Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation was released six months ahead of schedule and still ended up being a good installment to the franchise. I don’t think it’s the best one of the series but still a good movie overall. I hope to see the series keep taking tidbits from the previous films, perhaps bring back previous characters. I hope the series can get a good director for the sixth installment as well as create an awesome villain for Hunt and his team to go up against. Hopefully we see a mission (that the team is actually assigned). I’d like to see these movies dial down the comedy a bit. Sure, include a funny line every now and then but don’t make them so light-hearted dammit! I hope to see Ethan have long hair in the next one (but seriously…has anyone else noticed this awesome pattern?)
Some suggestions for Mission: Impossible 6…
The Director
With the Mission: Impossible series going for its sixth installment a question many fans have is, “Who will direct?” Who do we turn to next? Let’s take a look at the previous directors and what they brought to each Mission.
Brian De Palma brought the first to life. His movie was a mystery-thriller with a sense of realism, betrayal, double crosses and espionage, mixed with not so impossible missions. The first movie stands out to me because it didn’t rely on heavy special effects to carry the movie; it had a great plot, well developed characters and really felt like a spy thriller.
The second movie was directed by John Woo and is considered to be the weak link in the chain of Mission movies. Mission: Impossible 2 was an over-the-top action movie and relied on choreographed fight scenes based on Tom Cruise’s physicality in previous movies; however, this movie did do something right. It captured two things no other Mission movie could. First, Ethan Hunt is actually on a mission…he is not disavowed or betrayed; his equipment actually works for once; and you see him doing what he does best. Second, the movie had a formidable foe for Ethan Hunt, physically as well as intellectually in, Sean Ambrose who was menacing and could go toe to toe with Ethan. If you can take this movie for what it is it really isn’t as bad as many people think, the story (in some way a love story), was decently good and it had a good villain.
J.J. Abrams reinvigorated the series with the third installment years later by making us care about Ethan Hunt and showing us his personal life and making it part of the story. A darker side of the Mission movies worked with an intimidating villain (maybe more mentally than physically) and a suspenseful story. Ghost Protocol, the fourth Mission, directed by Brad Bird, changed the series completely by almost transforming Ethan Hunt into a kind of a super agent, rather than a spy. With a near perfect mix of comedy, action and story the movie was a hit and audiences loved it. The film was over the top, yet still believable. The tone of the film was lighter, but it sat well with the fans. Each director has brought his own piece of something to the table; I understand completely that Ghost Protocol was a box office success and that the studio and filmmakers needed to bring back some of this, but in my opinion it was done poorly in Rogue Nation.
With Rogue Nation, directed by Christopher McQuarrie, fans and critics are praising the movie’s crazy stunts and mediocre plot. The negative side of this film is that McQuarrie relied too heavily on Bird’s formula for having Ethan Hunt be a superhero instead of a spy. On the plus side, though, the villain sort of looks the part and appears able to give Hunt a run for his money. Christopher McQuarrie had his hand in the last three Cruise movies. Jack Reacher, Edge of Tomorrow and now Rogue Nation. While all these movies were well received, they were a little too lighthearted for some fans. Too much of each movie relied on comedy. He did, however, go back to the roots, briefly paying homage to Brian De Palma’s first mission, which for super fans of the series was a nice treat.
Each movie is directed by someone different, a formula that the series desperately needs to continue. Audiences of late seem to prefer the “superhero” version of Ethan Hunt as well as the frequent use of his ever-growing team of comedic sidekicks. On the other hand, fans miss the realism and tone that was portrayed in the first three films, a tone that the Bond movies have perfected.
So who do we trust with the task of making Mission 6? Here is a short list of probable directors that could do the series justice, all of these directors have had experience working on sequels and also know how to do bigger scale movies. Also, four of the six directors have worked with Cruise previously:
1. Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back)
Zwick knows how to tell a character-driven detailed story. We have the action part of these movies established, but the characters seem to get a bit lost in the spectacle. Why not focus on a really good story?
2. Ridley Scott (Legend, Gladiator)
Ridley Scott also knows how to tell a story he knows how to do a thriller and have you on the edge of your seat AND he can do action)
3. Michael Mann (Collateral, Heat)
Michael Mann brings such a realistic approach to his movies as well as such a style that cannot be replicated by anyone else. Picture Collateral mixed with Mission: Impossible. Who wouldn’t want to see that?
4. Sam Mendes (Skyfall, Spectre) This guy knows how to do a spy thriller; though I’m not sure he would take up the job or be offered it. (Then again, J.J. Abrams has done Star Trek and now Star Wars But I know that if Mendes got a good script for the sixth movie, he could deliver.
5. Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception)
A shot in the dark here, but Christopher Nolan knows IMAX well and can really do a twisty story, which I think would make an ,expansive awesome spy thriller. We know he can do action scenes and he can also do things on a large scale.
6. Steven Spielberg (War of The Worlds, Minority Report)
Spielberg is last on my list but my first choice. He has worked with Cruise a number of times and usually when he does, the movies are box office hits. I don’t need to say much about him because everyone knows what he can do. Mission: Impossible 6 could really use him.
