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Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning is the latest entry in the long-running franchise. Christopher McQuarrie has directed the film, and also co-written its script with Erik Jendresen. Over the years, the franchise has introduced several great villains who have posed a threat to IMF agent Ethan Hunt, played by Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise.
From Jon Voight's Jim Phelps in the first installment to Philip Seymour Hoffman's Owen Davian in the third film, there have been multiple antagonists who have memorably raised the stakes. However, Gabriel, the bad guy in the latest edition, feels more like a forgottable blip among all villains of the franchise.
Gabriel as a forgotten antagonist of the Mission Impossible franchise
The villain in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning is Gabriel (played by Esai Morales), an assassin. He acts as the liaison of the artificial intelligence system called the Entity, and plans to start a nuclear war. He has also murdered someone close to Ethan Hunt.
Despite the backstory, Gabriel is not shown to have personal animosity toward Ethan, and their dynamics remain unexplored. This sets him apart from most of the previous villains of the franchise. In Mission Impossible 3, Owen Davian abducted Julia, who is Ethan's wife, to extract the Rabbit's Foot. In Ghost Protocol, Sabine Moreau was a threat not just to Ethan but also Jane Carter.
However, in the latest installment, the makers do not dig deep into the background of Gabriel and his link with Ethan. This makes him a less menacing antagonist. There have been reports that Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning might be the last film in the franchise for Cruise. So this gave more reason for the makers to make a villain who is not reduced to a forgettable blip.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Esai Morales spoke about the evolution of the character. He said,
"We do these things in kind of broad strokes, and then as you shoot, you taper it into the needs of the film. These characters kind of evolve as well because it's wherever the story takes you, that's the interesting thing. It's full of twists and turns. So sometimes the filmmakers, Tom and McQ will say, 'You know what? This is fascinating. Let's go with this.'"
He further revealed that the character was initially anti to all kinds of technology.
"What I can say without ruining or spoiling is that initially the character was more of a Luddite. He was more anti-tech, and that evolved."
Morales also spoke about a particular scene in the film.
"I had to literally ask, 'If anything happens to me, will you make sure my family's taken care of?'. There's a historical scene in this. Tom and McQ gave me a very, very special gift, something that's very hard to find, and on the note, Tom wrote, 'Thanks. We made one for the ages,' referencing the sequence I was talking about."
The franchise began with Mission Impossible directed by Brian De Palma, which was released on May 22, 1996. Its success led to a sequel that came out in 2000. A third installment was released on May 5, 2006, which was followed by Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation, Fall Out, and Dead Reckoning — Part One.
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