Anyway, have you ever written here or would you write now about how different Tom's presence in these roles is to other men? Or...honestly, I'd sit here with starry eyes about anything you want to say on the topic (whatever your thesis was about?). I'm not very knowledgeable on this side of things (not that I am about anything though, idk wtf I'm ever doing lmao), so I LIVE for what other people have to say about it.
I mean the bulk of my thesis is about how after the end of the cold war and 9/11 does action film fundamentally change from the dominant style, which was The James Bond style (which is really the hitchcock style but i digress)
Anyway If we were to compare Goldeneye (1995) to Mission: Impossible 1 (1996) they're fundamentally about the same thing, but they go about it in different ways.
In Goldeneye, there is a prominent focus on how The Soviet Union has dissolved, and how the villains are no longer an Outside force, but a traitor to the system, someone the protagonist has trusted. In this case, Alec Trevelean betrays his country and friend for money, but also out of a sense of revenge based on what happened to his parents as a child.
In M:I Jim's betrayal of Ethan follows that same logic: "The cold war is over. The president is running the country without your permission, that son of a bitch how dare he." Which is really his ultimate motivation, greed and revenge.
The James bond character is a super spy, everything about his character, before the Daniel Craig Era, is meant to be tough, someone who is closed off emotionally, and who uses women to cope with his life.
Ethan in direct contrast, is willing to show his emotions: he's not afraid to cry. His trauma informs his character, we see him over the course of 6 films become someone who is slightly cocky but good hearted, into someone who is very emotionally guarded and resigned to doing field work because he feels as though it's his responsibility to keep the world safe. By Fallout, this man is so fucking tired.
James Bond, and many out action heroes, tend to play stoic STRONG, real men don't cry types. That isn't to say that their stories aren't emotional in anyway, but it's a common trend. But Tom, and the way he plays Ethan is someone who is very Empathetic, someone who is very self sacrificing and relies and the people who loves him, and they rely on him.
