{"id":1972738,"date":"2023-07-14T03:47:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-14T07:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tom-cruise-shines-as-americas-last-movie-star-in-the-new-mission-impossible\/"},"modified":"2023-07-14T03:49:54","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T07:49:54","slug":"tom-cruise-shines-as-americas-last-movie-star-in-the-new-mission-impossible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tom-cruise-shines-as-americas-last-movie-star-in-the-new-mission-impossible\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Cruise excels as America&#8217;s final movie star in the latest &#8216;Mission: Impossible&#8217;."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftom-cruise-shines-as-americas-last-movie-star-in-the-new-mission-impossible%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1972738&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>The seventh installment in the \u201cMission: Impossible\u201d franchise is out, and it\u2019s shaping up to be another behemoth at the box office. What\u2019s particularly interesting about this franchise is how, unlike almost every other intellectual property, it\u2019s mostly gotten better over time. Usually, the opposite is true. Much of the juice driving this is none other than Tom Cruise himself, the seemingly ageless wonder who continues to defy expectations.<\/p>\n<p>The other and maybe more important part of this magic formula is writer and director Christopher Macquarrie. Since 2008, he and Cruise have collaborated on 11 projects for a combined box office return of over $5 billion. Their projects\u2019 combined earnings are comparable to entire movie franchises. Their earnings rank between \u201cAvatar\u201d and \u201cDespicable Me\u201d for the biggest box office returns of all time. The most significant collaboration between the two was\u00a0 \u201cTop Gun: Maverick,\u201d which was one of the most successful films ever.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1002670133\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-c58f068e5613f96caebd4dc6ff219494 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-c58f068e5613f96caebd4dc6ff219494\"><\/div>\n<p>Since they first met on the set of \u201cValkyrie\u201d in 2008, these two have been box-office gold. But their projects haven\u2019t always been critical darlings, 2017\u2019s \u201cThe Mummy\u201d being their most notorious stinker. But even their bad films drive lots of people to movie theaters. Some of that is because Cruise is arguably the last <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/king-richard-review-inspiring-lesson-on-how-to-be-an-american\/\" title=\"'King Richard' Review: Inspiring Lesson on How to Be an American\">true movie star<\/a>. There are lots of actors who are famous, like Zendaya or Robert Downey Jr., but Tom Cruise is the closest thing today to the classic Hollywood movie star \u2014 akin to Cary Grant or John Wayne. Back then, the director didn\u2019t matter; the stars were what drew in audiences. Most moviegoers today probably don\u2019t know who Chris Macquarie is, but everyone knows Tom Cruise.<\/p>\n<p>And, of course, there\u2019s the mystique around Cruise for doing all his own stunts, which have become increasingly more dangerous during the Macquarrie-Cruise era of \u201cMission: Impossible\u201d movies. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ortiz-nycs-vaccine-mandate-hammers-small-business-at-the-worst-possible-time\/\" title=\"Ortiz: NYC's Vaccine Mandate Hammers Small Business at the Worst Possible Time\">coup de grace<\/a> is a motorcycle jump off a cliff, which is the central action set piece in \u201cDead Reckoning.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Every year multiple superhero films come out that are splattered with obsequious CGI and special effects, but Cruise wants to do everything for real. The guy is 60 years old, and he\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/timeline-explaining-the-tucker-carlson-vs-the-pentagon-feud\/\" title=\"Timeline: Explaining The \u2018Tucker Carlson vs. The Pentagon\u2019 Feud\">flying fighter jets<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tom-cruise-shines-as-americas-last-movie-star-in-the-new-mission-impossible\/\" title=\"Tom Cruise excels as America's final movie star in the latest 'Mission: Impossible'.\">learning high-altitude skydiving<\/a>, and jumping off cliffs. Cruise has always maintained the mentality that it\u2019s all for the audience. He\u2019s doing this to entertain and drive people to the big screen.<\/p>\n<p>Before \u201cDead Reckoning\u201d starts to play, Macquarrie and Cruise appear as themselves to welcome the audience and thank them for showing up. Cruise did the same thing before \u201cMaverick,\u201d emphasizing that everything you\u2019re about to see was done for real. Cruise is not only the last true movie star but is basically the Evel Knievel of the 21st century. He\u2019s an actor and stuntman.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a18897fa99ac40bbef658b55a2b8ba8c fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a18897fa99ac40bbef658b55a2b8ba8c\"><\/div>\n<p>But the most important thing about the Macquarrie-Cruise pairing is that their films don\u2019t take sides. In the era of political polarization, they refuse to be about anything other than entertainment when they easily could be. \u201cMaverick\u201d could\u2019ve been anti-China or anti-Russia in an attempt to advance ideological narratives, but they left the villains ambiguous and allowed the film to be driven by character dynamics and story.