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Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Review
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures and Skydance
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Directed By: Christopher McQuarrie
Written By: Christopher McQuarrie & Erik Jendresen; Based on the television Series created by Bruce Geller
Runtime: 163 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated
Tom Cruise – Ethan Hunt
Hayley Atwell – Grace
Esai Morales – Gabriel
Ving Rhames – Luther Stickell
Simon Pegg – Benji Dunn
Rebecca Ferguson – Ilsa Faust
Vanessa Kirby – Alanna Mitsopolis/The White Widow
Pom Klementieff – Paris
Henry Czerny – Eugene Kittridge
Shea Whigham – Jasper Briggs
Cary Elwes – Denlinger
Tom Cruise returns as the valiant IMF agent, Ethan Hunt, in the seventh franchise installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise. Cruise once again teams up with Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and Mission: Impossible – Fallout writer-director Christopher McQuarrie. With the film series now at its seventh installment, Christopher McQuarrie takes a more ambitious approach with part seven of the franchise, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, the first of a two-part story, matching the nigh-unstoppable IMF agent against a similarly unstoppable force: a self-sustaining, self-aware, generative artificial intelligence.
The villain of Dead Reckoning is an invisible computer program, dubbed “The Entity,” that has its own agenda, and every major power in the world will want it. And now it’s up to Ethan Hunt to find the secret and bring “The Entity” to its knees before the technological god hatches from its cocoon and wreaks havoc across the planet. McQuarrie certainly takes a more ambitious swing setting Ethan Hunt against a diabolical, cunning generative AI system, but he may have bitten off more than he can chew for this bloated two-hour and forty-three-minute plot.
In its enigmatic quest of possible global subjugation, The Entity has already begun recruiting human agents to do its bidding. Among them is a specter from Ethan’s past, known only as Gabriel (Morales), a cold-blooded, ruthless killer who operates with machine-like efficiency, so his pairing with The Entity is incredibly apt. Also in Gabriel’s employ is the deadly and sadistic Paris (Klementieff). Upon learning of The Entity’s existence, Ethan is again forced to go rogue, joined by his loyal teammates Luther Stickell (Rhames) and Benji Dunn (Pegg). They are out to locate the other half of a unique key which can potentially grant the means of stopping The Entity or bringing it to heel.
However, other parties have also learned of the key’s existence and will stop at nothing to acquire it. With Hunt having gone rogue to stop the entity, CIA Director and former IMF Secretary Eugene Kittridge activates Agent Jasper Briggs (Whigham) to lead a CIA task force to bring Hunt in by force if necessary. In his pursuit of the key, Ethan encounters a skilled thief, Grace (Atwell), who was hired by an unknown party to steal another half of the key. The Entity is only growing more quickly in power, and Ethan Hunt’s team has little recourse against an enemy that can seemingly anticipate, predict, and manipulate their every move.
Dead Reckoning suffers from a bloated hot that shows too many reveals too quickly. The plot throws a major curveball by announcing the existence of The Entity early. The Entity’s existence is not a major plot twist or reveal. That becomes a problem because the plot constantly hammers burning questions that have already been answered. Characters repeatedly ask about the major McGuffin and what it unlocks. Well, not only does the film show us what it unlocks, but the characters explicitly explain its purpose. It plays out like a big question mark or mystery, even though the plot has already revealed the answers. Now, since this is a two-part story, it’s possible further narrative curveballs are thrown in Dead Reckoning Part Two.
There is a sense that McQuarrie wanted Dead Reckoning to evoke a similar narrative style as Brian De Palma’s initial 1996 installment but make it more accessible to a modern audience. Unfortunately, the execution is rather clunky. This results in a great deal of talking head sequences that are not only repetitive, but they over-explain everything that is happening onscreen.
The other unfortunate aspect is that making generative AI the villain doesn’t succeed in freshening up the franchise. Instead, the AI terror plays out in a highly derivative fashion. For a script that tends to overly explain everything, Dead Reckoning lacks clear restrictions on what The Entity can and cannot do. This would at least justify why a self-aware, sentient AI doesn’t go Skynet on the human race the first chance it gets. The problem with an AI villain is that AI is virtually unstoppable and all-powerful, yet a movie such as this still needs forward momentum to at least make it seem to the audience that the heroes are getting somewhere and making some progress. The subject matter of malevolent AI is certainly topical and relevant at the moment, but the idea as its depicted in the film veers away from that human element the Mission: Impossible films are best known for.
