In preparation for seeing Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, I fired up Paramount+ and watched all the previous MI films. And I noticed something interesting.
There’s a crazy number of Christian references, most of them overtly Catholic.
Tom Cruise, Baptized Catholic
Now, I have read that Cruise was baptized Catholic, and for two years, he attended high school at St. Francis Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio, where reportedly he had the beginnings of a vocation.
From The New York Daily News:
Cruise’s closest buddy from the seminary, Shane Dempler, said he was very sincere about becoming a priest.
“He had a very strong Catholic faith,” Dempler said. “We went to Mass, spent time in the chapel and enjoyed hearing stories from the priests. We thought the priests had a great lifestyle and we were really interested in priesthood.
“In truth,” Dempler added, “we were too young to make that decision.”
But, Cruise disputes the notion that he wanted to be a priest.
In decades long past, it wasn’t uncommon for young men to begin the path to the priesthood in a high-school seminary. Today, that sort of serious preparation is generally reserved for college-age men or those who have already graduated college.
And “seminary” is also a word just used for private schools. So, while Cruise certainly went to Catholic school, that doesn’t necessarily mean he was preparing for the priesthood.
You Can Take Cruise Out of the Church, But …
While Cruise’s long association with Scientology is well known, his Catholic past doesn’t appear to have left him completely — as became obvious during my MI binge.
Mind you, by the time this film series started, Cruise was a bankable major movie star. With partner Paula Wagner, he’s also one of the film series’ producers. So, I doubt any major elements are included in these movies that didn’t pass muster with Cruise.
Also, aside from perhaps the first film (which still could have done in a different way), nothing I list below was absolutely necessary to the film’s plots. Each of these elements could have been replaced with something non-religious, and no one would have been the wiser.
I consider their inclusion totally voluntary.
So, let’s take a tour of what I found …
Mission: Impossible (1996)
The chief clue to the central mystery of the movie is Job 3:14, from the Old Testament in a Gideon Bible. Also, early in the film, Cruise’s super-spy Ethan Hunt is in a safe house in Prague that contains a Bible and has a crucifix on the wall.
When Hunt goes to meet a contact, Franciscan friars are seen strolling by. His Impossible Mission Force teammate Luther Stickell, played by Ving Rhames, says, “Holy Mother of God” — something not often said by non-Catholics.
Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
On his way to meet Mission Commander Swanbeck (Anthony Hopkins) in Spain, Hunt passes through a huge Catholic procession, with a giant crucifix, many candles and burning emblems.
Hunt and Swanbeck then have a salty conversation about the procession.
Spanish site DonQuijote.org begs to differ with Swanbeck’s cynical assessment:
To begin with, let’s look at one of the best known and extravagant examples: Mission Impossible II. In the film, Tom Cruise lives a unique experience: Holy Week in Seville, the Fallas in Valencia, and San Fermines in Pamplona, all together in the same scene. (In fact, not only do these festivals take place in different cities, they also happen at different times during the year.)
Anthony Hopkins (Swanbeck in the film) himself is amazed and puzzled at such a spectacle: “Festivals are a pain in the ass. Honoring their saints by setting them on fire. Let’s you know what they think of saints, doesn’t it?” We Spaniards were even more perplexed at these tremendous cultural misconceptions. (For the record, saints are not burned in any of the three separate festivals untruthfully mixed together here.)
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
An unstoppable technology force emerges, and an Oxford professor refers to it as the “anti-God.” Interestingly, it shows up at the Vatican.
But, before Hunt heads to Rome, he marries his then-girlfriend Julia (Michelle Monaghan), a doctor, in a hospital chapel, by a clergyman wearing a Roman collar (the closed-captioning identifies him as “Priest”).
Hunt then goes undercover in the Vatican, dressed a priest in a full cassock and a black zucchetto. His spy equipment is hidden in a Bible, and his explosive charge is fashioned like a cross.