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDead Reckoning\u201d deals with a technological villain that poses an existential threat to humanity itself. It\u2019s not delving into the politics of the moment, no left, no right, just excellent entertainment. It feels like a throwback to some of Hitchcock\u2019s great spy films, like \u201cNotorious\u201d or \u201cNorth by Northwest.\u201d It provides escapism in the best way possible; the narrative is engaging, drawing you out of the real world and into a super spy fantasy. <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s one of the reasons \u201cMaverick\u201d made $1.5 billion. We go to movies to laugh, cry, and be thrilled. Macquarrie and Cruise want to thrill you. They don\u2019t want to preach at you. They want your money in exchange for something worth your money, and they\u2019re willing to go to outrageous lengths to thrill us.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Movies can, and sometimes should, be effective vehicles for important messages. The recently released \u201cSound of Freedom\u201d is an excellent example of this, but that film is also incredibly entertaining and engrossing. One of the reasons \u201cDead Reckoning\u201d works so well is because it has no deeper meaning, no message; it\u2019s just about having fun at the theater, which is something Hollywood used to understand and strive for.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-98e4956a730669211c2c821e5fb4ee27 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-98e4956a730669211c2c821e5fb4ee27\"><\/div>\n<p>In the \u201cMission: Impossible\u201d franchise, Cruise plays Ethan Hunt, a super spy who often has to work against the interests of the U.S. government and the deep state. This, too, is never framed as political but rather just the nature of power. Hunt is usually shown to be an old-fashioned hero from a less cynical time. He\u2019s not racked with guilt for the things he\u2019s done or even confused about what\u2019s right and wrong. There\u2019s no element of him that smacks of the ubiquitous trope of the anti-hero. Yet he has the proper level of reluctance, making him seem humble and brave.<\/p>\n<p>Often Hunt is portrayed as chivalrous. \u201cDead Reckoning,\u201d in particular, shows him consistently valuing the lives of women. At one point, he even says to Haley Atwell\u2019s character, who is the second lead, that he can\u2019t promise her she\u2019ll be safe but that he will always value her life as being more valuable than his \u2014 doesn\u2019t exactly sound like something James Bond or Jason Bourne would say.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s fascinating that none of this is being criticized as white knighting or toxic masculinity. These films have mostly seen universal praise. The focus is on telling a compelling story. Combine that with the very real action, and it\u2019s hard to find anything to criticize. Macquarrie and Cruise have no sermon to preach; they just want to entertain. They want to make the silver screen glow again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDead Reckoning\u201d is full of great action, but it also harks back to the series\u2019 roots. The legendary Brian De Palma directed the original film back in 1996, which was essentially just a straight-up spy thriller. The plot was driven by twists and turns, not set pieces. \u201cDead Reckoning\u201d is more in that vein, whereas \u201cFallout\u201d (the franchise\u2019s previous entry) was basically constant action. The fact that the villain this time around is artificial intelligence \u2014\u00a0 not exactly something you can punch or shoot at \u2014 is what motivates this return to a more cerebral \u201cMission: Impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This franchise continues to maintain its credibility with audiences, while many others flounder because the basic principles have stayed the same. Tell a good story and do the action as authentically as possible. Its lack of political messaging is also a big bonus. Cruise and Macquarrie are essentially following Michael Jordan\u2019s philosophy of capitalism: Republicans buy sneakers and go to the movies too. That\u2019s why this will almost certainly be another massive hit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-004013b490b8f113922744eecf66e7f4 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-004013b490b8f113922744eecf66e7f4\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The latest &#8220;Mission: Impossible&#8221; film is the seventh in the franchise and is expected to be a huge success. What sets this series apart is its consistent improvement, unlike most other franchises. This unique quality is a major factor in its success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":721,"featured_media":1972739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1972738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/721"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1972738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1972739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1972738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1972738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1972738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}