Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning

Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Frederick Schmidt, Cary Elwes, Charles Parnell, Mark Gatiss
Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
2023

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) must once again go rogue when a mysterious key hits the black market, pursued by a renegade A.I. system that could destroy the world.

Review:

Tim: I always say this, but it's continually stunning to me how Mission: Impossible has emerged as one of the best movie franchises. We're now on the 7th film and it's one of the rare franchises that I always go to see in theaters. That being said, Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning felt slightly disappointing to me. Oh, sure, it features incredible action sequences and is easily better than the vast majority of action movies made these days. I was quite entertained from beginning to end. This is certainly a good movie and belongs in the top half of this franchise in terms of quality- all markers of incredible success for a franchise on its 7th entry. So, I do want to praise this movie and admit I thoroughly enjoyed it.

However, there's also some worrisome signs. This film followed Fallout, arguably the best movie in the franchise. This one is clearly beneath it. The action scenes are good, but not close to the standout set pieces of the previous film. This movie is far too long- 2 hours, 43 minutes is totally unnecessary. It's bloated in multiple places. And, it's actually Part One of a two-parter, which is actually a pretty bad idea, all things considered. This movie made about $50 million less than the previous film (to be fair, that came out pre-Covid). I've read that the franchise may be jettisoning the "Part One" piece and change the title of the next film. That snafu shows a lack of planning, but it also doesn't change the fact that this isn't a finished story- it's just the first part. That feels somewhat unsatisfying at the film's conclusion.

These are all valid reasons why Dead Reckoning will never be my favorite film in the franchise and while I'll always feel it's a bit lesser. However, I have to admit, director Christopher McQuarrie and star Tom Cruise are still among the best duo in the business for action thrillers. This movie has so many intense, exciting scenes. The airport chase sequence is stunning. The motorcycle cliff jump is cool (more on that). The train disaster is definitely a highlight and offers some tremendous moments. You watch the quality of these action scenes, the stunt work, and you have to marvel at what you see. Very few people are doing anything this good and the movie absolutely benefits from it. This is a movie that's simultaneously so incredibly effective and yet, yes- somewhat disappointing.

The story itself is good, but it's definitely a bit too convoluted. It doesn't feel especially differentiated from the other movies. Ethan Hunt and company are always in a global race against time against shadowy bad guys. The artificial intelligence twist was solid, but not exactly brilliant. It was fine. The story never hurts the movie- but it just comes across as slightly above decent- not a real strength here.

Tom Cruise is always excellent as Ethan Hunt. He's definitely getting a bit older, but he still attacks his work with total dedication. It's a real joy to see him in this role and you know he absolutely loves it. His performances are always amplified by his willingness to do insane stunts. I'll never forget the scene of him hanging off an airplane. That being said, this movie's "big" stunt involved him driving a motorcycle off a cliff before releasing his parachute. That's super cool, quite dangerous, I'd imagine. However, it felt less interesting than many of his previous ones. It's cool, but the movie seems obsessed with it. I get not every movie can go bigger every time, but I think this stunt scene was less engaging than many of his others. Still, despite probably being a weird guy, Cruise is one of the all-time great movie stars.

I always love seeing Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg in these roles. They're excellent and big reasons why this franchise works. I love Rebecca Ferguson, but it felt like her character was mishandled this time around. For such a great character, she didn't get nearly enough to do- it was unsatisfying. It was cool seeing Vanessa Kirby again, and Esai Morales makes a memorable, effective villain. Henry Czerny was excellent- I love the work he did here. Shea Whigham and Greg Tarzan Davis were a tremendous supporting pair. I always enjoy Cary Elwes. Pom Klementieff added a surprisingly memorable performance.

This brings me to Hayley Atwell. I'm a huge Atwell fan- she'll always be "Agent Carter" to me. She's a tremendous actress and her inclusion here was excellent. However, I felt like her character was completely mishandled. I didn't care about Grace- I didn't even like her for most of the movie. This is all due to the writing, very little to do with Atwell. The movie tries to tell us she's so cool and a great addition, but the writing never gives us a real reason to care. By the end of the film, I could still take her or leave her. Contrast this with the introduction of Ilsa, and launching Rebecca Ferguson as one of the coolest characters to ever grace this franchise's screens. The handling of Atwell's character was clumsy and ineffective. Her performance was good, so I'm hoping Grace grows on us as the franchise continues.

Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning (and I may need to go back to this review and add the "Part One" if they don't change the next film's title) isn't close to the best in this franchise. I'd probably put it at a shaky #4, which is still a success. I was entertained both times watching this movie. While I questioned and disagreed with many of the character decisions in this film, it doesn't prevent the 7th film in the franchise to continue to make this a "must see" in theaters event. This franchise is quickly becoming one of the all-time best action franchises. Ever.


Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible 2, Mission: Impossible III, Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol, Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation, Mission: Impossible- Fallout, Oblivion