Seems like he goes through a lot of trouble to get into to a place that’s open to the public, but, hey …
Mission Impossible — Ghost Protocol (2011)
Sorry, nothing here.
Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation (2015)
Not much, only that the name of the female protagonist (Rebecca Ferguson) is Ilsa Faust, and the plot reveals that she did indeed make a metaphorical deal with the devil.
The villain is also named Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). It’s a good Old Testament first name, and while he’s clearly a homicidal terrorist, he does think of himself as a wise judge of the state of the world.
Mission: Impossible — Fallout (2018)
The remnants of Solomon Lane’s extremist group have splintered off and now call themselves the Apostles.
Norwegian scientist Nils Delbruuk (Kristoffer Joner) has created a trinity of portable nuclear weapons for the Apostles. His security clearance was revoked for his “anti-religious views.”
Honestly, when’s the last time you heard of an anti-religious terrorist in a movie?
Anyway, to trick him, the IMF convinces him that his plan to blow up the Vatican (here we are again) — with the pope in residence — Jerusalem and Mecca has succeeded.
He’s penned a manifesto which expresses Solomon Lane’s philosophy on how to create a worldwide utopia and brotherhood of man, expressed by Lane as:
There cannot be peace without first, a great suffering. The greater the suffering, the greater the peace. The end you’ve always feared is coming. It’s coming, and the blood will be on your hands.
As a bonus, Hunt is seen in one of his several hidey-holes, each of which is as spare as a monk’s cell (this one’s in Belfast). And, he runs through a funeral at the Anglican St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
Now, to the current blockbuster, which is a thoroughly enjoyable high-octane thrill ride, just like all the others. Unlike the others, where most of the Christian content is window dressing, this film is practically theological.
Hunt’s adversary is a rogue AI called the Entity, which has infiltrated all of the world’s digital systems (much like Peacock’s Mrs. Davis, which also mixed AI and notions of divinity, though more directly).
The Entity manifests as a pulsing eyelike image, not unlike a digital version of the Eye of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. And like Sauron, it sees all, except those who go off the grid (very Hobbity of them) and evade its gaze.
It’s also referred to as “godless.”
The Entity’s human servant is Gabriel (Esai Morales), an anti-angel who faithfully serves his digital master. Hunt even says, “… there’s no place on Earth where you and your god will be safe from me.”
The only way to stop the Entity is to get to the source code (shades of The Matrix here, which was pretty theological itself). To unlock the source code, one needs is a key — a cruciform key. Yes, it’s referred to as a cruciform key.
Each half looks like a modern interpretation of a medieval cross pendant, complete with jewels.
Hunt even drops by Rome again, because, why not?
Ilsa Faust returns and is ultimately forced to square off with her own demons, in the form of Gabriel.
Also, Hunt recruits a female thief to the cause, whose name is … wait for it … Grace.
She trusts no one and plays both sides of the fence, until Hunt wins her over with:
HUNT: “I will always value your life over mine.”
GRACE: “You don’t even know me.”
HUNT: “Why should that matter?”
Ultimately, Hunt’s act of mercy toward one of his foes is his salvation. And finally, almost the last line in the film is, “Thank God.”
ADDENDUM 7/29: After a second viewing, I have a few more things to add:
- Aboard the Russian sub at the beginning, a sailor is seen clutching his cross (didn’t get a good look at it, so not sure if it’s a crucifix, a plain cross, or a Russian Orthodox cross or crucifix).
- Ilsa refers to Gabriel as a “dark messiah.”
- In Kittredge’s (Henry Czerny) narration near the end, we hear about, “A cross you’ve been left to bear,” referring to Ethan’s inability to protect people close to him — actually, the women closest to him, since Luther and fellow IMF team member Benji Dunn (played by Simon Pegg) survive just fine from movie to movie.
So, what’s up with Tom Cruise? I have no idea, but isn’t it intriguing? After all, we do believe that Catholic baptism is forever …
Image: Paramount Pictures
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