The slam books asked the proverbial question: What do you want to be when you grow up? My contemporaries had all been sane and rooted when they wrote about being some lofty professional and hitting it rich someday. My answer had always been oddly and seriously imaginative: to be an astronaut. The kind of ambition or career that parents would discourage you about, because, it’s simply just not based on reality. It’s, well, impossible.
I am reminded of this whenever there is a new edition of Mission Impossible. I must see it on the first day of showing, or die of envy of those who did. And I’m not even a fan of Tom Cruise, nor is this a movie review of sorts. But, yes, like my erstwhile dream of space travel, I have identified myself with Agent Ethan Hunt who is on a mission (impossible, at that) to save the world. And so my proper mindset as I was buying popcorn before the movie started was to remember what it was like, as a child, when everything was possible…and you could dream dreams bigger than life.
Thus, I am called a #runningadik because everything I encounter and do in life, I have found to be connected to my addiction, and this one about Mission Impossible is no exception. In order to fully enjoy the movie, one must give up doubts and apprehensions and fully surrender to the risks and angles of the movie – as harsh reality. But, if you are anything at all like me, enjoying some degree of discomfort and pain from running, you know what this movie is all about.
ACTION-PACKED, NERVE-WRACKING, EDGE-OF-SEAT, ROLLER-COASTER RIDE — almost from start to finish, with spurts of drama and comedy. Nothing wasted on bad acting or weird sets. But of course, there were scenes that stretched the imagination too far (hey, it wouldn’t mission impossible without the stretch, right?) and yet because they were executed by Hunt, you go with the flow with optimism that they don’t kill the hero in this kind of flick. Hence, I felt like I couldn’t blink an eye (or excuse myself to the restroom) in this movie, for fear of missing a detail and getting lost in translation. For me, this was the year’s best action movie, besting even Fast and Furious even with its Paul Walker-magic.
I am a sucker for quotes and these two stuck in my head for its relevance to running:
“If you want something to happen, you have to keep going.” The long distance runner’s mantra. A test of the human spirit ruling over the physiological state of fatigue.
“Desperate times calls for desperate measures.” Runners do what it takes, sometimes at a cost. But one thing is for sure: no matter how unorthodox our running or training modes may be, we are accepted for this idiosyncrasy in a community of misfits.
And even if Ethan Hunt is alpha-male and leader-incarnate, I also loved this new “Bond-like” girl ILSA (Rebecca Ferguson) for epitomizing the femme fatale of the decade: bold and spirited, headstrong but bodystrong too, cunningly beautiful without putting on the frills.
In conclusion, I’m not the only one who connected this movie to real life. Go check out Brian Dodd who thinks the movie gave us invaluable lessons on LEADERSHIP .
By the way, I do believe Hunt is a sprinter and he commands his fast-twitch muscles in a jiffy especially in high-speed chases. But, arguably, he may have covered marathon-distances with all the action in land and on air, qualifying him for long-distance category as well.
Enjoy the sampler here Mission Impossible Official Trailer …and then head out the door to grab a good seat!
The Life of a RunningAdik 
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