My Dad worked in a movie theater when I was younger. Despite only being there a little over a year, it was an incredibly memorable time. My brothers and I would go to work with him and movie hop. I saw films I wasn’t even interested in because I loved going. It helped that he worked there in 1999, one of the best years for movies. I have fond memories of seeing Sleepy Hollow, even though I was too young. My older brother and cousin went with me to see Brendan Fraser take on The Mummy. We got to see The Phantom Menace about a week early (and I was ten, so I had a blast). The time there fostered a love of movies that I have yet to shake (nor do I want to).
Still, we couldn’t always go to work with my dad. Instead, he would regale us with tales of audience reactions, which I loved almost as much. The myth of The Blair Witch Project was built up in my head as my dad told me stories of audience members leaving the theater furious and frustrated. According to my pa, people were far more receptive to The Sixth Sense. Then, he told me about Hannibal, which I always assumed was the scariest movie ever made because one scene (in which Ray Liotta gets fed his own brain) made somebody faint. Twice! Despite having seen worse things already, I was not allowed to see Hannibal (probably for the best).
My dad didn’t work for Dino De Laurentiis. He had no vested interest in making sure Hannibal was a success. But telling me the story certainly made me want to see the film. When you hear that an audience member has that intense a reaction, it almost feels like a challenge. That method of marketing continues to this day, especially with horror movies. The Terrifier films have risen to prominence because of the intense reactions audiences have had to them. Now, that energy is being directed at (checks notes) 62-year-old action star Tom Cruise?
Let me say up front that, had you asked me Cruise’s age a couple of minutes ago, I would have guessed 55. Not young! But certainly younger than the man is. 62 is an age when most people try to slow down. Cruise is accelerating, still pumping out movies and waiting for Glenn Powell to strike him with the ceremonial blade of Janus and rightfully take his place. Until then, Cruise will keep making action movies, including the upcoming Mission Impossible film that is (allegedly) getting a bit of a reaction from audiences.
The film, Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning, was recently screened for a small audience. Director Christopher McQuarrie claims one audience member found the film to be quite intense, saying, “We had a small screening, and someone said, ‘I was suffocating throughout the entire sequence. I almost had a heart attack.’ And I thought, ‘I guess we did something right,” according to GamesRadar, who got that quote from Empire which was picked up by Deadline (where I got it). My dad literally had to call an ambulance as someone laid on the floor post seeing that classic Liotta laugh as he consumed his frontal lobe, but yeah, you’re doing something, Christopher!
That’s not a knock on McQuarrie! I like his Mission Impossible films and will certainly be in the audience for this one. It just seems like a silly thing to make the news (and I acknowledge I am contributing to that). Unless someone actually has a heart attack, let’s not let our expectations get too crazy. And let’s be honest, the only one at risk of a heart attack from a Mission Impossible movie is 62-year-old action star Tom Cruise. Again, not a knock! I don’t want Cruise to have a heart attack! 62 just seems too old to be jumping off of planes and riding bikes off of cliffs.
