With seven movies under its belt, the Mission: Impossible franchise is one of the biggest film series in the world. Better with each new movie the series takes on, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is, to me, the best one yet. Maybe it’s because my favorite character in this franchise gets to really show how much they love and support Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), but there’s something about Dead Reckoning Part One that really just clicks for fans of the franchise as a whole and proves that Benji Dunne is the best character.
Played by Simon Pegg, Benji appeared in Mission: Impossible III and since then has been my favorite character to check in with, mainly because it’s clear that he’s part of the team because he loves everyone too much and just wants to protect them. Still, he’s the man in the chair for Ethan in the same way that Luther (Ving Rhames) is. Together, they make sure that Ethan has everything he needs for missions, and they’re often thrown into the thick of it with him.
What we learn about Benji in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is that Benji is willing to do whatever it takes to protect his friends, including putting his life at risk with an AI bomb that knows everything about him and does not trust his false truths. It’s just one small moment in the massiveness that is Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and yet it’s easily the best part of the movie as a whole because it highlights why Benji has consistently been the best addition to this world—and why he will always do what he has to in order to protect those he loves, including Ethan and Luther (and, by extension, Ilsa Faust).
Benji just loves Ethan and Luther so much
Benji is a character who shows his emotions for his friends willingly. It is probably why, if Ethan Hunt and Benji and Luther all smooched at some point, it would feel like the right move for these characters who love each other so deeply that any romantic relationship we see them in almost feels less than the relationship they have together. For me, it all boils down to Benji having to admit to an AI bomb that the thing he loves most in this world is his friends.
Truth be told, I thought he would just say that the one he loves most is Ethan, but I also know how he feels about Luther, so it makes sense that he’d include both of them in his heartfelt plea with the bomb as it reads his thoughts. It shows us, as the audience, that our love for Benji and his willingness to do whatever it takes to protect his friends is what means the most to him.
I love Simon Pegg, so my love of Benji did start there, but it has evolved into making Benji my favorite character in the franchise as a whole, and I think my favorite character of Pegg’s, as well, simply because Benji just loves everyone so much that he is willing to risk is life, and I love that.
(featured image: Paramount Pictures)
