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

Episode Date: April 30, 2025

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss their favorite installment of the beloved Tom Cruise action franchise with ‘Mission: Impossible—Fallout’, which features some of the greatest action filmmaking of all time. They explain why this concretized director Christopher McQuarrie as a legitimate star filmmaker, explore what this film means and represents about Cruise’s movie stardom persona, and share why they went with this film instead of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ as the official late-stage Cruise movie for the list. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you're a fan of the inner workings of Hollywood, then check out my podcast, The Town, on the Ringer Podcast Network. My name's Matt Bellany. I'm a founding partner at Puck and the writer of the What I'm Hearing newsletter. With my show, The Town, I bring you the inside conversation about money and power in Hollywood. Every week we've got three short episodes featuring real Hollywood insiders to tell you what people in town are actually talking about. We'll cover everything from why your favorite show was canceled overnight, which streamer is on the brink of collapse, and which executive is on the hot seat. Disney, Netflix, who's up, down, and who will never eat lunch in this town again.

Follow The Town on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. From early morning workouts that need a boost to late night drives that need vibes, a good playlist can help you make the most out of your everyday. And when it comes to everyday spending, you can count on the PC Insider's World Elite MasterCard to help you earn the most PC optimum points everywhere you shop.

With the best playlists, you never miss a good song. With this card, you never miss out on getting the most points on everyday purchases. The PC Insider's World Elite MasterCard. The card for living unlimited. Conditions apply to all benefits. Visit pcfinancial.ca for details. I'm Sean Fennessy. I'm Amanda Dobbins and this is 25 for 25, a big picture special conversation show about... Fate 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. We massaged it a tiny little bit. We did. Well, 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 27th, 2018. It was a birthday movie for me, which was absolutely wonderful. It was, but we went together. Do you remember this? Remind me. I think I do, but remind me. So cruel. Once again, here we are. You can remember every single Criterion Closet pick from from like, you know, someone I've never heard of, but you don't remember our show.

Yeah, 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 at like 2 15 in the movie because we also got beers. which was like a little bit stressful and at 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, Juliette was there. I can't remember if Phoebe was in town. 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 too, 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 it be just before 2000? Um, so we had a bunch to choose from. 2000. 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? 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 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'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 like corporate enterprise, but also it's well-made, it's well acted. It is really like over committed. But you're along for the ride and we all love it. 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 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. Deep spoilers for Brian De Palma's Mission Impossible, 1996. It's a 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. 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 Cruz 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 Maid, a lot of Night and Day, a lot of those films 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 the edges of a helicopter to survive.

And that gives the movie like an added weight, 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 has become like Tom Cruise's, like Sherpa, you know, exactly, for lack of a better word, through this. And, you know, they exactly for, for lack of a better word through this. And, you know, they worked 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. Yes.

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. 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 McCrory is interesting, because if you talk to McCrory, 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,. 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

when 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 in the space. Spoiler alert, Jurassic World and Fast and the Furious. F5 did not make our list. 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 Macquarie 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 that 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, Cruz in the mold

of a Steve McQueen kind of figure. And you can 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, there is nothing better. Yeah, you go to see someone you're rooting for do impossible things and win the day. Yes. And do it sincerely. Since exactly, sincerely, but with a sense of humor, which is the... that's the centerpiece of the target.

These are really... These are like earnest, and like I said, like overcommitted movies, like Tom Cruise is just... Is like doing these stunts all of the time and landing in old ladies' backyards in London, right? He has 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 also having fun. 100%. So this film comes three years after Rogue Nation, which is the first Macquarie film. Mm-hmm. And the film that precedes that film is Ghost Protocol, which is Brad Bird's entry in the franchise,

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 is a lesser group of people who love three. You and I are a little bit more down on three than the consensus.

Shout out, Bobby. Especially at The Ringer, Bobby loves Three, CR loves Three, I think Bill Simmons loves Three. Right. Three is a little bit too JJTV 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. Which I think is like now, Macquarie's critical obsession

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, 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. 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. That's the one where he's hanging off the plane at the beginning? Correct. Yeah, I mean, good one. I think a lot of these movies are best remembered

for those stunt sequences that you're talking about. Mm-hmm. I've got six all world sequences Yeah, well I added one of them you had five I had five and you've added one. Yeah, you mentioned the halo jump Yeah, 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, yeah. Yes. But I don't view that as a set piece.

