I have seen Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, the most-convoluted movie title I can recall. For the first time, I went to see a Mission: Impossible film in the theaters, which will surely make Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie happy. It was worth it. Even knowing it was only the first part of a two-part story (I appreciate them not hiding it), it was really good. The Mission: Impossible films are probably the best example of this style of action film being made today. There’s a lot to like about Dead Reckoning Part One. The stunts are stellar. Hayley Atwell fits perfectly into the Mission: Impossible world. I admittedly say this as a straight dude, but I don’t know why she isn’t one of the biggest movie stars in the world. Pom Klementieff drives a Humvee around dressed like Daria. However, among the many praises I could hand out to this film, I am here to shout out Shea Whigham.

Funnily enough, Whigham, another new addition to the Mission: Impossible universe, was on Agent Carter, the TV show starring Atwell as Peggy Carter. He plays the lead trigger man for “The Community,” which is basically the collective intelligence agencies of America. Whigham’s Jasper Briggs and his crew are sent after Ethan Hunt, who of course frequently exasperates him. This is key, because Whigham plays an exasperated “guy with a gun” as well as anybody.

This is a secondary, even tertiary, role, but Whigham steps into it at just the right level. It’s what he excels at. The movie doesn’t turn to him too much, but when it does, Whigham is always adding something. It’s a little Wile E. Coyote, but without going over the top. Even with Cruise’s stunts and Atwell’s presence and Klementieff giving a wild, mostly silent performance, Whigham stood out. Not the most, but he stuck in my mind.

To me, this speaks to why the Mission: Impossible movies work so well. They know how to cast a movie, from female leads who can go toe-to-toe with Cruise to the guys chasing him around.