Tom Cruise, the consummate entertainer, once again shows us why he’s Hollywood’s last action hero in this penultimate M:I outing that is somewhat bogged down by plotting that is way too reliant on its airy-fairy MacGuffin.
Review #2,647
Dir. Christopher McQuarrie
2023 | USA | Action, Adventure, Thriller | 163 min | 2.39:1 | English
PG13 (passed clean) for intense sequences of violence and action, some language and suggestive material
Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Henry Czerny
Plot: Ethan Hunt and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: to track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands.
Awards: Nom. for 2 Oscars – Best Sound, Best Visual Effects
Distributor: United International Pictures
Accessibility Index
Subject Matter: Moderate – Saving the World; Artificial Intelligence
Narrative Style: Straightforward
Pace: Normal
Audience Type: Mainstream
Viewed: In Theatres – Shaw Waterway IMAX
Spoilers: No
Everyone’s looking for two specific keys in this penultimate M:I outing, so much so that after a while it gets rather wearying. At some point, most audiences wouldn’t care what they might unlock as long as Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has them at the end of the day.
With plotting that is way too reliant on this airy-fairy MacGuffin, and set within the context of artificial intelligence (simply named ‘The Entity’, but really, who/what the hell is this enemy in the cloud?) that has seemed to go rogue, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning is not exactly an interesting M:I film as far as its storytelling is concerned.
Its first hour is strong though, particularly a masterful sequence of heightened suspense set in an airport. After that, the narrative doesn’t reach that same high tension, though action fans will surely lap up two exceptional extended set-pieces—an elaborate car chase through Rome and a pulsating Orient Express finale that cinephiles with a good knowledge of film history would surely cite The General (1926) as ‘inspiration’.
“Your life will always matter more to me than my own.”
Like Buster Keaton, Cruise is a daredevil par excellence. Much of Dead Reckoning’s marketing push has largely come from milking the actor’s passionate pursuit of death-defying stunts—in this case, riding a motorbike off a cliff with just one chute, in what has been billed as the most dangerous stunt in cinematic history. (I’m sure Tom, the consummate entertainer, will do one better in Part Two.)
While those pesky keys keep appearing and disappearing, there is at least a constant in the form of Hayley Atwell, who plays Grace, a skilled thief, who becomes Ethan’s foil. Atwell’s compelling as a newcomer to the franchise, and I daresay, the most memorable aspect of the film for me.
While Dead Reckoning doesn’t reach the heights of its immediate predecessor, Fallout (2018), it has just enough in its tank to fuel anticipation for the next one.
Grade: B-
Trailer:
Music:
Eternality Tan 
Great review. It seems as though I enjoyed this one far more than you did. I thought this was one of the most entertaining movies I’ve ever seen. Tom Cruise has shown a strong dedication to performing his own stunts in movies even if they come at costs of injuries. This mission saw him take his stunt-work to an incredible height. I do get your criticisms about the MacGuffin being obvious. That being said, it didn’t bother me at all when I was too busy gaping in awe at Cruise’s jump off cliffs with daredevil motorcycles. Here’s why I loved this mission:
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1” (2023)- Movie Review – The Film Buff (huilahimovie.reviews)
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] slog, taking itself way too seriously, and needing so much exposition that its direct predecessor, Dead Reckoning (2023), which was already jammed packed with information, now feels like a […]
LikeLike