When the need for certainty is absolute And the odds are deemed impossible The mission falls to him
Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt in the follow-up to 2023’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE and to start the week, Paramount Pictures has released a first poster and teaser for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING.
Official Synopsis: “Our lives are the sum of our choices. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.“
In 2024, Cruise appeared in the Paris 2024 Olympics closing ceremony to promote Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics, by jumping from the roof of the Stade de France stadium in Paris. He took the flag from Mayor Karen Bass and athlete Simone Biles to Hollywood.
As seen in the trailer, Cruise wears the same wardrobe as Ethan Hunt in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING that he did performing the epic stunt on August 11, 2024.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE sits at an impressive 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. The franchise has grossed over $4 billion worldwide, with MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT having the highest ticket sales with $220,159,104.
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, and produced by Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie, based on the television series created by Bruce Geller, composer Lorne Balfe returns to score the movie.
The film also stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga, Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Angela Bassett, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, Frederick Schmidt.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING opens in theaters on MAY 23, 2025.
The parade of smaller independent features continues to bump up against the blockbusters as the Summer continues to sizzle. Here’s a quirky drama that has similar themes to the modestly budgeted period piece from last weekend THE BIKERIDERS. In that film, a group of motley outsiders in the early 60s forged a family via a motorcycle club. Family is at the forefront of this film, though it’s set in the modern day, and rather than Windy City bikers, we’re given a look inside Native American culture. Oh, and as in the former flick, the principals are often living on the “wrong side” of the law, having to dodge the authorities, giving an added meaning to its title, FANCY DANCE.
The story takes us inside the world of thirty-something Jax (Lily Gladstone) and her teenage niece Roki (Isabel DeRoy-Olson) who share a home on the Seneca-Cayuga Nation Reservation in Oklahoma. Life has been hard since Jax’s sister, and Roki’s mother Tawi disappeared two weeks ago. The duo resort to lower-class crimes in order to survive, from a version of “three-card Monte” (“Find the corn”) to stealing cars. A big chunk of the cash is set aside for the upcoming tribal powwow in Tulsa. Roki believes that Tawi will return in order to join her there at the big mother/daughter dance AKA the “fancy dance”. Jax is not so optimistic since the tribal police led by blood relation JJ (Ryan Begay) can’t expand the search and the feds seem to be indifferent. Things become more complicated after a visit to Jax’s estranged father Frank (Shea Whigham), who’s not part of the tribe, and his new wife Nancy (Audrey Wasilewski). Soon after the two return home, Child Protective Services arrive to hand Roki over to her grandfather due to Jax’s criminal record (mostly selling weed to the oil rig workers), But the bond between the aunt and niece is so strong that Jax gets Roki away from Frank’s place in order to make the long trek to Tulsa, and follow a few leads on Tawi along the way. Can they get there in time, now that the two are trying to evade the statewide manhunt that has put their faces on nearly every screen? And could there be a mother-and-daughter reunion?
Proving that her bravado turn in last year’s epic KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON was no fluke, Ms. Gladstone ably carries the lead role as the flawed but brave Jax. Though she’s the eldest daughter in the film, it seems as though the odds are always against her, which perhaps leads to her shady past and dubious current crimes. Gladstone conveys that anger and frustration, especially at the lack of official concern for her missing sister. And though she is indeed a “bad influence” Jax truly nurtures her niece, even shielding her from the world’s cruelties. As Roki, DeRoy-Olson is the story’s warm sunshine, a teen full of joy and wonder, thinking that her mother will join her in her dance rehearsals very soon. She’s even open to her emotionally distant grandfather Frank, who is given a surly demeanor by the always compelling Whigham. He gives us the impression that the culture of his late wife never really mattered much to him, though he now feels obligated by his new wife, which Wasilewski plays as an awkward, but sweet, caring lady who yearns for an extended family with Roki. Kudos also to Crystle Lightening as Tawi’s co-worker at a strip club, who has a tenuous romance with the sullen Jax.
