You have seen him climb the Burj Khalifa, stay underwater for over six minutes, leap from one building to another, and even make a HALO jump, but the old Ethan Hunt was fighting a mortal enemy, whereas the IMF agent in Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One has an enemy who isn’t even human. No, Tom Cruise’s character isn’t fighting an alien or a mummy (pun intended) but he is up against Artificial Intelligence known as ‘Entity’ in the latest installment of the franchise where one wrong step could prove to be destructible.
Director Christopher McQuarrie returns to direct the third consecutive film in the popular series and makes the audience sit on the edge of their seats with stunts that will literally blow you away. McQuarrie claimed that Cruise’s insane motorcycle stunt which takes place in the film's climax was shot on the first day of filming. The stunt, where Cruise rides a motorcycle off the edge of a cliff and then parachutes to safety while in free fall, is being labelled as a death-defying stunt. “Doing that on day one gave us all the time in the world to understand why he [Ethan] was doing what he was doing,” McQuarrie said in an interview. “If we sat around and tried to figure out these movies the old-fashioned way, you’d never find it, simply because it’s such a living, breathing thing.”
Producer Cruise added his two cents on the stunt as well. “I was training and I was ready.” Cruise said in an interview. “You have to be razor sharp when you’re doing something like that. It was very important as we were prepping the film that it was actually the first thing. I don’t want to drop that and go shoot other things and have my mind somewhere else. Everyone was prepped. Let’s just get it done."
With Cruise in full form, Dead Reckoning is a treat to watch, missing which wouldn’t be a good choice. It connects with the very first film in the series which kick-started the franchise, and with its release, the franchise sort of comes full circle.
The Plot
Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his regular IMF teammates ― Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Rebecca Ferguson ― find themselves fighting against an enemy that can’t be seen but controls everything digital. Known as the Entity, this Artificial Intelligence weapon can take control of anything it desires as long as it’s connected to the web, and in the wrong hands could prove to be too powerful. Not only must the IMF team track it down but also find a part of the key that unlocks the weapon, with the help of a pickpocket Grace (Hayley Atwell) who beats Ethan Hunt on their first meeting, before becoming an ally.
Add a Bond-level chilling villain Gabriel (Esai Morales) from Hunt’s past, a disgruntled former employer (Henry Czerny), a friend with underworld connections (Vanessa Kirby), and agents tasked to capture Ethan (Shea Whigham and Greg Tarzan Davis), and you have a nearly three-hour ride where nothing moves slow. This is not just a test for Ethan Hunt, but for his teammates as well who have to defeat the Entity’s mind games in order to save the world.
The Good
Dead Reckoning Part One is a Cruise vehicle from the first second till the climax; after Top Gun:Maverick, he was all set to up the ante and he does that in style. Back in May 2022, he saved the cinema industry with his magic and he does the same here 14 months later. Everything from his entry to his final fight sequence was perfect and when the audience felt the pace of the film was becoming slow, he pulls a trick out of his hat that no one would see coming. Be it using all means necessary including jumping from a bike to reach a high-speed train or recreating the train sequence from the first Mission Impossible where Ethan Hunt was fighting his mentor, Cruise was on top of his game.
He was running like a madman in half of the movie, but was never without a plan. The sequence at the Abu Dhabi airport was executed perfectly where the IMF team had to find the mark, diffuse a bomb, and evade spies chasing Ethan, and he carried the energy to Rome which is the next destination for all those involved.
And then there was the sizzling chemistry between Hayley Atwell’s Grace and Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt which kept the audience intrigued. One must commend the Agent Carter actress for proving to be a wonderful addition to the franchise, since she was part of some of the stunningly conceived action sequences alongside Cruise. One of those stunts might have reminded you of the latest installment in the Fast and Furious saga, the other proved to be the daddy of all stunts involving trains.
One must mention the surprise return of former IMF director Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) who is both for and against Ethan in this installment, while Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames do their jobs well. Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust has less to do here but in her limited appearance, she is as explosive as she could be. Esai Morales’s Gabriel continues to impress as the antagonist and even though his motives are clear, he keeps surprising the audience with new shades as the film progresses. Vanessa Kirby’s return as White Widow, the arms dealer is also something to look forward to as she plays an integral part in the climax when nothing is what it seems!
No film in recent years, except maybe John Wick: Chapter 4, has the power to upstage Dead Reckoning because of its well-choreographed action sequences, which make you go and watch the film again and again. Having A.I. as the main villain is also a welcome change in the franchise because it was getting stale when it came to villains. With an antagonist who couldn’t be seen, touched, or felt, it was always going to be a ‘Mission Impossible’ for Ethan Hunt and the audience who have been rooting for him since the mid-90s. The pacey action sequences are the reason why no one would be complaining about the film’s 163-minute runtime and if all goes well, next year the sequel to the movie might be even more shocking!
The Bad
The key which seems to hold the film’s key is an old-fashioned item that might have seemed cool in the original Mission Impossible series or even The Man from UNCLE in the last century but in 2023, it could have been replaced by anything techy, and desirable looking. It reminds the audience of Archimedes’ Antikythera in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny which preceded Dead Reckoning Part One by two weeks and was actually set in 1969. Secondly, if the Entity was so powerful, why didn’t it disrupt Ethan and his team’s progress at the very beginning of the film when they had no clue what they were up against?
The death of one of the key members could have been avoided and like Emilio Estevez’s death in the first Mission Impossible, the audience will neither forgive nor forget the latest death. The mini Cooper sequence also reminds the audience of The Italian Job and Ronin which had a better car chase sequence than the Dead Reckoning one. Also, Carey Elwes was wasted in his role and anyone could have portrayed the character which didn't require such a high-profile actor.
Also, Ethan’s backstory could have been allotted a couple of more minutes instead of hurriedly done flashbacks and if there was an issue with the de-aging process (as reported), a few scenes from the original Mission Impossible could have been used. Usually, Mission Impossible stunts are exclusive and explosive at the same time but coming up with already tried and tested sequences might hurt the film’s chances at the box office. And yes, Pom Klementieff’s Paris seemed more suited to the Bond franchise than Dead Reckoning Part One since she plays a kind of silent assassin but again, when you have an AI as the antagonist, the rest don’t matter.
The Verdict
There is no reason why Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One should not succeed because it provides the perfect template to all the other filmmakers who want to make an action film but seem to fall prey to CGI and special effects. It is one of those films which would never bore the audience because it fulfills their expectations, quenches their thirst for action, and makes them forget the world outside the theatre even if for a few hours.
However, the film’s release date could have been moved so that it didn’t clash with Oppenheimer or Barbie because those films had the suspense factor that Mission Impossible used best to its advantage, and that too for at least a month, but on this occasion they couldn’t. Tom Cruise’s flick could have been released on the July 4, but then it would have clashed with Paramount’s very own Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny which was released on the 30th of June; it could have been delayed till August when the Barbenheimer craze would have lessened but then it might have missed the holiday audience.
Besides that, there was nothing wrong with the movie and must be watched in the cinema, for it provides the perfect cinema experience. Thankfully it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger like Fast X and sets up the platform for the sequel which might release sometime next year. Hopefully, the film’s release wouldn’t clash with other flicks and fans of Cruise would get to see a finale that would blow their mind away.
Omair Alavi is a freelance contributor who writes about film, television, and popular culture. All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the writer.