Tom Cruise could be considered one of the last remaining old-school Hollywood stars. He certainly isn’t the only A-Lister who can fill theaters; however, Cruise does it truly like no other and when it comes to four-quad blockbusters, sans superhero, no one does it more successfully than Cruise. He goes the extra mile no other star of his level will go to create some of the most awe-inspiring action sequences audiences have ever seen on screen which makes him also one of the industry’s most accomplished stuntmen. The Mission: Impossible franchise has been his vehicle to showcase these stunts for years and if you ask Cruise, he’ll say he has no intentions of slowing down.
This franchise is known for its stunning action and its intelligent storylines and with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One I hoped this trend would continue, which for the most part it does. My expectations were high for this film, and it certainly delivers the dazzling larger-than-life adventure the summer box-office needs. Dead Reckoning is without question a wildly intense and a genuinely fun popcorn blockbuster with many familiar faces returning, some new additions, and Tom Cruise front and center as Ethan Hunt.
Now, admittedly this film is 30-minutes longer than it needs to be. This story of Hunt and his IMF team needing to track down this dangerous weapon could’ve been told with a tighter flow. There are a few lulls in the pacing that kill the energy just a tad, but to counter that, there’s a ton of action slipped in to bring the intensity back up when needed. The plot certainly isn’t as smartly structured as past films in the franchise, there are some moments that feel contrived. However, it’s only the first half of the story. So complete judgment of the narrative should be held until both films have been seen but I will say though part one does bookend itself nicely enough to feel like a complete piece of entertainment on its own while still layering an effective cliffhanger.
So, Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning, regardless of showing brief tonal flashes of Fast & Furious, does manage to weave an intriguing mystery as Hunt and his team travel the world trying to complete their objectives. Objectives that do feel extremely familiar to the plots of other recent films. Which would be where Dead Reckoning has its flaws. Like I said this one isn’t as clever as past films and spots get a bit sillier than I would prefer from this series, but there’s still a compelling enough structure to the story here to sink your brain into.
The AI angle of this plot isn’t fully fleshed out in this portion of the two-part narrative but it’s still interesting enough. This entry was also missing some of the gadgetry the franchise is known for, the characters just come and go a lot which does make their motivations feel murky. Not to mention a focal heist or mission inside the main mission that serves as second tier climax in the story, being missing as well.
It all feels too simplistic and just lacking some of the needed creative ambition on the writing side. This plot of an object being split in two pieces, separated, and needing to be brought together just feels too played out and that was disappointing to see in a Mission: Impossible film. The ingenuity in the writing was missing here because we’ve seen this plot way too many times just this summer with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny doing essentially the same thing. That’s where the action and the technical crafting of Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning is able to take center stage to bring audiences on a still awesome ride. This is a well-crafted film from top-to-bottom, McQuarrie’s direction is fantastic for the most part, and as the hero, Cruise like always, does it all. The closing fight on a train aside, which I assume was a nod to the first film, there are many shootouts, fight scenes, and chase sequences that certainly feel fresh and pop visually to entertain.
The performances were all solid regardless of some characters being thinly written. Cruise is fantastic as usual; he has that ability to draw humor from intense situations and he does that again here to command the film even if his character hasn’t really advanced much. It’s a mission-based outing for Hunt this time around and it works. Hayley Atwell was a great addition, and she too delivers both in the action and story driven moments, as well as showcasing a charming chemistry with Cruise. Pegg lands his comedic bits and despite a surface level backdrop Esai Morales’ performance is able to still give this movie a serviceable villain to compliment this AI brain that’s behind everything and working in the shadows.
In the end Dead Reckoning is a fantastic action film but just a very good Mission: Impossible movie. Which shows how high the bar has been set by the excellence of many other past films in this franchise. But I still had a great time watching it. I was intrigued by where this plot would go and up on the edge of my seat when the stunning action was taking place. So, despite its flaws, Dead Reckoning is without question a must-see movie. These Mission: Impossible films have been examples of films that were designed to be seen in the theater on the big screen and Cruise and McQuarrie without question continued that trend with part one of this two-part global adventure.
Grade: B
Cast: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Cary Elwes, Shea Whigham, Esai Morales, Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny Director: Christopher McQuarrie Writers: Bruce Geller, Erik Jendresen, Christopher McQuarrie Distributor: Paramount Pictures Running Time: 163 minutes Rating: PG-13 (For intense violence and action, some language and suggestive material) Year: 2023 Language: English Genre: Action/Adventure/Thriller
Anthony J. Digioia II © 2023 SilverScreen Analysis. All Rights Reserved.
