Time: 163 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Violence
Cast:
Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt
Hayley Atwell as Grace
Esai Morales as Gabriel
Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell
Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn
Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust
Vanessa Kirby as Alanna Mitsopolis
Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge
Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One was one of my most anticipated movies of 2023. Outside of maybe the second film, the franchise is solid on the whole, and has been taken to new heights in the last decade. The last film, Fallout, was one of the best action movies of recent years for me. The next story is split into two parts, and from what I’ve heard, it is potentially the conclusion to the series (that remains to be seen). With lead star Tom Cruise and director and longtime collaborator Christopher McQuarrie back along with much of the cast from the last movie, I was sold on the movie already. Dead Reckoning Part One did not disappoint.

The premise may be straightforward, but the movie gets surprisingly complex; there are so many moving parts to keep track of. There’s also a lot of scenes with drawn out dialogue, most of it being expository. However, it never got muddled for me, and I was able to grasp most of what was going on. This is probably the pulpiest movie in the series, and does go to some over the top and far fetched places. The plot focuses on a rogue AI, and while it initially sounds like its straight from a 80s sci-fi film, the way its presented here makes it somewhat plausible and imposing, especially with recent real world events and advancements. I found the story to be pretty riveting and the stakes are quite high. There’s a constant thread of humour throughout the whole series, but Dead Reckoning Part One might be the funniest Mission Impossible movie since Ghost Protocol. At the same time, it retains a lot of the emotion from the previous movies, and Dead Reckoning Part One particularly feels personal. While much of the movie is linked by impressive set pieces, there is a lot of emotional weight to the story. I found much of the plot to be pretty strong, but not as effective as Fallout’s. Without getting into it too much, there’s a couple of moments that aren’t so great and could’ve been handled better. Tonally, Dead Reckoning Part One can be a little jarring, mainly with the occasionally goofy humour paired alongside the serious drama, but that’s a fairly minor issue. From the title alone, you can tell this is one half of a story, and you do feel that. Between this, Fast X and Across the Spider-Verse, 2023 seems to be the year of Part 1s (although Mission Impossible is at least courteous enough to put that in the title). As a result, the movie doesn’t feel complete; character arcs aren’t finished, and there are plenty of unanswered mysteries and questions. At the same time, it is satisfying when it does reach the end, and it gets you hyped up for the sequel instead of making it feel like you’re being cheated. In that sense, its definitely more of an Across the Spider-Verse case than a Fast X situation. It’s a very long movie at around 2 hours and 40 minutes and I can tell this will be a problem for some. Barring a very long pre-title segment, I think its paced rather well and I don’t think it drags.  

The cast are great as usual.  Tom Cruise once again delivers as protagonist Ethan Hunt, both with the physicality and action as well as the dramatic parts. With this being a more personal mission for Hunt, we get a different kind of performance from Cruise, and he really sells the emotion. Hunt’s team in Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Rebecca Ferguson are a great combination, with these four sharing such convincing chemistry. Vanessa Kirby as the White Widow is again good, getting to have a slightly larger part here compared to Fallout. The biggest surprise in terms of returning actors is Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge, whose last appearance was all the way back in the very first Mission Impossible movie. It was great seeing him here; he’s not just here to be a callback to the past movies, he also plays a notable part in the plot too. The new actors are great in their roles too, with Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis and Cary Elwes being welcome additions to the cast. Whigham is particularly present throughout the much of the movie and is fun to watch every time he shows up on screen. The standout among the cast however is Hayley Atwell, playing an interesting and entertaining new character for the series. Atwell is a scene stealer and the chemistry between her and Cruise is perfect. The overarching antagonist for Dead Reckoning might be the rogue AI, but the film thankfully provides a human enemy in Esai Morales’s Gabriel. Not much is known about him, but Morales does well at conveying him as a menacing force of nature in his screentime, and is very different from the past villains in the series. There are plenty of questions surrounding his character which aren’t answered yet, holding him back from being as good as some of the best antagonists in the series. So we’ll have to see what Part 2 does with him. On the other hand, Pom Klementieff provides a memorable and gleefully maniacal supporting villain performance.

This is the third time that Christopher McQuarrie has directed a Mission Impossible movie, after helming Rogue Nation and Fallout. There are times where I kind of wish the series went back to having a different director with each movie, but I can’t deny that McQuarrie has such a great grasp with these movies. On a technical level it is incredible; it’s very well crafted, fantastically shot, and has some solid sound work. One notable aspect is that there are stylistic aspects which are seemingly taken from the first Mission Impossible directed by Brian de Palma. This is seen in some of the tense sequences and especially in the notable amount of dutch angles. The action is the highlight and its not surprising at all to say its fantastic. There’s a great variety of different stunts and action, from Cruise jumping off a cliff, to car chases, fist fights, etc, and the practical approach helps make those scenes so enthralling to watch. The third act is especially great, and while you might’ve seen some of the biggest parts in the trailer, it still finds ways to be thrilling. Lorne Bafle’s score added a lot to Fallout, especially with the atmosphere and tone. That is the case once again with Dead Reckoning, as it raises the tension and scale of the scenes.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is ambitious, thrilling, suspenseful and highly entertaining, with the outstanding action, great cast, and solid storytelling (even if we only get to see half of the story). Its not without its faults; it’s not as complete a movie as Fallout was, and it does suffer from it being a Part 1 of a story. Still, it is among the best of the series, and I highly recommend going to watch it in the cinemas.