ReviewsMovies

‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ – Hold on Tight!

Franchise still delivers out-of-this-world stunts but screenplay needs work

It had to happen sooner or later.

The latest film in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise isn’t as startling as the last installment. The saga, which seemed to grow bolder with every outing, is finally showing its age. Slightly.

That doesn’t mean “Dead Reckoning – Part One” isn’t the summer’s best roller coaster ride, at least given the dubious competition. Team Cruise delivers a third act that feels as raw, and rollicking, as anything you’ll see on screen this year.

It’s time to clutch your armrest, folks. Hard.

It’s the rest of the film that under-delivers, pushing expository conversations to the brink. Maybe this story should have wrapped in one installment?

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One | Official Trailer (2023 Movie) - Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt, and his eagerness to break all the rules has finally caught up with him. The government wants to shut him down, along with the rest of the IMF crew. That means he’ll need all his spy trickery to stay one step ahead of the U.S. government.

Why, it’s like he drove past the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Staying out of jail isn’t Ethan’s only item on his “to do” list. There’s a new threat to the globe, one that impacts every digital interaction possible. This super software can be manipulated by a key that’s been separated in two, and everyone is hell bent on uniting the pieces.

Why? To what end? “Dead Reckoning” doesn’t sweat the small stuff, and man is there plenty of it in this bloated adventure.

Spy tales aren’t known for rigorous storytelling and airtight plots, but the questions bubbling up during the sequel can’t be dismissed. Meanwhile, much of the dialogue involves key characters explaining why a certain plan is set in motion or the potential fallout from said plan.

Horror films often feature that dreaded “expository scene” where a character, typically older and grizzled, lays out what’s been going on up until that moment.

“Dead Reckoning” is chockablock with these interludes, which are almost comical by the film’s midway point.

You can’t blame the cast, from a dedicated Cruise (does he have another mode?) to regulars like Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson and Vanessa Kirby as the White Widow.

The new face of consequence is Hayley Atwell, cast as a thief with a skill set that makes Ethan sit up and take notice. She’s a superb addition, as is “Guardians of the Galaxy” alum Pom Klementieff as a mysterious assassin.

Add one of the industry’s best character actors, Shea Whigham, and you’ve got a cast worthy of the franchise.

The human villain? Esai Morales plays an old Ethan Hunt foe who resurfaces with far more lethal ambitions. The character underwhelms, in part, because it’s the rise of Artificial Intelligence that’s the true scoundrel here.

How timely. How cinematically inert.

The screenplay, credited to director Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen, flirts with our growing tech fears and other ripped-from-the-headlines themes. The results? Smart, probing questions and wildly dumb interpretations smash into each other like a soapbox derby race.

That’s spy business, but “M:I” films often avoid the larger-than-life tropes from the sillier Bond installments.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One | The Biggest Stunt in Cinema History (Tom Cruise)

“Dead Reckoning” simultaneously succumbs to sequelitis – even the characters make meta jokes tied to the M:I team’s rap sheet – and moves beyond it. The action here is different, grittier, as if the “Bourne” films were fused with the franchise DNA.

One fight scene finds Ethan battling two foes in a tight street corridor, and it’s exhilarating. The film’s signature set piece takes place on, in and around a train, and it’s both extravagant and far superior to a similar-minded scrap in “The Dial of Destiny.”

Score another for Ethan Hunt and the actor who never stops running to save cinema.

HiT or Miss: “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” packs more flaws than recent installments, but no franchise can match it’s stunning, superior stunt work.

7 Comments

  1. We saw it last night, it’s awesome. It’s going to make a ton of money. Great action scenes of course and as mentioned the fight where Ethan takes on two opponents in a tight street corridor was one of the better choreographed fights scenes I’ve seen in a long time.
    There were a couple weak moments, but nothing that would damage the film. WARNING: A small spoiler.
    How Ethan simultaneously arrives on the train and takes out a villain was cartoonish. Also, can we stop with the silly 90 pound women taking out large men with punches that are as powerful as Mike Tyson? I know it’s popular these days, but if you follow what happens when top women in their sport try to take on even old men or teens in soccer, basketball, boxing etc… it’s not a pretty sight. Let’s be a little bit more realistic in these films.
    Regardless, this is an excellent film and I’m looking forward to part 2.

    1. You want realism in a Mission Impossible movie? There is nothing real about them. That’s what makes them fun!

  2. You won’t be left feeling guilty for continuing to exist. Almost for that alone is it worth the price of admission (plus popcorn).

    1. I have never seen a movie that has left me feeling guilty for continuing to exist. Ever. What films are you talking about? Maybe you are overly sensitive.

  3. It will still be much better than any of the other dreck we’re getting from Disney et al. And I know I won’t get scolded with any woke lectures. Watch this thing pull in at least triple the box office of Indiana Jones And The Old Age Home Turns Over The Reins To The Chick.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button