The Team
Ethan Hunt’s team has been growing with each Mission. The only original member from the first movie is Ving Rhames’ character Luther Stickel. With Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson and Paula Patton (many fans hope both women return in a sequel) Ethan’s team is at 6 members; in my opinion, this is too many characters. Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames virtually have the same job, although we see in Rogue Nation Luther is superior to Benji in his “hacking” skills, why do we need both of them? If the series is going to continue with both characters, keep one back at the Langley HQ, (or wherever the IMF headquarters is located now) and keep one in the field with Ethan. I won’t get into too much discussion of Rebecca Ferguson and Paula Patton because we don’t know if either will be back in a sequel (also Rebecca Ferguson never really joined the IMF team officially).
As far as Jeremy Renner’s character, who was specifically placed in these films in case Cruise could no longer carry the franchise…what is his role? During Rogue Nation we see him behind the scenes, which is fine, but what is his role exactly? This is something the writers need to figure out. The movies center on Cruise and that’s what I like, certain fans do too. I don’t really want to see them turn into ensemble movies. I don’t mind adding characters but keep the focus on Hunt, and have his team be the backup. AND PLEASE: NO JAI COURTNEY! HE KILLS FRANCHISES!
The Villain
According to Mission: Impossible 2, “Every search for a hero must begin with something which every hero requires, a villain.” The first Mission the main villain was Jon Voight’s character, Jim Phelps, Ethan’s boss and mentor. He was about 20+ years older than Cruise. In Mission: Impossible 2 Dougray Scott’s Sean Ambrose was the most physically fit villain in the franchise. Twisted, love drunk and a rogue IMF agent turned terrorist, Sean Ambrose gave Ethan a run for his money. In Mission: Impossible 3 we saw the late Phillip Seymour-Hoffman’s Owen Davian who, yes, was menacing. Yes, technically killed Ethan Hunt…but was also 50 pounds overweight and if it wasn’t for the chip in Ethan’s head he would have not been able to put up a fight against Ethan. Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol had Michael Nyqvist’s Kurt Hendricks who didn’t just look old but looked sluggish and somehow outran Ethan Hunt in the middle of a sand storm…this is Ethan Hunt we’re talking about here. Running is at the top of his resume.
Anyway, in Rogue Nation we have Sean Harris’s character Solomon Lane who, because of his chin, would have an extremely difficult time changing a pillowcase, otherwise he, looks like an older, shaven version of Simon Pegg…with a funny voice (people in my theater would burst out laughing every time he spoke.) Otherwise, he was a good menacing villain! Who sat behind a computer desk…miles away…and was lured into a glass box at the end of the movie.
When Rogue Nation was announced I was excited with the casting of Sean Harris because finally we had a villain who seemed to be able to keep up with Hunt physically, and then during the movie we find out he may even have the upper hand on Hunt mentally…yet, the characters don’t share the same space during most of the movie. It wasn’t until the last ten minutes of the movie that Hunt and Solomon Lane really share any genuine screen time then a glass wall goes up to separate them. The only thing we can hope for is maybe he will return. This is the first Mission villain NOT to die at the end of the film. I would love to see Solomon Lane return and be more intimidating and more physically commanding next time around, I’d want to see a bad version of Ethan Hunt which was essentially Sean Ambrose. Movies like this are only as good as the villain; a good, protagonist needs a good, antagonist. New Rule: No villain may be older or fatter than Tom Cruise. AND PLEASE: NO JAI COURTNEY!
The Mission-Should you chose to accept it…
Everyone knocks Mission: Impossible 2 for a multitude of reasons. Sure I understand. However, this was the only movie that Ethan Hunt and his team actually went on a mission. In every other movie something bad happens, which flings the IMF into action, or the government disavows Ethan and his team members, or dissolves the entire IMF completely. One might say, “That’s what Mission: Impossible movies are!” But they don’t have to be! Why doesn’t one of the IMF or CIA directors (Either Alec Baldwin, Laurence Fishburne or Henry Czerny) sit down and say, “Look Ethan Hunt has a hard time. We have literally never given this guy the benefit of the doubt and each time he has come out on top and proved us wrong.” The next movie should be that the IMF has a serious mission and only Ethan and his team can take it on.
Things can go wrong sure, but the main plot shouldn’t be based around Hunt being a “traitor”…again. Because at the end of the day that’s not what he is nor was it something he ever was or ever will be. (As a side note, why are American tax dollars being spent to clear Ethan’s name? Over…and over…and over… again. Give the man a mission!)
Humanity & Realism
I would also like to see some realism back in these movies, and I have to say there was a sense of realism put in Rogue Nation but it was dulled down by the constant humor. At the same time, McQuarrie tried to do too much of the “Brad Bird Thing”, what’s the “Brad Bird Thing” you may ask? The “Brad Bird Thing” Is the scene where Ethan Hunt escapes the hospital by using his belt to slide down a cable, bounces off a moving truck, opens his eyes and thinks “HOLY SHIT! Can’t believe that one worked” The mortal in Ethan Hunt is surprised he’s managed to live through that. There is none of that in Rogue Nation. Ethan is holding onto the side of a plane, and the rubbery CGI looking Ethan Hunt gets sucked back into the airplane and smashed against the wall. The reason why making Ethan a superhero worked in Ghost Protocol was because even he was shocked he could do the things he did. It worked for that particular movie, but during Rogue Nation, I felt that McQuarrie at times was trying to maintain Brad Bird’s influence. Ethan didn’t seem shocked at the things he was capable of doing, which was the whole reason it worked in the previous film
These are a few things I’d love to see in Mission: Impossible 6, what do you think? Sound off below! Except for you, Jai Courtney!