It is action that is also putting together exposition and setting up the story, but like 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? It's the Palais Royal. Okay. Right?

That sounds right. And... You wrote it down in the document, but it is. It's the Palais Royal, which I think was built at some point as like, it's Paris's version of a convention center, you know? Oh, that's significantly nicer than the Javits Center. I mean, I think it's like, you know,

250 years old and others. 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. 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 a pretty fascinating cruise. That eventually, of course, saves Walker. Yeah. 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. Um...

Do you, when you relook at this movie and you know that the role that Walker eventually plays, 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 to what? I would say that the Walker Angela Bassett plot lines, 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. So let's talk about suspension of disbelief. 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. And I start thinking through the problem of the plotting. 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 gonna jump out of a plane now just because he's got to get into the Palais Royale and fight a guy in a bathroom? 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. But...

We've talked before about the relationship between Nolan and the mission movies. Sure, yeah. And that they are 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.

Totally. But, 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. But this one is particularly high level,

because it is about anarchy, essentially, about disassembling the world order. But there is something, like, they're real but not real, it's not particularly grounded, and then within 20 minutes, like, 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? Yeah.

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, you know? The Wolf Blitzer reveal fairly early in the film, which is such a magnificent scene. It's so wonderful. So fun when Niels Delbruck, 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. It's silliness, but also like a little clever and you're just, and it gets you on their

side. Like you don't believe it, but you're along 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. I fully agree. The bathroom fight sure very yeah which comes after they have landed post halo jump and to me that is cinema that It's cinema. I know, I know. It's, I mean. That is, to me that fight is makes me, is as excited as I get at the movies. And really good screwball moments from Cruise within it where he's kind of roaming around in between like whacking people with stuff. And playing the older and weaker guy.

Yeah. I mean, he takes some real blows and he kind of like starts developing, I think this particular taken 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. Yeah all practical all shot against the glimmering white bathroom

the set design is a plus phenomenal and It is and and moments of humor too. Like they're the French guys drunk guys just singing La Vie en Rose or whatever Which is the funniest like we're in France guys and then also humor too. Like the French guys, drunk guys just singing La Vie en Rose or whatever, 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. Yeah, exactly. It's a franchise that like knows who it is, knows what it is. And even when you, you know, there, 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 in 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. 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. Yes. And he is definitely seeing what's going on and is like kind of amused by it and is also just hanging in. There's something, 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,

Alana 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'd 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 Cruise, like, he's kind of lost the ability to be like, we're going to 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, Haley Atwell, I think does this very well with him as well. Yes. And they're very good in these movies, locating who can give him that energy.

Right. She's fabulous, and she also fits very well, I think, with some of the physicality of this part at the moment when she, you know, removes the knife from her leg holster, her thigh holster, and they're stabbing people together. And that's, this is really the sex scene of this movie. Um, I don't know, anything else with the Gaila shootout? She's just, she's very funny in it too.

You know, like there is, and even the next scene when they're doing the plans for the Solomon Lane extraction, you don't really know where she's gonna go. And you don't, she's playing off of like the dumb brother and Walker and something. It's, she's pretty extraordinary. 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? Yeah. Is Cavill a better villain? Well, Cavill's

better at what he's doing, which is being along for the ride until he's not. Yeah. But he doesn't spend a lot of time in villain mode. It's true. And like what he's actually, the parts when he's in villain mode, he's just like throwing helicopters around. So, which I mean, which he's very good at. I find that, 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 Davian 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 gonna 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 like what this still means to Cruz, that Ethan, like what his code is? Well, only, well, there's a whole theme in this movie about how he's like the type of guy who will like 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 Hangers movie. Yeah, 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."

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, you know? It explains... He uses this as an explanation of why he basically took a demotion to work with Ethan Hunt. Sure, yeah. 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, 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. And I, 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. You think that it reflects some, like, well-publicized events in Tom Cruise's personal life. 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 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 her. I mean, she is like in mortal danger. She's in mortal danger. And has like, once again, she has been given like, her own Doctors Without Borders camp, just basically in order to set up world destruction. Not ideal.