The terrific cast is expertly guided by director Erica Tremblay in her narrative feature debut which she co-scripted with Miciana Alise. It’s tightly paced, deftly flowing from heartbreaking family drama to suspenseful “on the run” road picture, with frequent dives into the tribal customs, from the powwows to the tense interaction with the feds. And even as Jax and Roki are racking up crimes, Tremblay makes us care for them and even root for them to stay ‘on the lam”. We never quite know where the journey will take these two plucky fugitives, or what danger is lurking behind any door or around the corner. The undercurrent of anger between Jax and Frank is nothing compared to her following a lead on Tawi by meeting with a hair-trigger pot “queenpin” or an officious ICE agent outside a mall. Perhaps the most nerve-wracking sequence is when Jax enters a cramped trailer to try and squeeze some info from a group of oilmen who only want to party after buying some weed, reminding me of a similar hair-raising scene from 2017’s WIND RIVER which also dealt with the epidemic of missing Native American women. And, there are also familiar themes from KILLER MOON as the authorities put these cases way, way on the back burner. All these elements mesh effectively into a very engaging “call to action” and a rough-edged portrait of a family clingingly to each other despite the odds. This FANCY DANCE is never flashy, but it’s one of the year’s most compelling films.
3.5 Out of 4
FANCY DANCE is now playing in select theatres and it streams exclusively on Apple TV+ beginning on Friday, June 21, 2024
Finally, we’re entering into the first weekend of the final month of 2023. So naturally many of the films hitting the multiplex have the big holiday at the end of December as a setting or backdrop. Of course, they’re all upbeat celebrations full of family togetherness. Well, not always as proven a few weeks ago with the release of one of the year’s best films, THE HOLDOVERS. It’s a dark comedy centering on a split family ignoring a son. So indeed it is a bit dark, compared to this weekend’s flick, which is nearly pitch-black, closer to a film noir than comedy. And it’s a tragic drama as we observe the dismal life of a young woman named EILEEN.
Right at the start of this tale, we’re introduced to Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie), a lonely woman in her twenties living in the Boston area around sixty years ago. We first see her silently watching amorous couples in a “lover’s lane” from her wheezing ancient auto, From there she begins her daily routine, starting her “9 to 5” job as a secretary at the local boys’ detention center (and enduring loads of verbal abuse from her co-workers). Luckily she can fantasize about a hunky guard. From there she returns to the squalid shanty she shares with her boozing papa Jim (Shea Whigham), former police chief of the village. Of course, he wakes from his drunken stupor long enough to toss off some insults and bemoan the loss of his wife, Eileen’s mother. At the day’s end, she trudges up to the attic, enjoys some candy (she sucks away the coating and spits the rest out), and passes out on a flimsy cot. The alarm barely rouses her at dawn, giving her just enough time to prepare breakfast for Dad (he sticks to his bottle as he belittles her), and hope that the battered car will get her to work. Ah. but today is different. A new therapist has arrived, the blonde, sophisticated Dr. Rebecca (Anne Hathaway). After all the welcoming hoopla is done, Eileen is stunned when the sultry doc expresses interest in her life. Eventually, the two share a lunch break and even meet for a post-work cocktail at the local “watering hole”. But aside from Eileen, Dr. Rebecca is focused on one “juvie” in particular, Lee Polk (Sam Nivola), who is there after murdering his father. But will her work turn into an obsession, leading to more time “after hours” with her new friend? And could this “relationship” lead to true “freedom” for Eileen?
The title role marks another interesting performance by one of our most promising young screen actresses. Since arriving just over five years ago with her dazzling debut in LEAVE NO TRACE, McKenzie has given us several memorable characters, always smart, but often soft-spoken. The latter trait is taken to extremes by her work as the painfully shy, often “blending into the woodwork” Eileen, eyes downward as disdain is heaped upon her. She’s slowly suffocating from a yearning for human connection in order to breathe. And when that happens, McKenzie alters her facial expressions and body language to convey Eileen’s “blooming”, bursting out of that “shell”. As the instigator of that change, Hathaway ignites the dull drab settings in an interesting twist on the iconic icy “cool blondes” that Hitchcock adored. Rebecca projects an aloof superiority to those at work, so it’s a surprise when she “zeroes in” on the ignored office “drone”. Is it a seduction, perhaps even a bit of “grooming” (comparisons to Cate Blanchett as CAROL arise), or is she “playing” with Eileen, much like a cat “toying” with a mouse before the final “pounce”? It’s a splendid departure from her usual “likable” roles and Ms. Hathaway truly rises to the challenge. Rounding out the film’s “trifecta” is the always engaging Whigham who somehow is able to inject some level of sad humanity into the blustery drunkard who has basically “checked out’ of life, save for spewing venom at his daughter, and only leaving his hellish abode to stagger the street, waving his pistol while ranting about the non-Catholic “interlopers” (“Them Lutherans!”). Whigham is often a “rough around the edges” charmer, but this punishing papa adds more fuel to Eileen’s interest in her new (maybe more than) friend.
