Not that many.

[Sean Fennessey]

Is that true?

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessey]

Interesting. Okay. Because it does feel like 2000 to 2005 does not feel like a part of the century to me, even though plenty of great films came out at that time. You know, like, they just announced that they're reissuing Brokeback Mountain in theaters for its 20th anniversary.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, they reissued Pride and Prejudice for its 20th. That's a whole thing that's happening on a quarter day.

[Sean Fennessey]

Revenge of the Sith.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, we have a couple early aughts. Early, early aughts. I mean, I can think of one example in a prime spot, but, yeah, I would say the 2005-20. Well, really to the pandemic.

[Sean Fennessey]

That's the sweet spot.

[Chris Ryan]

Is the sweet spot.

[Sean Fennessey]

I agree with you. Okay, well, until number 20. Thanks to Jack Sanders for his work on this episode. Later this week, we'll be digging into thunderbolts. See you then.