Not ideal. Not what you want. She got kind of duped pretty hard on that one. And that was obviously a honeypot for Ethan. It is like a little bit, like someone calls up and is like, I just want to send you two to this particular place. Like, do ask some questions, you know?

But if someone called you and was like, I want to send you to movie paradise in Europe for two weeks, you and Zach, wouldn't you be like, sounds good? I mean, I don't know. It's like, we're in the era of like too many spam phone calls and scams, you know? Like anyone who's just coming to you with, you know, there's no free lunch. So 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. I suspect that's true. So, you know, if the Cannes 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 got to ask questions. That would be another nitpick. That's not something that Ethan does very well. If you think, you know, we got to ask questions.

That would be another nitpick. It'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 going to 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. Um, the final two action set pieces

that we were talking through, you added the London chase sequence, which does feature the signature move, which is what? Right, Tom Cruise running. Just like running over many bridges throughout London at top speed, and you just get these 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. 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. 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. Hey, and like, you know, I'm sure it's like stitched together a little bit, but he does go, they designed it in such a way where he goes from St. Paul's in London, like across the river, 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. 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 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. Well, again, I'm just like, this guy needs to ask a question or two. 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. And then, like, Tom Cruise is doing, like, free climbing in order to get... As is this one, too. Sure. Yeah. Pretty stressful, though. 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 like awaiting another action set piece. that these sequences tell the story of the movie in a way that makes me feel... Like, I forget that I am, like, awaiting another action set piece, you know?

Sometimes in John Wick, you can be like, okay, when will be the next time when he will go into Gunfu? 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, 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. 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 in their guns or whatever, but. Yeah, so let's not forget Henry Cavill loading up his arms before attempting to beat the shit out of the John Lark stand in. But I don't know, this like has a bigger canvas, I guess.

It does. I also love the score in this movie. Lauren Balf 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. She's never in a hallway. I mean, she's definitely like green screened into various like beautiful Paris locations. But like the Chantel Mar scene with, like, her and Cavill and then the Eiffel Tower is back behind, it's, you know. What is that sequence, 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

and her heels are clicking and Balf'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, big like big cello movie And some of them are different like the music of Mission Impossible is weird You know, let's not forget that Limp Bizkit once participated in the musical score of I try to 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 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 Final Reckoning on? 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. There's... We kind of know what some of the plot will be from like 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, element because of the submarine. I have to be honest, I don't really like underwater stunts as much as, you know, sailing around stunts. Mm-hmm. But, you know, the biplane that we've seen in the trailer, the emotions, maybe, maybe? I think, 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. What about Avengers Endgame? That was the last Marvel movie ever made. OK, yeah. Ha ha ha. That's not what my Google Calendar tells me. Uh, I don't know.

I would love for it to be better than, if it's better than Fallout, it's going to be a great movie. That's a really good sign, because this is definitely 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 the 2010s. And look where we are now.

I know. Well, I'm not sure if it's... We honestly don't know if it's gonna be a good outcome or a bad outcome, but Sky Dance participates in Mission. And Mission's success and Skydance's partnership there matters. And just like it matters to these companies coming together to make Top Gun Maverick. And so Top Gun Maverick in this movie... I'm really grateful for all of those films, but otherwise... And you know, I think all the people that Paramount employees deserve a job and otherwise

like let's light it all on fire, in my opinion. But... Well, I think it's important to have big movie studios in some ways. You know, how they do their work, we can debate. But when you look at their highest grossing movies, you know, five of them are Transformers films in the 2000s. After that, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Shrek...

That was tough. Shrek sequels. Listen, don't speak ill of Shrek. Madagascar. Around, you know, Jack's back there. I have no beef with Shrek 1 whatsoever. In fact, I quite like it. I can't remember anything about Shrek 2, 3, or 4. Nor do I.

We're gonna find out cause Shrek 5 coming. Listen, I know, the youth have told me that it's really important. Should we do a Shrek movie marathon at Vidiots this year? Oh, that's funny. All four films. And then we all have to sit there. Yeah, we all sit together, arm in arm.