Dead Reckoning does not appear justified as a two-part story. At nearly two hours and 45 minutes, it probably should have completed its storyline in one sitting rather than splitting events in two. The opening act has three mini-movie prologue-type sequences, each of which could have worked individually as a self-contained pre-credit sequence. Sometimes long movie runtimes are justified, but Dead Reckoning is another movie in a long line of summer movies that run longer than necessary.
While the plot’s AI theme leaves something to be desired, Mission: Impossible is undeniably entertaining. There are still some amazing action sequences in exotic, gorgeous locations. McQuarrie has always had a knack for putting a unique twist on movie chase scenes, and he showcases them well throughout Dead Reckoning. What McQuarrie does exceptionally well is staging large-scale action setpieces featuring multiple perspectives and characters, and they all work in tandem. The action never lacks cohesion or looks choppy. Considering how many characters and factions are present throughout the film, editor Eddie Hamilton’s work looks incredibly slick, save for the more droll and repetitive talking sequences where more restraint was needed.
McQuarrie’s firm grasp of action and chase scenes pairs nicely with Fraser Taggart’s cinematography, which beautifully shows off the grand scale of the film’s impressive locales. The production team was game for this production because each set and location look uniquely different. All the rooms are brimming with personality, from the CIA HQ with typists desperately trying to convert digital archives back to hard copies, the palatial soirée in Venice, and the Orient Express. The steam engine makes for a fun setting with its old-world, vintage spy-movie charm still intact for a fateful encounter.
Dead Reckoning places Ethan and Grace as its new central relationship. Atwell displays fun chemistry with Cruise. The two have an interesting dynamic since they are both experts in their respective fields. Atwell’s Grace has the most complete and fulfilling character arc in Dead Reckoning. However, their relationship results in Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust moving into the background, as she takes a more tertiary role in Dead Reckoning, which is disappointing.
It’s difficult to fully judge the direction of Ethan’s arc since this is merely the first half. An intriguing aspect of Ethan’s character arc is the hints of where things started for Ethan and the IMF. Since this is only Part One, the plot holds back on peeling back all the layers of Ethan Hunt. Another major factor in how Cruise makes his performance work is by showing Ethan’s human frailties. Throughout the film, Cruise and McQuarrie generously display moments of confusion or vulnerability for Ethan. At times, Ethan Hunt comes off as downright superhuman, to an almost ridiculous degree. But then, McQuarrie and Cruise throw in some charming moment or character beat that succeeds in grounding the character. Cruise imbues Ethan with a likable relatability. Ethan Hunt is still human, but he’s just very good at improvising solutions to extremely difficult problems.
Ethan’s personality contrasts with Gabriel, who appears post-human with his cold efficiency, making him the perfect soldier for The Entity. It’s an interesting setup to have the compassionate and humane Ethan, who has sacrificed everything for the greater good, matching up against Gabriel, who was once possibly his old comrade-in-arms and has become an unfeeling, cold, ruthless individual without a shred of remorse. Hopefully, these ideas will be expanded upon in Part Two.
Henry Czerny makes his long-awaited return to the Mission: Impossible franchise in Dead Reckoning, having last appeared in the 1996 film twenty-seven years ago. Kittridge provides a dual purpose for the film, as he portrays a significant connection to Ethan’s past and an adversary of sorts for the rogue agent. Czerny delivers a few of the film’s more surprising laughs, and his uniquely appropriate voice providing the film’s trademark “message” is fun and memorable.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning overcomplicates matters with an ambitious plot and a bloated script that needs to prove that the two-movie plan is justified. The film’s plot frequently becomes way too comfortable in revealing too much too soon. The fantastic action sequences, the great chemistry among the central cast members, some beautiful locales, and all the technical aspects harmonize together, making up for the ham-fisted AI setup. Lorne Balfe’s score sounds great, and he still has not forgotten about the majesty of that classic theme song. Hopefully, McQuarrie will maintain a better handle on The Entity plot in the next adventure.
