After watching Mission: Not possible – Lifeless Reckoning Half One for the second time, one thought struck me: Hayley Atwell is a celebrity. Regardless of her strong work in Black Mirror and Marvel’s Captain America, this gem has someway remained hidden in obscurity, caught making pointless cameos in foolish superhero adventures and voicing CGI animals.
Fortuitously, recreation acknowledged recreation, and Tom Cruise recruited her for his newest unattainable mission, the place she effortlessly slides in as Ethan Hunt’s newest companion in espionage. Within the sixth sequel to 1996’s Mission: Not possible, Atwell portrays Grace, a mysterious but finally virtuous thief who finds herself in over her head when tasked with stealing a key that unlocks a robust synthetic intelligence program. Ultimately, Grace sees the sunshine, joins Ethan’s rogue squadron, and takes half in a wide range of thrilling stunts and intelligent deceptions to show her value.
Hayley Atwell goes for broke along with her efficiency, showcasing a variety of feelings throughout her substantial display time. What begins as a bewildering interplay with Ethan at Abu Dhabi’s airport rapidly evolves into an amusing partnership. Grace loves the hazard, grinning like a schoolgirl throughout Ethan’s fixed pursuits, however doesn’t fairly perceive the implications of her actions. Nonetheless, when the bullets begin flying, Grace rapidly succumbs to stress and should study to navigate this unusual new world of violence, dying, automobile chases, dastardly villains, countless double crosses, and many friggin’ operating.
There’s a improbable second in the course of the huge prepare set piece through which Ethan and Grace stand atop a platform with a piano dangling precariously above. Ethan must leap to the opposite aspect, however a frightened Grace clings desperately to him. He urges her to let go so he could make the leap, assuring her that every part will likely be okay. “Do you belief me?” he asks, to which she shakes her head, tears in her eyes, a glance of worry splashed over her face. “I would like you to belief me,” he insists. Lastly, she nods, and he makes his daring transfer, along with her following on the final second.
It’s a refreshing show of vulnerability from a hero in a contemporary motion movie. Grace doesn’t again down from a combat or miss a simple mark, offered it serves her greatest pursuits, however she has her limits. She takes on the villain Gabriel, will get her butt kicked, tries to flee in a automobile, smashes every part in sight (unintentionally making it simpler for Ethan to trace her down), and freaks out (as anybody would) when going through a collapsing prepare. She’s additionally not impervious to errors and miscalculations, failing to comprehend Ethan’s trustworthiness earlier than it’s too late. Such imperfections make her relatable and endearing, making it straightforward for audiences to root for her eventual success.
Moreover, Hayley Atwell brings out the most effective in Cruise, creating probably the most potent dynamic duo within the franchise since, effectively, Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson in Rogue Nation. Hand-in-hand, Ethan and Grace leap from trains, rushing automobiles, and late-night membership events. Sexual stress abounds however is rarely acted upon, which is simply as effectively contemplating what occurs to Ilsa.
On that observe, not every part about Grace works completely. Her presence, sadly, diminishes Rebecca Ferguson’s display time and demotes Ilsa Faust to a secondary character. Whether or not attributable to scheduling conflicts or disinterest from all concerned, Ferguson is oddly left within the mud, fairly actually. One can’t assist however surprise if Grace’s function was initially meant to be Ilsa, with the plot centering on her official recruitment to the IMF, or perhaps Ferguson grew bored with taking part in second fiddle to Cruise. Both method, contemplating Ferguson’s pivotal function in revitalizing the collection in Rogue Nation, it feels incorrect to solid her apart so rapidly in favor of a more recent mannequin.
(Additionally, am I the one one who thinks Ilsa remains to be alive? Sometimes, when a major character will get the axe, they obtain a funeral or some kind of remembrance. Lifeless Reckoning skips the mourning and jumps straight into the third act. Maybe we’ll see extra fallout from the character’s dying in Lifeless Reckoning Half Two, or perhaps she’s going to return as a part of Ethan’s plan to destroy the Entity. Regardless, the character deserves a lot extra.)
Personally, I hope Atwell continues to be part of the franchise in the long term. She greater than proves her value in Lifeless Reckoning and utterly stole the present. For all of the high-wire stunts, combat sequences, complicated face-offs, and shootouts, this newest Mission: Not possible will greatest be remembered for introducing Hayley Atwell into the long-running collection. I’d name that mission completed.
