#MissionImpossible and the #JasonBourne Effect
YesMSG is a huge Jason Bourne fan. Have read the books in three languages #humblebrag, and seen each movie an embarrassing number of times. Like most kids, I grew up wanting to be 007, but moved to Bourne once I recognized that as special as he was, he was more human. Anyway, where am I going with this? Who knows, I always start this way.
Now let’s jump to Mission Impossible. For my younger readers, it was actually a series on television a long long time ago. In other words, it did not start with Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). In fact, there was no Ethan Hunt. Mr. Phelps was the star. Yes, that is right, the Mr. Phelps who Cruise made the villain in Mission Impossible 1. I could almost never forgive him for this. Even by Hollywood standards, taking the main star and turning him bad so that you could assume the stage as the principal character was the height of hubris. I know, and egotistical Hollywood star, get out! But still…..It is like taking Mr. Brady (of the Brady Bunch, not Mr. Bundchen) and making him a pedophile.
Ethan Hunt was never going to fill the gap between 007 and Jason Bourne.
Regardless, though, of my personal opinion, I still thought that MI 1 was totally confusing, but had good stunts and Ving Rhames and Jean Reno (easily the finest French actor working in Spy/Assassin oriented US films (see Ronin and The Professional with Natalie Portman for evidence)). MI 2 had Thandie Newton I think, but remember nothing else. As for MI III, it had Maggie Q and Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was rather convincing as the villain, despite the fact that it was hard to imagine him beating up Ethan Hunt.*
* Why is it that the good guys, who can beat up nine armed, trained killers, simultaneously, will always have their toughest hand-to-hand combat with the villain, even if the guy is an arthritic octogenarian?
However, MI 4 was fun. Light on dialog and fast on the pace. Even tried to inject a little humor, which seems rather new for Cruise since his days of Risky Business. And the film does feature Paula Patton, who was quite a delight, even if she is married to Alan Thicke’s son (not worth the link).
But most important was the performance of Jeremy Renner. The Bourne Ultimatum was probably the best way to end the series. But, of course, the producers, and my man–crush, Matt Damon, will do another film. While my head says No, my Self-Defense mechanism says Yes. Nevertheless, this film is on hold. So in the interim, they plan on making another film, The Bourne Legacy, with Renner playing a new character, Aaron Cross.
I was skeptical of his choice, just as I was of Damon; however, his performance in MI 4 gave me confidence that as an actor, and athlete, and a comedian (he had some good one liners), that the Bourne Legacy has a chance, and that if it does well, could even lead to a good Renner-Damon team up in Re-Bourne*, the passing of the torch from Matt to Jeremy.
* My title, not officially from Universal, Warner, Paramount, etc.
Tune in soon to see how this post related to RPG I’s first training in combat ops.
