This week, Ethan Hunt returns for a fifth time, this time (mostly) written and (completely) directed by Christopher McQuarrie. Is Ilsa Faust an all-time Hall of Fame female lead? What is a Mission: Impossible solution for a Mission: Impossible problem? Is “green-screened briefing scene” the best phrase in the English language?

Unanswered Questions:

• What does the political reframing of the nature of international espionage mean for our understanding of this franchise?
• Is Solomon Lane a convincing antagonist? Is the Syndicate?
• What is the nature of American exceptionalism in the world of M:I?

Further reading:

• Bridget Jones says “Chechnya” (YouTube)
• Wayne’s World Product Placement (YouTube)
• The Last Star In Hollywood Definitive List Of Tom Cruise Films
• The Last Star In Hollywood: Production Schedule

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Join us next week as Cruise ignores his own advice as goes back to Jack Reacher in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back!

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