Tom Cruise keeps pushing himself further. Everything keeps getting more impressive. If anything, one thing that Dead Reckoning had over Fallout was that the stunt from the trailer of Hunt jumping a motorcycle off of a mountain want parachuting was insane while being justified by the circumstances -- at least more so that the HALO jump in Fallout.
Having the movie split into two parts is already an indicator that these last two are gonna be the last installments.
Without giving anything away, there are more clear indicators that this is it. They're going out with a bang. That said, I have already been scoffing at the idea that they'll keep the franchise going without Tom Cruise. I don't want that to happen. It's not just that Tom Cruise is the perfect leading actor for these movies; but, he's in a place that nobody else is in the industry -- he's a mega star who has the clout to do this stuff for real.
There's a lot to love about this movie. Not the least of which is the fact that it's dealing with a war to control information. It's not as if this is new concept in espionage movies -- the old world clashing with the new. It's just done in a big, bold way. Bringing back Kittredge in a key role was a great move.
Still, everybody should see that the reason why these movies keep succeeding is that the people involved know what they are, what keeps the audience coming back, and they keep delivering rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.
Tom Cruise and the character of Ethan Hunt has kept us coming back to the theater for thirty years. They know that it's not a good idea to suddenly turn Hunt into an aging, broken man who is struggling to find a anything left to care about, who's ready to turn the torch over to a bright, young woman who already knows as much as he does.
Haley Atwell was a great addition to the cast because she is smart, beautiful, and resourceful; but, she's also green and inexperienced with a ton to learn.
Rebecca Ferguson has been one of my favorite additions to the cast since her introduction in Rouge Nation. She's confident, and nobody has ever been that sexy and classy while operating a sniper rifle.
Pom Klementieff managed to do more with almost no dialog than most actors in the series. She's a badass; but, in all the irony that comes within the parameters of the Mission: Impossible franchise, she's a a realistic level of badass.
I do think that this movie dealt with some darker ideas and themes, and it dealt with loss more explicitly than the other films; but, it kept a healthy amount of humor and levity.
Isn't that the thing, though? Hunt has something to lose because he still cares deeply. You can't imagine Hunt tossing whatever his equivalent of a lightsaber would be over his shoulder. We don’t want to see that. I don't think any of us wanna see a part 2 where he's passing the torch.
If Cruise is done, as he's gotta be close to being, these last two installments should be it, not only for the character of Ethan Hunt, but for the franchise.