EX-CIA DISGUISE CHIEF UNMASKS M:I SPYCRAFT

Cruise franchise gets top marks

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Jonna Mendez says masks like those worn by Tom Cruise in the Mission: Impossible movies are tools agents have actually used

MUCH of the razzle-dazzle in the Mission: Impossible movies, including the new Final Reckoning, defies gravity and logic — but the CIA's former disguise chief is ripping the veil off what the franchise gets right in the world of high-stakes spycraft.

Jonna Mendez, 80, says the famous M:I “mask reveals” — where star Tom Cruise and sometimes other actors rip utterly lifelike masks off their faces — have roots in real-life spying techniques.