Tag: Mission: Impossible

3 movies you can watch right now, including Oppenheimer and Barbie

Oppenheimer. Barbie. Tom Cruise. So many great movies out right now.

Are you one of the few people who hasn’t yet gotten in on the “Barbenheimer” experience?

Well, there is still plenty of time to catch two of the biggest films of the decade so far in Greta Gerwig’s fantastical comedy Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s historical drama Oppenheimer.

There’s also a really stunning Mission: Impossible film that’s still playing in theaters, one that sees Tom Cruise continuing to defy the laws of physics to entertain audiences.

If we reworked our list of the 10 best movies of 2023 (so far), all three of these films would earn a spot. They’re all that good.

The 10 best movies of 2023 (so far), including the Michael Jordan sneaker drama Air

Hayley Atwell on filming Mission: Impossible stunts with Tom Cruise: Amazing that he ‘put his life in my hands’

The Mission: Impossible newcomer shares what some of the huge stunts were like in the new Dead Reckoning Part One.

As the first audience reactions begin to emerge from Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One this week, a lot of the buzz is coming from the film’s utterly spectacular stunt sequences. Two of the most memorable stunts in the movie are built around the franchise newcomer, English actress Hayley Atwell, including a mind-blowing car chase through the streets of Rome that kicks the film into high gear.

So how in the world does one prepare to join what is widely known as one of the most physically demanding movie franchises when it comes to stunts?

MORE: Ranking the Mission: Impossible movies from M:I 2 to Dead Reckoning Part One

The answer, of course, is practice and lots of it. Atwell’s preparations for the role included six months of working with renowned stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood on her driving skills so that she could do as much of the actual driving in the film as possible without the use of stunt drivers.

“[Eastwood] was focused on making sure that my drifting was up to, not only the kind of speed and precision it needed to be but that I was also aware of obstacles I’d be facing on the streets of Rome,” Atwell said. “Buildings, people, other cars.”

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“Wade is so disciplined and strict and such a brilliant teacher that he would not let me get into a car on location unless he knew that his own crew were safe.”

Atwell’s ability to safely pull off these moves behind the wheel didn’t just impact her, but also her co-star and executive producer Tom Cruise, who is handcuffed to Atwell’s character through the entire car chase sequence.

“By the time we got to Rome, I had built up the trust from Wade and also from Tom that I could do these competently and that I could also take direction in my performance so that Grace as a character could seem more reckless than I really am as a driver,” Atwell said.

“It’s a great privilege of my life that in that moment Tom felt that he could put his life in my hands.”

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is in theaters now. You can hear the For The Win staff discuss it in even more detail in the latest episode of our pop culture podcast, For The Watercooler. Listen in the player below or in your favorite podcast app.

Ranking the Mission: Impossible movies from M:I 2 to Dead Reckoning Part One

This post will self destruct in five seconds.

The seventh installation of the Mission: Impossible franchise — Dead Reckoning Part 1 — hit theaters July 12. Anticipation for the new Tom Cruise flick is incredibly high, to put it mildly; the movie boasts a whopping 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes with more than 270 reviews published.

In a series that began in 1996, Cruise’s Ethan Hunt has taken on several missions and performed increasingly wild stunts over the last two decades.

MORE: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One raises the bar for action filmmaking

While not every movie of the series is perfect — looking at you M:I II — it’s a franchise that has improved with time, experience and Cruise’s willingness to perform absolutely WILD stunts.

Hayley Atwell and a reporter perfectly shared their love for Labyrinth during Mission: Impossible interview

“You remind me of the babe.”

Press tours for stars can be long and repetitive. You’re in a room for hours on end answering a seemingly never ending barrage of questions. This is especially so when your movie is as huge and highly anticipated as Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. The seventh installment of the global franchise already boasts a 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and opens in theaters on Wednesday, July 12.

MORE: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One raises the bar for action filmmaking

Hayley Atwell, who plays Grace alongside Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, found ways to make the press junket feel less monotonous. In an interview with BBC 1’s Ali Plumb, the duo flawlessly did an off-the-cuff riff from the 1986 cult classic Labyrinth.

It could have flopped horribly if Atwell didn’t know the reference, but instead the pair went back and forth for a perfect recreation of one of the best scenes.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One raises the bar for action filmmaking

Tom Cruise and his merry band of spies are back and they deliver one of the most satisfying experiences you’ve had at the movies in years.

The Mission: Impossible franchise has always been daring and boundary-pushing but since Christopher McQuarrie was brought into the fold, first as a screenwriter and later as a director, the franchise has really found an identity. That identity goes far beyond just being a series of state-of-the-art action movies. The thrills from McQuarrie’s M:I movies don’t just come from the stunts, which are utterly spectacular, or the shocking, mask-peeling plot twists. You’re not just getting the junk food here, you’re getting a complete, balanced meal.

