Summary
Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise, is back for another go around the sun.
This was disappointing, not majorly hence the score but I just thought it could have been so much more. I think the decision to split the film into two parts was a bad idea and led to this one being far too light. What I mean by that is that if this was a tighter narrative and crucially one film then a lot of what happened would have been much quicker and less drawn out. As it stands there are scenes like the one set in an airport for example, that first introduces us to Hayley Atwell’s character, that just drag on. To be tighter and better these scenes could have been cut in half.
Moreover, whilst I liked the plot of the film and the idea of them facing off against a rogue AI and people from Hunt’s past I thought that the decision to overlook a lot of the franchise’s recurring character’s in favour of Hayley Atwell’s newcomer was a poor decision. Don’t get me wrong Atwell’s new character was fine, but we barely got to see any scenes with Hunt and his side men or find out really what had been going on with them between films. I think the biggest missed opportunity on this front was Ilsa, played by Rebecca Ferguson. We do get some insight into what she had been doing and she is in a sense pivotal to the plot, but I just feel like we barely get any time with her before she is killed off, this very act cost the film a point form me because within the last two films she had been the most interesting character so to see her die midway into the big two part finale was a bad decision.
The action was good and what you would expect, the stunts I would say were a little lacklustre when compared to the previous films in the franchise but again they had written themselves into a corner, there are only so many things they can feasibly do and there has been a lot of these films at this point.
Overall, it sets an interesting tone for going into what I assume to be the final film, however by ignoring its side characters and out and out killing Ilsa the film left me disappointed.
3/5
Pros.
The action
It is serviceable
The plot has a few interesting dimensions and sets up for an interesting finale
Cons.
Ilsa
The pacing is awful
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