I guess our children could come to at least a couple of them, right? Absolutely, yeah. 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 the studio, other than like, I don 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, we gotta go back to the mid-90s. Those are good though. They're great. That's like 30 years ago. Listen, I hear you. I really like the Paramount lot. There we go. I said something nice.

It's a truly great lot. Yeah. I think they're gonna like turn into condos. Thanks, David Ellison. I hope that doesn't happen. I really hope that does not happen. I like visiting and I like watching films there. Yeah. More than that, I think. I really hope that does not happen.

I like visiting and I like watching films there. 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 been reported that Macquarie wrote a lot on Rogue One before Tony Gilroy came in. Mm.

What did he do? We don't know. What specifically did he do to Top Gun Maverick, even though he's a producer? Sure. I think he has a writing credit on that film, but I'm not sure. I think he does as well.

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 Crews adopted him. But I think what's told a great story at CinemaCon, which I'm sure he's told a million times about, um, McCrory coming on this set of Ghost Protocol. And they're trying to figure out that scene,

the climbing, 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 then McHugh just goes, okay, so blue is like, he says like, this is McHugh. And then McHugh says, okay, so they explain how it works. And then 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. 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's self mythology that he imparts into this film. Right, or that we impart for him. But, you know, either way, it's a rich text. If you had to guess, do you think he has a...

a discrete consciousness about putting himself into his character? Or is it something that Macquarie 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. 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 I... The level of psychology that you and I want to read into it

is, I think, either being developed with McCrory and with others or as just us being, like, you know, huge nerds. The division between the intentionality and the meta-text, that's what we do here, you know what I mean? And 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 wrong. He will also make sure that everyone in the movie tells him 45 times what a good man he is. 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? No, just a banger. Banger movie. Recommend it if you like. Yeah.

Obviously any Mission Impossible movie. I think any spy movie, candidly, would probably go pretty well. Yeah, I mean, I put like, I put Born 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. Absolutely. It would be pretty weird if you, like, were really into Born Identity, but were like, I don't want to watch a Mission Impossible movie. Yeah. 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. Is this where we announce that Skyfall is not on our list? I guess you just did. Yeah. How do you feel about that? I mean, we had to make choices.

And this, 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. Tenet. No, well, yeah, Tenet's not on our list. Tenet's not on our list, yeah. And neither is Top Gun Maverick. I had to choose. And Mission Impossible was the right choice. So let's make that the closing conversation.

No, it's okay. It's okay. Because I'm grateful to you. Top Gun Maverick, which is a movie I really quite like. Right. And to me it is like, it is a four-star movie and these are five-star conversations. So, was this hard for you? 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, Tom Cruise, 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. Yeah. And also, you know, it obviously has personal significance to me and 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 like more signature of the range of action, like Tom Cruise is flying all the planes and Top Gun Maverick, but he's doing literally everything. He's jumping off these buildings. In Mission Impossible Fallout. And also, they both are, I guess,

a team that's got to come together, sort of. But the Mission Impossible movies are like built around Ethan, and Top Gun Maverick is like at least trying to introduce all of these other people. It gives Glenn Powell its nice moment, you know. So it's the signature. I understand that Mission Impossible is the signature, but I love you forever, Top Gun Maverick. I appreciate you being open-minded about this.

Yeah. As I do think it is the superior movie, but you know, Tom Cruise needs them both for his self-my about this. Yeah. As I do think it is the superior movie, but you know, Tom Cruise needs them both for his self-mythology. Right. Well, that's, what was this, number 21? Seems right. Number 21.

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

Also overlaps with the timeline of the show. It does. Pretty neatly. 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? Not that many. Is that true?

Yeah. Interesting. many of the films were films while we were making the show versus what? Not that many. Is that true? Yeah. Interesting. Okay. Cause it does feel like 2000 to 2005. It 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 Bound in theaters for its 20th anniversary.

Yeah. They reissued Pride and Prejudice for its 20th anniversary. That's a whole thing that's happening on a quarter of the internet. They reissued Revenge of the Sith. Yeah. We have a couple... Early aughts. Early aughts.

I mean, I can think of one example in a prime spot. But yeah, I would say the 2005 to 20... Well, really to the pandemic. That's a sweet spot. Is the sweet spot. 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.