ETHAN HUNT AND WHAT MAKES THE MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE

As the release of Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning draws near, we look at Ethan Hunt beyond the eccentric personality of Tom Cruise, what makes the character memorable, and what sets him apart from James Bond and Jason Bourne

- PRASHANTH VALLAVAN

N Mission: Impossible — Fallout, Alec Baldwin's Alan Hunley says to Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt, "You had a terrible choice to make in Berlin. One life over millions. And now the world is at risk." This single line reverberates across the over three-decade-long action film franchise, underlining the core personality of its protagonist. Honestly, a secret agent who defies the extent of physicality and will, surpasses average human survival probabilities, charms every woman he meets, uses awesome gadgets, and goes up against indomitable global forces to save the world, is not new to the world of cinema. The aforementioned grammar for a suave killing machine can be applied to Britain's famous spy, James Bond, and Jason 'the stoic CIA agent who can turn any inanimate object into a weapon' Bourne as well. Familiarity is not the biggest crime in storytelling.