Tom Cruise – the biggest movie star in the world – returns to one of the best action series Hollywood has ever delivered, in this eagerly awaited seventh instalment of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise. You know what to expect by now… insane action and genuinely jaw-dropping stunts – this time culminating in a frankly insane motorcycle jump off a cliff that, naturally, Mr. Cruise did himself, and a train carriage sequence that will leave you with stress-induced trauma. But as great as all of these things are, ‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One’ does suffer from a few issues that prevents it from topping 2018’s far superior ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’.
The plot involves a face from Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) past from before his involvement with the IMF (Impossible Mission Force). His name is Gabriel (Esai Morales) and he is working for a sentient AI ‘Entity’ that is looking to be acquired by every major government on the planet in a bid to tip the scales of any future war efforts in their favour. With Ethan having to reunite his IMF team – including Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), he must stop at nothing to destroy the threat – even with the world’s agencies (including the US) out to stop him and acquire it for themselves.
It’s safe to say that Tom Cruise is the saviour of modern cinema. ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ last summer single-handedly kept the magic of big screen entertainment alive and gave a much-needed lifeline to a post-pandemic world where cinemas were going out of business in droves. Cruise is the biggest and best movie star in the world, and his tenacious pursuit to deliver cinematic fare of the highest order is clearly evident in every frame of ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’. The stunts, which he does himself, lend the movie a realism and authenticity Hollywood can usually only dream of. Cruise is 100% why this franchise is so beloved, and he continues to deliver grand scale spectacle of the highest order, along with a textured portrayal of a man just trying to keep the world from burning.
Vanessa Kirby makes a very welcome return as The White Widow and she is a joy to watch, especially with an expanded role this time around. New faces include the delectable Hayley Atwell as Grace, a character that perhaps feels a little too cliché at times, but who adds some sparkle as a thief who gets unwittingly embroiled in this huge mission. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ favourite Pom Klementieff does well as a menacing assassin with a flair for fashion, whilst ‘The Princess Bride’ royalty Cary Elwes always delights whenever he’s onscreen. Esai Morales, an actor I usually admire very much, feels a little too flat and uncharismatic as the main villain of this chapter, which is a real shame. The best supporting actor is without doubt Henry Czerny though, who reprises his unforgettable role as Kittridge from that iconic first ‘Mission: Impossible’ film. His exchanges with Cruise are excellent and are as tension-filled as you’ve been hoping for.
These films are spearheaded by crazy stunts and scenes which come vividly to life thanks to IMAX. Blockbuster cinema like this deserves a huge canvas to really enjoy all the endeavour and the spectacle on. IMAX Laser is a cutting-edge viewing experience that enhances your enjoyment of films in this breathtaking scale. ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ is the perfect posterchild for this format. This is a film that was made to be enjoyed in the ‘IMAX Experience’ way, and if you can afford the price uplift, you won’t regret your decision at all. IMAX puts the viewer directly into the action, be it the insane car chase across Rome, the falling train carriages or that now infamous motorcycle cliff jump.
‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ is an entertaining ride and one that certainly delivers spectacle and grandeur. However, it very much feels like a ‘part one’, with plot holes and questionable story threads seemingly hanging in limbo for a year, until ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two’ opens in theatres. Relying a bit too heavily on past action sequences, ‘Dead Reckoning Part One’ is a perfectly fine action drama, but one that ultimately doesn’t take too many chances. Perhaps the second chapter of this tale will tie everything up well. It also gave away far too many scenes in its promotional campaign, with too much footage needlessly revealed in featurettes and trailers that should have been left for an audience to experience cold when watching the film for the first time. There was too much pre-release scene exposure in ‘Dead Reckoning Part One’ which was a terrible mistake to make. For now, ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ is a fun watch, but with a few tweaks needed to reignite that genuine spark of magic that made ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ such an undisputed success.
Cast: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Esai Morales, Henry Czerny, Greg Tarzan Davis, Shea Whigham, Indira Varma, Cary Elwes Director: Christopher McQuarrie Writer: Bruce Geller, Erik Jendresen, Christopher McQuarrie Certificate: 12A Duration: 163 mins Released by: Paramount Release date: 10th July 2023
