Five years after gifting us the excellent Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie are back with one of this summer’s most hotly-awaited follow-ups, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, which experienced one of the wildest production schedules in recent memory. Luckily, however, despite all of the various obstacles, TC and McQ found a way to persevere yet again and have managed to deliver one of the best action movies of all-time!
**This review may contain minor spoilers from Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One**
After the previous installment tied a bow on the Ghost Protocol-Rogue Nation-Fallout trilogy, Dead Reckoning Part One opens with a fresh slate of sorts for Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and company. They’re back to living under the radar, more or less, operating as traditional IMF agents, but when one of their own lands in extremely hot water, it’s all hands-on deck as Hunt races to the rescue. Upon arrival, he uncovers a threat far worse than anything he’s faced before.
He walks away from the desert with one half of a mysterious key, and from there, the story shifts to Vienna, where Hunt and his team must track down the other half, which has landed in the slippery hands of the elusive Grace (Hayley Atwell) - an unpredictable, but exciting new addition to the franchise, who has been tasked with acquiring the key for an unknown benefactor. When a nefarious third party from Ethan’s past resurfaces in pursuit of both halves of the key, Hunt and Grace find themselves partnered up by fate in a wild game of cat-and-mouse, as they avoid the authorities, assassins, and more to secure the full key and make it out of Part One alive.
While the first three films built up the legend of Ethan Hunt, the past three - all scripted by returning writer/director Christopher McQuarrie - have done their best to peel back layers of the man who has sacrificed life and limb, time and time again, for the greater good. With Dead Reckoning Part One, McQuarrie digs even deeper and explores an era of Hunt’s past that was redacted long ago: who he was pre-IMF. The revelation provides valuable insight into the man we’ve come to know and love over the years - and into the choices he’s made - but also raises many new questions, most of which we hope will be answered in next year’s Part Two.
Choice remains at the center of this film, and, honestly, it’s really been the core theme of the entire franchise. Each installment begins with, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it…,” so this saga has always been a choice for Ethan Hunt, not an obligation. Everything he and his team have done, from joining the IMF to saving the world on multiple occasions, has been because they believed it was the right thing to do, not because someone told them it was the right thing to do. Regardless of whether they win or lose on their missions, they were rarely following orders, so the choice to be there was always their own. McQuarrie stresses this point throughout the course of the film, and it becomes especially pertinent when Hunt realizes someone close to him will soon be faced with the same choice he was nearly thirty years ago. It’s an interesting parallel that McQuarrie explores with care. Nothing reveals itself immediately, but once it becomes apparent, the payoff is one of the most satisfying elements of the picture.
In terms of action, Cruise and McQuarrie are unsurprisingly in top form, and you’d be hard-pressed to find an actor/director combo as capable as these two, as they again managed to craft and capture some of the most inventive action sequences in cinematic history - all while shooting through a global pandemic, no less! The roughly 20-minute car chase through Vienna is an absolute show-stopper, with twists and turns that’ll have you tossing and turning in your seat with pure adrenaline. There’s also a variety of standout combat sequences, from a gnarly desert shootout to a thrilling sword duel, but there’s one fight that really stood out as McQuarrie traps Hunt with a pair of assassins for an extremely close corridor bare-knuckle brawl that is as suffocating as it is so completely badass. Oh, and all of this is just in the first two acts…
Marketing has understandably teased Cruise’s epic motorcycle stunt, and that wild speedflying sequence, but none of the trailers have done either of those massive set pieces justice. They are as jaw-dropping as they are mesmerizing, huge moments that you just need to see to believe, preferably on the biggest screen imaginable. I mean, Tom Cruise launches himself off a mountain at full speed toward a high-powered locomotive. That’s box office entertainment at its finest. Then, comes the pulse-pounding and unquestionably fantastic finale aboard the train, the biggest highlight of many highlights in this 163-minute film. From the moment everyone boards the train to the second the credits roll, McQuarrie mixes a bit of everything into the final act of Part One, from high stakes to thrilling action, drama, comedy, new alliances, unexpected betrayals, big twists and shocking turns - it’s a full five-course meal of everything you love about Mission: Impossible. The final train stunt, where Cruise and Atwell must climb their way through multiple cabins or face instant death is arguably one of the most tension-filled sequences in the entire series and will have you on the absolute edge of your seat from start-to-finish. It’s so damn good, and will be a scene you’ll want to watch again and again.