With his second feature film (hard to believe it’s been seven years since LADY MACBETH), director William Oldroyd creates a dark grimy psychological character study, working from the screenplay adaptation of Otessa Moshfegh’s novel by her and Luke Goebel. But much like his last film Oldroyd again provides us with an offbeat central woman at the story’s core, though there’s also a supporting player to empower and transform her. Plus he’s adept at throwing us a “curve” since it appears to be a somber look at some in deep emotional stress, perhaps with a real “sexual panic”, then veers into an erotic “game”, but diving into an exploration of guilt and justice (and much like a parking garage, nothing “nice” ever happens in basement settings of a movie). And though it’s set in the mid-1960s, there’s no nostalgic “glow” to be seen, rather it’s a dirty stale smoky haze with ugly dangerous cars and stifling attire. This story is full of interesting heroines and strong performances, but the last moments of the third act feel rushed and vague. Of course, we don’t always need to know the exact futures of the leads, but it just seems as though too many threads are left to dangle and fray in that cold Boston breeze. Fortunately, this uneasy finale doesn’t distract from a powerful monologue in that basement (closer to the bowels of Hell) and from the superb actresses involved who invest us in the unusual “bond” between Rebecca and EILEEN.
In advance of Paramount Pictures and Skydance’s “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”, the cast and filmmakers have been travelling the world to give fans a first look at the seventh installment of the franchise.
Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie arrived on the inaugural flight at Abu Dhabi International Airport’s New Midfield Terminal in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on June 25, 2023.
Tom Cruise arrived on the first flight into Abu Dhabi International Airport’s NEW Midfield Terminal, unveiling the new Etihad Mission Impossible plane livery which hit the skies last Sunday.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE opens in theaters on July 12.
Tom Cruise arrives on the inaugural flight at Abu Dhabi International Airport’s New Midfield Terminal in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on June 25, 2023, in advance of the “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Abu Dhabi Premiere presented by Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Check out what Cruise and McQuarrie sent out on social media their support for the BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER movies.
This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters.
Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history.
I love a double feature, and it doesn't get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie. pic.twitter.com/udWHHj4fAe
(Photo by Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – JUNE 26: Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Tom Cruise, Pom Klementieff and Christopher McQuarrie attend the Abu Dhabi Red Carpet and Premiere of “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” presented by Paramount Pictures and Skydance at Emirates Palace Hotel on June 26, 2023, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
(Photo by Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
Watch the two spots below.
The globetrotting to promote the film continued.
On July 2nd, the cast and filmmakers headed to the premiere in Australia.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JULY 02: Tom Cruise attends a photocall in support of “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” at the Overseas Passenger Terminal on July 02, 2023, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by James Gourley/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JULY 02: Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Tom Cruise, Pom Klementieff and Christopher McQuarrie attend a photocall in support of “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” at the Overseas Passenger Terminal on July 02, 2023, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by James Gourley/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JULY 02: Tom Cruise, Pom Klementieff, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg and Christopher McQuarrie attend a photocall in support of “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” at the Overseas Passenger Terminal on July 02, 2023, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by James Gourley/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
Currently, the Mission series has grossed over $3.5 billion worldwide.
It’s hard to overstate the impact that Cruise’s Mission: Impossible franchise has had on action cinema over the decades, and how it has itself grown exponentially over the same period. “Mission had done a train sequence before, all the way back in the first film and a lot of that had been done on a stage. We wanted to do one that was practical. We wanted to build upon what was learned on that sequence and apply all of that knowledge to something practical and real,” McQuarrie says, speaking about one of the film’s many jaw-dropping action sequences, in which he and Cruise drive a real steam train off a blown-up bridge (more on that later). Over six installments and 27 years of the Mission: Impossible franchise, the character of Ethan Hunt has earned his place as one of Cruise’s most indelible creations. And, in Dead Reckoning Parts One and Two, the elite agent will be tested more than ever.
