Been watching Mission Impossible III and IV on Paramount yesterday and to me its like both of them do the same job so whats the point of having both of them on the team?
Luther fiddles around with security and computers. Same thing with Benji.
So how are they different?
They’re different characters with different personalities and purposes, to state the obvious.
From a dramatic perspective, Luther is a the calm, dependable foundation of the group where Benji is more often the audience stand-in, reacting the way we might in the same situation.
From a plot perspective, Benji provides gimmickry and hardware, where Luther’s always been more of a pure hacker (and is clearly better than Benji on that regard)
But in reality, Benji was promoted to field agent in “Ghost Protocol” because Rhames wasn’t available (until that cameo at the end)
Both are hugely popular with the fans and work well with the “Mission: Impossible” team. Given how chaotic those productions can be (they often rewrite the entire plot on the fly and rarely work with a completed script), it’s a huge plus.
I got the impression Pegg was promoted to one of the main actors bc hed since done JJ Abrams Star Trek/Scotty in 2009
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Could be, but JJ Abrams was only involved in "Mission: Impossible III" back in 2006
He produced Ghost Protocol
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Innnnnteresting
Rhames has only ever obliquely implied they weren't paying him enough to appear in more than a "Ghost Protocol" cameo
The plot thickens ... possibly you're right and Abrams helped his buddy take over Luther's role, at the expense of Rhames's salary
Regardless, I like them both in the series and glad they're both in it
And Peg writes some of the jokes?
shareDoesn't hurt to have two tech/computer experts. Fast & Furious does the same with Tej and Ramsey. Both do pretty much the same job on the team, but it works and I like both characters. Well, Tej came first, but Ramsey is nice to look at and stuff. Plus that accent. I still think she is an interesting character though. And it gives Tej someone to interact with and brainstorm with. I think Benji/Simon Pegg is more there for the comedy though. Most of the Mission Impossible movies' humor comes from him. Well, starting with the third movie. Also, Benji is the one that usually goes out and does stuff with Ethan. Luther is the one that does stuff at the base and pretty much holds the fort. He leaves once in a while, but Benji is the one that "gets out of the office" more. But that could still connect with the humor in the movies since when Benji is out with Ethan, that's when a good chunk of the humor happens.
sharewell having two computer hackers that focus on hacking into security or whatever its kind of redundant or pointless to have two people to kind of be in each other's way when theyre doing the same thing.
Luther I think he does the job better while Benji he tends to screw up at times especially when prototype gadgets glitch out like the gloves in Mission Impossible 4.
if Benji had a different job to do for the team like if he was a gadget inventor or whatever then thats fine but dont have two people computer hackers on the team at the same time
But they DON’T get in each other’s way, do they? I can’t recall that ever happening
And as you point out, whatever Benji’s mistakes (and he makes a lot, but so does Ethan), he’s more of the gadget guy than Luther. Luther’s definitely “The Hacker” on the team.
But again, their respective emotional/dramatic roles are SO different (yet so vital) that, until you posted this thread, it NEVER occurred to me that they might be redundant “in universe.”
One is a pure computer technician and the other a technical field agent.
shareBenji does the shit jobs. "go get that bomb, little man!"
shareNerds.
shareIve always wondered if or how they get paid, they are called upon but are not officially 'employed' by anyone?
shareluther's job is just the token black guy. it's literally the same why he's in every MI movie since the first. benji's job is the deus ex machina. benji can fix any plot hole with a magical device or technical ability.
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