Sometimes our geek meters fluctuate so hard that we find it difficult to understand what the average non-nerd thinks. This is a specific issue in regards to the upcoming “Mission: Impossible IV” and the news that Simon Pegg is in negotiations to return to the role of Benji Dunn, a tech wizard/plot device introduced in the last film in the series.
One question: does the average filmgoer know who Simon Pegg is? He’s starred in a couple of Brit hits, but do audiences know him as the face of “Shaun of the Dead” or as the eighth-billed guy in “Star Trek” and, to a lesser extent, “Mission: Impossible III”? Will the normals rejoice when Pegg comes onscreen for the latest Ethan Hunt adventure yelling into a headpiece as Tom Cruise Froggers his way through some convoluted obstacle course?
Our other question is, does anyone really care about “Mission: Impossible” continuity? The first film made a mockery of the brand name by killing the hero of the TV series, Jim Phelps, so that the next two movies could continue the Tom Cruise Action Hour. The only returning characters in this team-centric franchise that have been in each film are Cruise and poor sidekick Ving Rhames, and we’re leaning towards no one giving a shit that the tech guy from the least-watched film in the series is coming back. Since the third film ended with a few members of the Impossible Missions unit still alive, and because director JJ Abrams is still aboard as a producer, are they really going to try to recreate the look and feel of the least popular entry in the series?