The filmmakers are not only delighted with what their approach has yielded thus far, but also thrilled with what they have yet to reveal. “In the next one, you will feel the world constantly expanding and you’ll go to places the franchise has never been. You’ll see parts of the world that you’ve never seen this way. And, frankly, some of them won’t exist for much longer,” McQuarrie says. “We have really, truly, taken this story to the edge of the world.”
Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie on the set of Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
If neither Cruise nor McQuarrie is yet prepared to reveal what ground-breaking stunt Cruise is preparing to pull off for audiences in the next movie, McQuarrie will at least confirm this: “The bike jump [in Dead Reckoning Part One] was far and away the most dangerous thing we had ever attempted. The only thing that scared me more than that stunt was what we had planned for Part Two.”
Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
For now, though, what both men want is for audiences around the world to get ready to immerse themselves in a jaw-dropping story that they say makes this Mission: Impossible the most exhilarating, ambitious, and emotional installment so far. “I always knew there were things we could do better,” Cruise says of his near-three decade Mission journey. “There are always mountains to climb. But I really do believe that this movie is Mission in its highest gear. No one can be tougher on me than me. I have always set the bar high for myself and always expect a lot from myself. I never want to rest on any laurels in seeing how I can serve the audience.”
Cruise smiles, excited by what that audience is about to see, and by what he knows is coming next. “If I could be on a movie set every single day of my life, I would,” he says. “I am always pushing myself. I can’t help it, it’s in my nature.”
Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Henry Czerny, Rob Delaney, Lincoln Conway, Indira Varma, Cary Elwes, Mark Gatiss and Charles Parnell in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Hayley Atwell and Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Rebecca Ferguson in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Pom Klementieff in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Esai Morales and Pom Klementieff in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Shea Whigham and Greg Tarzan Davis in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Frederick Schmidt and Vanessa Kirby in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Shea Whigham in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie on the set of Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Rebecca Ferguson and Christopher McQuarrie on the set of Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie on the set of Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
In Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan’s past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, based on the Television Series Created by Bruce Geller, the film also features Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga, Henry Czerny, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, Frederick Schmidt, Cary Elwes, Mark Gatiss, Indira Varma, Rob Delaney.
Paramount Pictures has released a look behind the scenes of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE.
The studio has also announced a Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Early Access Fan Event to celebrate the theatrical release of the film opening nationwide exclusively in theatres. The Early Access Fan Event will include one show on July 10th at 7:00PM local time at participating theatres across the country, in advance of the film’s nationwide debut on July 12th. The show will be presented in an array of premium theatrical formats including Dolby Cinema and IMAX.
Check out this feature where Tom Cruise drives and drifts one-handed through the streets of Rome.
In Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, starring and produced by Tom Cruise and once again written, directed, and produced by Christopher McQuarrie, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan’s past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.
Tickets for the Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Early Access Fan Event and general Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One tickets are on sale today. To purchase tickets for the Early Access Fan Event Screening and for participating theatre listings in your area, go to missionimpossible.com/earlyaccess.
General tickets are also on sale at missionimpossible.com. Tickets for all shows also on sale at exhibitors’ websites & mobile apps and at participating theatre box offices nationwide.
Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Ticketholders seeing Mission: Impossible –Dead Reckoning Part Oneat this advance Early Access Fan Event screening will also see special bonus content curated for this event, plus will receive limited-edition collectibles including a collector’s print and IMF enamel pin given away at their local theatre on the date of the event, while supplies last.
Says Paramount Pictures President of Domestic Distribution Chris Aronson, “Five years after the release of Mission: Impossible—Fallout, fans everywhere have been patiently awaiting this seventh installment and we’re thrilled to be able to show audiences the most daring and action-packed mission yet. It’s a film that demands to be seen on the big screen and we’re excited to showcase it in premium formats featuring the most dynamic picture and immersive sound in advance of its release.”
Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames and Rebecca Ferguson in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE IS ONLY IN THEATRES, DOLBY CINEMA, PREMIUM LARGE FORMATS, AND IMAX ON JULY 12, 2023.
“If anything happens to them… there’s no place I won’t go to kill you. THAT is written.”
Oh man, Tom Cruise is the absolute best (and total badass) when he gets that look in his eye.