Dead Reckoning Part One serves up a prime example of well-rounded action filmmaking about a third of the way through the film, when our characters are thrust into one of the most elaborate and well-executed car chases I’ve ever seen. From a technical standpoint, the sequence is loaded with original and creative gags. We’re not just cutting from our heroes’ car to the car that’s chasing them. Some of the things that happen in this car chase are terrifying, and some of them are hilarious.

This car chase lasts a really long time, and that’s because it’s doing a lot of work for the story. As the car chase continues, we learn about Hayley Atwell’s character Grace, what she’s good at, what she’s not good at, how she interacts with Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and how she handles stress. We learn a little about the character chasing them, the mysterious Paris played by Guardians of the Galaxy star Pom Klementieff. We don’t learn a ton about Paris but we learn enough to be genuinely terrified of her for the remainder of the film.

This character-driven type of action becomes particularly important as the movie goes on since this installment of Mission: Impossible is particularly loaded with characters we’re going to need to remember for a while (this is the first of a two-part story). Standing out among those new faces in addition to Atwell and Klementieff are Shea Wigham, who plays a grumpy intelligence agent chasing after Ethan, as well Esai Morales, who plays a sort of surrogate figure for a very unconventional villain.

This movie can’t work without an incredibly likable cast, which it has, but it’s the way that cast and McQuarrie deliver on the action that makes this arguably the best action movie of the decade to date. Tom Cruise’s much-publicized stunt involving riding a motorcycle off a mountain is as good as you’re expecting but it’s no more or less spectacular than the aforementioned car chase through Rome or the film’s final action set piece, which I won’t spoil for you other than to say it continues to top itself each second that ticks by.

Dead Reckoning Part One will get some criticism for having too much going on, or too labyrinthine or complex plot for an action movie, and those are perhaps fair descriptions that miss the point of the Mission: Impossible franchise. The complexity is always there but you’re also free to not follow it and still enjoy the movie, knowing that Ethan Hunt is doing the math in his head and is willing to do whatever is necessary to save the day.

Barbie’s Margot Robbie, Greta Gerwig delightfully recreated Tom Cruise’s summer movie ticket photos

Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig are keeping Tom Cruise’s good movie theater vibes going.

Barbie star Margot Robbie and filmmaker Greta Gerwig are keeping the movie-loving goodwill alive that Tom Cruise started earlier this week.

On Tuesday, Cruise posted a series of photos with his Mission: Impossible –  Dead Reckoning Part One collaborator Christopher McQuarrie showing support for other films coming out this summer.

In the pictures, Cruise and McQuarrie posed with posters and tickets for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Barbie and Oppenheimer to show solidarity for the theatrical experience.

Well, Gerwig and Robbie delightfully decided to return the favor by recreating those pictures in front of posters for Oppenheimer, Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible.

Well, isn’t this just the coolest thing?

While these films are competing against each other at the box office, they’re all united in helping support the theatrical experience, one that faced an uncertain future during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’ll take the entire industry to keep movie theaters strong, and one film’s success is a success for every film these days.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny filmmaker James Mangold also supported Cruise’s post by saying he’ll be showing up for all the other films that have been mentioned.

All that’s left now is for Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan and star Cillian Murphy to do their own recreation of Cruise’s now-viral set of photos.

Everyone loved Tom Cruise’s viral tweet of him supporting other movies coming out this summer

Tom Cruise really does just love the movies.

Tom Cruise loves movies, and every single day he posts on social media is another reminder of that indisputable fact.

After dominating the box office and earning awards love for his 2022 blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, the actor is back this summer with his latest Mission: Impossible film opening next month.

Even though he’s got a big movie of his own ready to hit theaters in a couple of weeks, the actor couldn’t help but throw his support behind three other big movies this summer: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Oppenheimer and Barbie.

Cruise and his Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 director Christopher McQuarrie posed in a now-viral series of photos with movie tickets and posters for those three aforementioned movies.

The actor’s Twitter account shared a heartening message for all three of those films, saying that “this summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters.”

As you can imagine, everyone continues to love Cruise’s unabashed love of movies. The positive vibes flowed through for the actor’s supportive message about just loving the movies and the theatrical experience.

Everyone wants to kill Tom Cruise in the new Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning trailer

The new trailer looks awesome.

There are two kinds of action movies.

In one kind, the hero is made to look completely invincible, an untouchable videogame character with all the cheat codes turned on. In the other kind, the hero gets the absolute crap kicked out of him but manages to somehow succeed anyway.

Fans of the Mission: Impossible franchise know that (with the possible exception of Mission: Impossible 2) that series firmly fits into the second category, with Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt taking a licking and refusing to stop ticking.

From the looks of the first full trailer for the next installment in the franchise, it appears Ethan has plenty more hits, kicks, falls, and shots coming his way this summer.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One hits theaters July 12th and marks the first leg of a two-part story for superspy Ethan Hunt, with the second part coming in summer of 2024. Cruise will star alongside series regulars Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Rebecca Ferguson as well as newcomers Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, and Esai Morales.

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