“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” (2023)

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Grade: B+

The latest and longest installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise is branded as “a Tom Cruise production.” This is his film through and through, and he sets a new bar for high action Hollywood stunts. A few more notes on Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One:

Directing:

Cruise’s longtime latter-day collaborator Christopher McQuarrie directs Dead Reckoning Part One with sleek style — with every frame, we’re well aware of the film’s $200-million budget. Each set-piece shines with streamlined efficiency, and every high-wire stunt is gorgeously rendered. Along the way, McQuarrie pays tribute to the franchise’s first director, Brian De Palma, with expressive use of canted angles and 360° camera whirlwinds. And just to prove Cruise isn’t the only one saving the art of cinema, McQuarrie even sneaks in a reference to Sergei Eisenstein for good measure.

Acting:

With Dead Reckoning Part One and Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise has re-cemented his status as “world’s biggest movie star” (a title he previously held in the mid-1980s). He single-handedly carries this film with another relentless performance as Ethan Hunt — sprinting, fighting, jumping off cliffs and doing whatever he can to make sure your eyes don’t leave the screen for 164 minutes. Meanwhile, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff offer strong supporting roles.

Writing:

Dead Reckoning Part One is a long movie, as evidenced by the 30-minute pre-credits sequence. Luckily, the plot isn’t too confusing (thank you, Ving Rhames, for providing much-needed exposition), and, ultimately, the plot isn’t the point — we’re just here for the stunts and the scenic locales. But it’s hard to get invested in an antagonist known simply as “the Entity,” a sentient AI that has gone rogue for reasons unknown. Luckily, the film’s lack of emotional stakes is made up for with explosive action.

Music:

Lorne Balfe (of Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions) does a nice job crafting a non-stop orchestral score that is as dramatic and effective as the original Lalo Schifrin theme song.

Ending (SPOILERS):

As mentioned before, it’s hard to care about a villain that is more topical than tangible. Nevertheless, the transcontinental chase for two keys is a worthy MacGuffin, and we can only hope that the scope of the mission becomes more palpable in Dead Reckoning Part Two. The ending is a nice set-up for the sequel, but this is a franchise in which the overarching storyline hardly matters. Case in point: you don’t need to see Mission: Impossible movies one through six to enjoy this one, or to know what’s going on.

“The closer someone gets to you, the harder it is to keep them alive.” – Eugene Kittridge

Why Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One gets a B+:

Tom Cruise pulls off some of the most insane stunts you’ll ever see onscreen (until Dead Reckoning Part Two, that is), which provides enough high-octane entertainment value to make this bloated adventure worth watching.

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