In the two weeks leading up to my screening of Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One, I did something I rarely do leading up to seeing a sequel of a long-running franchise: I watched all the other Mission: Impossible films again because I was having a tough time remembering plot details, especially of the first three films. Honestly, when I saw actor Henry Czerny pop up in the early trailers for this latest work, I recalled that he has only appeared in the very first M:I installment, but I couldn’t recall much more than that. The revisit was well worth the journey, if only to be reminded just how many terrific actors have populated this series since 1996.
But as I watched the films in rapid succession, two trends jumped out at me. The first is that the women in Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) life do not fare well. And lo and behold, that is a very big part of Dead Reckoning Part One, since the villain here (a man named Gabriel, played by the great Esai Morales) is actually the bad guy that is responsible for Hunt wanting to join the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) in the first place, after he killed Ethan’s first wife. The second thing I noticed is that Ethan’s loyalty and protectiveness of his teammates/friends is psychotic, and he refuses to put any mission, no matter the global consequences, before the safety of those he cares about most. I’m not sure why the government would ever recruit such a person to work for it, but it probably has something to do with his being willing to cling to the side of a plane as it takes off. While his loyalty is noble, it gets in the way of him getting things done sometimes, making the work far more complicated than it needs to be at points. Though for Hunt and his team, that means more fun for us.
The objective for the IMF this time around is wildly timely. It turns out Gabriel isn’t the true enemy, since he takes his orders from an artificial intelligence called the Entity, which somehow threatens global security. In order to shut down this new type of menace, Ethan needs to obtain two halves of a key, while attempting to not let the presence of Gabriel in this scenario distract him from his mission (one might almost deduce that the Entity deliberately selected Gabriel as its human representative to get under the skin of the one man capable of stopping it). The current team consists of old favorites Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames), and former MI6 operative Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson), who might also be the closest thing Ethan has had to a love interest since his second wife, whom he has apparently divorced to keep her safe. The best new addition to the series is gifted pickpocket Grace (Hayley Atwell), who spends much of the film attempting to steal the keys in question for an unknown employer, but ends up working with the IMF for mostly selfish reasons.
Also returning to the fold is arms dealer and general facilitator he White Widow (the supremely off-kilter Vanessa Kirby), who plays a key role in getting someone both keys, but she hasn’t quite decided who. Throw in a few fun new characters played by Pom Klementieff (as Gabriel’s ice cold assassin), Shea Whigham (as an agent assigned to bring in the once-again rogue Hunt), and Cary Elwes as the new IMF head, and you’ve got yourself one of the strongest casts these films have offered to date. But how is the action?
In terms of pure payoff, Dead Reckoning Part One is the best of the now seven M:I films, without question. There’s an extended sequence aboard a high-speed train that acts as the film’s climax that is the perfect blend of fun and terror. Returning director Christopher McQuarrie (who directed the last three M:I movies and Jack Reacher; he also had a hand in writing for Cruise in The Mummy, Top Gun: Maverick, and Edge of Tomorrow) has such a firm grasp on how to stage and carry out an action sequence that he makes most other action directors look like student filmmakers. The sequence on the train isn’t just about fighting and shooting and crashing; that’s all interspersed with a heist plotline, an assassination attempt, and a big reveal about who the ultimate buyer is for the Entity’s keys. It sounds complicated, and it is somewhat, but McQuarrie knows what he’s doing and makes every move clear, relatable and entertaining.
Lest you think this film is nothing but high anxiety and tension, Dead Reckoning Part One also has more humor than most of the M:I movies, including a wild car chase in which Cruise and Atwell are driving the world’s tiniest car while handcuffed. Naturally, the cuffs are on opposite sides of their bodies, so they are literally driving the car with their arms across the dashboard, each taking turns turning, as it were. It’s a great visual gag that also makes the driving more treacherous.
The film also succeeds on an emotional platform, with Hunt struggling with powerful memories of his past, and a few pretty current ones as well. With him, the possible destruction of the world comes in a distant third or fourth compared to these other tragedies, but that doesn’t stop him from staying focused (usually). Cruise seems particularly intent on proving to audiences that Hunt isn’t just an adrenaline junkie; he’s a man with feelings, friends, and a sense of stakes, both personal and global. It’s almost shocking how well this movie comes together and keeps us in its grips for about 2 hours and 45 minutes.
And the best part about Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One is that we only have to wait a year for Part Two. This has been a summer with a great number of cliffhangers (Fast X, Spider-Verse), and this film is no exception (it’s kind of there in the title). But this part still feels like a complete and satisfying film, even with a few loose ends, like the possible end of the world. This is going to be a long 12 months.
Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One is now playing in theaters.
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