Thousands of miles from home, smack dab in the middle of a makeshift medical camp, Luther's hesitant, quietly posed question is clearly consuming the audience's mind.
"How close were we?"
As has been and will surely always be the case, Ethan Hunt's immediate answer comes to nonexistent surprise: "The usual."
That is the question for which a tense theater has been waiting. Cleverly angled camera shots, lengthy action sequences, and a few crucial seconds ultimately culminate in this transparently stated line. Ethan and his merry band of government-displaced misfit adventurers have saved the day with no more than a second to spare, snatching their hastily stitched victory from the brink of devastating defeat. Each time they push it closer, each time they prevail. Every single second counts, down to the very last.
Thus, the appeal of this franchise lives on.
I have been watching these movies with my dad ever since I was little. As each bold new plot strikes the silver screen with its own personal brand of intensity, I have carefully tracked each movement and word, awaiting the way the world will be turned on its head and who will right it once more. Now, it is fair to say that the movies follow essentially the same emotional rollercoaster of activity each and every time, right down to the final few seconds in which both utter mayhem ensues and the good guys emerge victorious.
But that is arguably their appeal.
Movie lovers as a whole flock to the "Mission Impossible" series because it promotes an idea of life to which people absolutely cling. People desire purpose in their daily happenings, a chance to trade in their dissatisfaction with concepts and activities that will make living worthwhile. As the years go by, people begin to question the opportunities they still have remaining for them and how they can deal with themselves if those chances and dreams simply fade for lack of use. That is where this movie series offers a very specific appeal that individuals live through vicariously in order to change their minds towards their own ever-increasing lifespan. People, myself included, want to believe that a few final seconds is all that stands between them and everything of which they have ever dreamed.
On the other side of things, the Mission Impossible movies provide a source of motivation for anyone aspiring to chase their dreams while they still can. It demonstrates that only a few moments can make the difference between all that you've wanted and all that you can truly accomplish. A paradigm of "down to the wire" scenarios, Mission Impossible equips people with the belief that even as time dwindles away, nothing is impossible and no time is too late. Nothing can keep you from achieving what you desire so long as you remind yourself that to give up can never be an option, down to the final count.
As Mission Impossible encourages me to continue to fight my way forward no matter what the odds are against me, I encourage all of you to do the same.