Check it out for yourselves in the first spectacular trailer for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE, from director Christopher McQuarrie.
This trailer is INSANE and holy crap! that death-defying stunt Cruise does with the motorcycle off the cliff will be worth the ticket price alone!
In case you missed the behind-the-scenes video on that incredible jump, check it out below.
In Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan’s past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.
Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
The film also stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga, Henry Czerny, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, Frederick Schmidt, Cary Elwes, Mark Gatiss, Indira Varma, Rob Delaney.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE is written by Christopher McQuarrie & Erik Jendresen and based on the Television Series Created by Bruce Geller. The score is from composer Lorne Balfe (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE FALLOUT, BLACK ADAM, DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES, and Apple TV’s GHOSTED and TETRIS.
Produced by Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE is only in theaters, Dolby Cinema, Premium Large Format, and IMAX on July 12, 2023.
Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames and Rebecca Ferguson in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Paramount+ announced in November the #1 film of 2022, TOP GUN: MAVERICK, will be available to stream globally on the service beginning Thursday, Dec. 22 in the U.S.
The actor thanked fans in the only way this mega-star can and it’s spectacular!
Tom Cruise’s next mission could make history. If the plans for an upcoming film come through, he would fly to space to film the moment where he helps save the planet.
Donna Langley, chairman of Universal Film Entertainment Group, told the BBC in an interview last week that the 60-year-old “Mission Impossible” and “Top Gun” actor will be “taking the world to space.”
“That’s the plan. We have a great project in development with Tom that does contemplate him doing just that,” she said, “taking a rocket up to the space station and shooting and hopefully being the first civilian to do a spacewalk outside of the space station.”
Before this happens, the Oscar-nominated actor will perform the biggest stunt in cinema history in director Christopher McQuarrie’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE– in theaters JULY 14, 2023. Check out this new Extended Behind-the-Scenes look at the film.
DEAD RECKONING PART ONE stars Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga, Henry Czerny, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Frederick Schmidt, Charles Parnell, Rob Delaney, Cary Elwes, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss.
Next year Tom Cruise returns as Impossible Missions Force (IMF) team leader Ethan Hunt in the long awaited next chapter in the successful franchise, with Christopher McQuarrie returning to the helm.
The cast includes Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, Pom Klementieff, Esai Morales, Henry Czerny, Rob Delaney, Cary Elwes, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss, Charles Parnell, Greg Tarzan Davis, Frederick Schmidt.
Check out this first look at MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE.
Cruise, who launched the franchise in 1996, is truly an entertainer who wants to give audiences a film more thrilling and intense than its predecessor. This is the third film in the series that Cruise and McQuarrie have collaborated on following MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION (2015), MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT (2018) and now MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE. McQuarrie, an Oscar winner for his screenplay for The Usual Suspects, and Cruise previously teamed up for the 2012 film JACK REACHER.
Fans of the popular franchise will be glad to see the return on Ving Rhames, who has played the character of Luther Stickell since the first Mission: Impossible film in 1996, as well as Benji Dunn, played by actor, comedian and filmmaker Simon Pegg.
Over the past two decades, Tom Cruise has produced, starred in and performed in the most mind-blowing stunts in the Mission: Impossiblefilms, a global cultural phenomenon that has grossed more than $2.8 billion worldwide, making it one of the most successful franchises in movie history. With TOP GUN: MAVERICK opening this weekend, both films solidify Tom Cruise’s status as the biggest movie star on the planet.
Based on the TV series by Bruce Geller, the seventh MI film is set to hit theaters on July 14, 2023.
Although the sun’s squeezing the last drop of sweat from the Summer season, this week’s new release reminds us of the cooler temps and the upcoming Winter holidays when family and friends will be getting together for celebrations and more than a few homecomings. The latter is the main theme of this tale of a trio of best buds. And their relationship has its fair share of ups and downs, running hot and cold. But somehow, despite their often volatile history, a bond is formed. On a dark windy night, that bond is tested, perhaps stretched to its breaking point. And it all happens under a flickering sign that proclaims SMALL ENGINE REPAIR.
