I need to look back and see what the IMF female death rate versus guys is for this series. That they even call it out WITHIN the film is an interesting meta commentary on how these types of series end up (Bond is pretty similar I think) when they run long enough.
Well, Alec Baldwin's character died in 6, though it's practically forgotten almost immediately. Like, I know he wasn't a member of the crew, and they had to immediately deal with the nukes, but still it was kind of odd. They also never refer to where Brandt (Jeremy Renner's character) went. Since I doubt Renner will be in good enough shape to physically appear in much capacity in 8 (unless I'm mistaken about how quickly his recovery is going), it would be nice to have some acknowledgment of where he is as they never allude to him in 6 or 7.
I dunno if MI really earned a rep of killing off tons of female characters. Maybe within the first three films (two in the first film, and Keri Russell's character in 3), but none died in 4-6 (I'm not counting the record shop girl in 5 who had like ten seconds of screentime). Felt like this film kind of forced that theme by adding in Ethan's backstory. Luther even says in 6 that Ethan was only serious about two women, his ex-wife and Ilsa, and yeah maybe Ethan never told Luther about his SO before he was recruited, but it still feels kinda retcon-y. Not a huge deal though since they need to justify why Gabriel should feel like an even more important threat than Solomon Lane and the Syndicate themselves.
Hell, both female villains survive this one. I kind of like Paris surviving, it subverts the "redemption equals death" trope which has become so predictable it rivals the "mentor must die" trope, plus the film leaves it ambiguous if she saves Ethan and Grace because Ethan had spared her, or only because Gabriel attacked her for "knowing" she would betray him (which means Gabriel and the Entity played themselves).
It's worse here than it is normally. They go all-in on a savior martyr angle. It was okay when it was his virtuous ex-wife with a deep connection he was willing to sacrifice himself for, but in this one he's juggling a few different women and grandstanding about sacrificing himself for all of them. Gets a little weird.
In 5, he put everything on the line with a bluff to Solomon Lane in order to save Benji, and the start of 6 had him losing plutonium cores to the enemy purely to save Luther. It's even discussed frequently in 6 how Ethan can't put the mission above his loved ones and friends, and whether that's a strength or weakness. I dunno, feels on brand for Ethan to me. Sure, he barely knows Grace, but I think he feels bad a civilian is being pulled into this regardless of her criminal behavior (reminding him of his criminal past too).
The only time Hunt's character got overpraised to me was in 5 when Baldwin's character Hunley suddenly tells the British Prime Minister that Hunt is "the manifest of destiny" and is near unstoppable. Wait, what? Hunley had been confident the entire film up to this point that he could track down and arrest Ethan, where did this sudden "OMG, Ethan can't be stopped!" mentality come from?!
