Oscar Journos Make a Pitch for the Academy to Recognize Mission Impossible

Several prominent Oscar journos have been pushing for the Academy to finally recognize the Mission Impossible series, but more importantly, the latest installment of the franchise opening today. Variety’s Kris Tapley wrote a piece that admits he’s not talking about Best Picture but why not the crafts?

No one is expecting a best picture notice, but to deny the craft that has been sunk into these movies for two decades is folly. The tightly calibrated editing of “Rogue Nation,” the immersive sound design of “Ghost Protocol,” the bite and verve of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s villain in J.J. Abrams’ third installment — there have been valid elements to single out along the way. “Fallout” is no exception.

Director Christopher McQuarrie is at the height of his powers here, as the first wave of effusive reviews establishes. As a writer, he has conceived sequences on the page that only the boldest dreamers could hope to capture in-camera, then turned around and done just that, with staggering aplomb. The entire climax of this film, which felt like about 20 minutes of pure adrenaline-pumping insanity, is a cinematic marvel. Nothing is wasted. Every piece of visual information propels the sequence forward. The editing is absolute. The sound puts you right there. The cinematography leaves your jaw on the ground at the sheer gall of it all. And Cruise — as ever and like a boss — lays it all on the line for our entertainment.

He then asks:

It’s not that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a measurable bias against this breed of filmmaking. After all, it wasn’t so long ago that films like “Die Hard,” “Speed,” “Crimson Tide” and “Air Force One” could find room in an Oscar category or two. But the “Mission: Impossible” films have been utterly ignored. Why?

If I may offer up an explanation – because of two things. The first is that it’s a movie based on a TV show that now has many sequels. That can’t be said of the other films mentioned here. But Tapley has a point in that the crafts branches DO recognize sequels quite often lately. On the other hand, movies like this have increased over time so that the categories like Visual Effects, Sound, Sound Editing, and especially Editing are packed, jam-packed, packed to the point where it’s hard to stand out.

I have long thought the way the Academy could help themselves evolve with changing times is by offering a whole separate section for “Best Effects Driven Motion Picture” – and within that framework, they could recognize movies the general public thinks are the best of the year without sacrificing movies that they like, which the general public most likely won’t even see.

The other thing is that there is a weird thing where Tom Cruise is concerned. Is it the Scientology factor? Perhaps. Cruise has always been underrated in terms of his own awards recognition and that has only intensified over time.

Either way, Tapley has a point. Why isn’t this film being considered right up there with, say, the Avengers movies?

Mission Impossible Fallout is INSANE! If it doesn’t get at least an Oscar nom for Adapted Screenplay, I will lose my shit! Tom Cruise puts his body through so much to entertain us and it does not go unnoticed! Go see it, it’s AMAZING!

— Alex Brennan (@Alex_Brennan16) July 27, 2018

Seriously, if the Oscars can give leo Dicaprio an award for risking his life in the cold, then Cruise needs to get nominated for what he puts his body through in Mission Impossible Fallout. https://t.co/Ib1ThdKn3b

— Poseidon (@Pureevilbich) July 27, 2018

Is #MissionImpossibleFallout an #Oscars contender? Will it be this year's #Dunkirk as a suspense movie masterpiece nominated for most of the technical categories. Or is it perhaps (to coin a phrase from our podfriends) a @NextBestPicture nominee? #Friday https://t.co/4EeQBzXJa2

— MikeMikeAndOscar (@MMandOscar) July 27, 2018