It all begins at that backyard garage shop in Manchester, New Hampshire as lifelong pals ‘Swaino’ (Jon Bernthal) and ‘Packie’ (Shea Whigham) greet the owner, Frank (John Pollono) upon his return from an “extended stay” in the “Greybar Hotel”. Ah, but it’s also a “father and child reunion” as the guys have brought along Frank’s toddler daughter Crystal, who’s more comfortable in the arms of Terry than her almost forgotten papa. The story springs ahead a dozen years or so as Frank, now the main parent of teenage Crystal (Ciara Bravo), hosts a pre-Christmas dinner for her and her former caretakers. The mood is elevated when Crystal finds out that she’s been accepted to a distant college. But the high spirits are somewhat deflated by the arrival of Frank’s ex, and Crystal’s mama, the abrasive Karen (Jordana Spiro). She’s just in from the West Coast and wants to whisk her gal away for a night of shopping. So, how do the guys restore their holiday spirits? They continue the party at a nearby “watering hole”, naturally. But the merriment is shattered when Swaino and Packie try to talk up some young lovelies. Which leads to a big barfight with some younger “townies”. As the sirens’ wail gets louder, the trio escapes into the night. We then fast forward a couple of months as Frank decides to repair the rift between his two “best buds”. He invites both (without each other knowing) to his garage shop for a day of booze, steaks, and a big “pay-per-view” fight on the big screen TV. After some trepidation, the two estranged “bros” reconnect. As the sun sets, things take a darker turn with the arrival of a local preppy college “dealer” named Chad (Spencer House), who Frank has befriended. Ah, but there’s more than “Molly” on the menu as the true purpose of the day is finally revealed. Will these “three amigos” do anything in the name of friendship?
The “alpha dog” in this motley pack of mutts is Bernthal as the boasting blustery Swaino. He’s pure confidence with little to back it up. We can almost hear the gears turning in Swaino’s brain as Bernthal squints his eyes and amplifies his tone as Swaino tries to con the ladies while also bluffing himself as his younger “pursuits’ scoff and roll their eyes. At the opposite end of the canine spectrum is Whigham’s Packie, who seems to always “bare his belly” in submission to his superiors. Whigham’s confused stare projects a child-like vulnerability as he tries to “keep up” but his socially awkward behavior puts him back in his “place”. The least “showy” of the three leads is Pollono’s Frank, whose quiet demeanor tries to hold his furious violent temper in check. In many scenes, he’s merely observing as he waits to unleash that inner beast. His two pals talk a “big game” but Pollono’s glare tells us that he will follow through on any threat. A big source of his anger is his toxic, belittling ex Karen, played with brassy bad-girl spunk by the energetic Spiro. She makes Karen a true tornado of chaos. It’s easy to see where Crystal gets much of her “tough chick” attitude. Bravo has the “stones” to spare, but she’s also the real glowing beacon of optimism for the group so battered by life. She’s got a chance to escape, and Bravo conveys that hunger for a brighter future. And as a flip on that, House’s Chad is the poster boy for pampered privilege as his smug smirk oozes with condescension while dealing with those out of his social status.
Oh, I didn’t mention that Frank…er..Mr. Pollono actually wrote and directed this, based on his stage play and short film? And he does a fairly decent job with the pacing, knowing when to focus on one of the principals and when to capture the big action set pieces. Unfortunately, some of the film’s stage roots are showing as many indoor exchanges are abruptly curtailed so that the camera can get some of the exterior scenery. Sometimes it helps to bust up the long conversational exchanges, but more often it makes us wonder why they want to “brave the chill”. And there are a couple of fantasy sequences inserted for more cinematic effect, though a nostalgic memory is given a bizarro slant when ten-year-old boys play young Frank and Terry while the adult Whigham is his “kid-self”. And some of the dialogue just doesn’t ring true, especially Chad’s snarky threats, or Packie’s “out of nowhere” “c#*%-blocking” of Terry (what guy would do that). It doesn’t help that these lines are smothered with thick dialects that seem somewhere between Seth Meyer’s “Boston Accent” movie trailer parody and SNL’s recent “Murdur Durdur” spoof. It all leads up to a convoluted crazy “slap-dash” conclusion that feels all too tidy. But mostly we’re just worn out by the macho “preening” which makes SMALL ENGINE REPAIR a big loud letdown.
1.5 Out of 4
SMALL ENGINE REPAIR opens in select theatres on Friday, September 10, 2021