After saving cinema last year, Tom Cruise is back for an encore performance for the ages, and this may actually be the best he’s ever been as Ethan Hunt, a role that’s become so synonymous with the actor himself that it’s often hard to separate their daredevil exploits. He’s allowed to be vulnerable in a way that we rarely see from this particular character, as he comes to terms with the fact that he can’t save everyone, no matter how hard he tries, and it’s this dilemma that gives Cruise an opportunity to remind us why he’s one of the best to ever do it. McQuarrie also fills the cast with excellent scene partners, who help open up different facets of Hunt that make him a far more endearing, and borderline tragic, hero.
As per usual, the supporting cast is class all around, with Hayley Atwell stealing the show with a tour de force performance as Grace. She is a breath of fresh air, and turns the franchise on its head with her infinite charm, as she leaves her Marvel comfort zone to navigate the death-defying world of Mission: Impossible. She handles everything like a true ace and should be a quick fan-favorite. Atwell’s chemistry with Cruise is absolutely electric and anytime they’re on screen, you won’t be able to look away, especially after that Vienna car chase and the heart-pumping third act. The dynamic between their characters is not at all what you’re expecting, which makes it quite a bit more compelling, and you’ll certainly be left clamoring for more. Agent Peggy Carter may have been her big break, but Grace may ultimately go down as the greatest performance of her career.
Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg are both as reliable as ever, and Rebecca Ferguson remains a scene-stealer as Ilsa Faust, although all three have slightly reduced parts compared to the previous installment. We imagine some of this had to do with pandemic scheduling, but some of it was likely due to plot reasons as well, since the majority of the story does require Hunt and Grace to split from the team. Vanessa Kirby gets a lot more to do this time, too, and is an absolute delight as she really stretches her Oscar-nominated acting chops. New faces Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, and Greg Tarzan Davis are all welcome additions to the cast for various reasons, but Pom does deserve a little extra love for her phenomenal performance as the killer assassin Paris. She more than proves herself as a bona fide action star and is certainly a force to be reckoned with moving forward.
Now, onto the villain. Esai Morales is plenty threatening as the menacing Gabriel, who has a devastating connection to Ethan’s past, but he’s ultimately just a messenger like his namesake, not the one pulling the strings. As revealed in the film’s extended prologue, the actual villain is The Entity, an AI with its own machinations on the world at large, using Gabriel as its singular horseman of the apocalypse. I won’t reveal much further than that, but will admit that the early revelation did require some level of buy in, especially at a crucial juncture when Hunt is piecing together the extinction-level threat The Entity poses. It’s a tense scene that is considerably more exposition-heavy than we’re become accustomed to from this franchise, although it mostly works and sets the stage for an explosive conclusion.
Fraser Taggart’s cinematography and Eddie Hamilton’s editing are both aces, and help enhance the picture from top to bottom, while Lorne Balfe’s score really shines and repeatedly punctuates the biggest and brightest moments. His updated Mission theme will be playing in your head long after you’ve left the theater.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is the undisputed blockbuster movie event of the summer! Tom Cruise delivers yet another action movie masterpiece, packed with jaw-dropping spectacle, pulse-pounding action, heartfelt emotion, awe-inspiring performances, and an exciting chemistry opposite new leading lady Hayley Atwell that’ll have you begging for more. This is one Mission we’ll always choose to accept! Bring on Part Two!