Latest Mission: Impossible shows the ‘silent Asian’ stereotype is alive and well

Pom Klementieff's assassin Paris is largely mute throughout the latest instalment of the franchise, flying in the face of more enlightened recent film roles

There are many things wrong with Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One: its ridiculous storyline about AI, its bloated runtime, the plot holes as wide as Tom Cruise's gleaming megawatt smile, but the most jarring of all? How Pom Klementieff's supporting role as Paris, a savage assassin, is transformed into the tired stereotype of the silent Asian, who is largely mute throughout the film.

Paris is part of villain Gabriel's (Esai Morales) crew. She's on screen for many of the fights and action sequences including a thrilling car chase through the streets of Rome. All kamikaze glee and thigh-crushing aggression, she's more than capable of giving Cruise's Impossible Mission Force agent, Ethan Hunt, a run for his money. But the French actor, who is half Korean, barely utters a word throughout the whole thing.