Paramount Pictures releases Mission: Imposisble – Dead Reckoning Part One in UK cinemas from July 10, 2023.
Synopsis
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) 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. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan’s past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.
Review
It seems unfathomable, but as Tom Cruise returns to the big screen with his seventh Mission: Impossible film the series is celebrating almost 30 years as one of Hollywood’s most enduring franchises. But after the runaway success of 2018’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout, can the franchise sustain its latest creative wave?
The lengthy titled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is certainly one of 2023’s must assured and sturdy productions. Clocking in at a whopping 163 minutes it is also the longest film in the franchise. A title previously held by Fallout at 147 minutes. In many cases quantity doesn’t always equate to quality but with Dead Reckoning Part One that simply isn’t the case.
Written by returning franchise director Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers), Dead Reckoning is incredibly light on its feet. At first glance a film which has to setup the concept of an A.I. villain alongside several new human adversaries and new ally Grace (Hayley Atwell, Agent Carter) should be incredibly dense. Throw in almost three-decades of character development between members of the core cast and Mission: Impossible should be more like an impossible mission to balance. But somehow the script defies the odds and never buckles under immense pressure.
An incredibly Bond-like opening on a submarine sets up our new digital villain whilst posing a tonne of existential questions. Is Dead Reckoning too far fetched? Possibly. Are the events of the film possible in the age of burgeoning A.I.? Probably. There’s certainly a tightrope act between the more outlandish actions of the film’s characters and the potential for similar events to play out in our own near-future.
Tonally the opening sequence feels like some of the most serious material that Mission: Impossible has ever tackled. I was genuinely concerned the film may lean too far in to serious territory, forgetting that at its core it’s Bond’s fun-loving, American cousin. But my concerns were misplaced. Once Ethan Hunt (Cruise) appears on screen alongside Benji (Simon Pegg, Shaun of the Dead) and Luther (Ving Rhames, Pulp Fiction) then the film really hits its stride.
The difficulty with a film of this scale is striking the right balance between action and exposition. With a story as grand as Dead Reckoning there’s a fair amount of explanation required, particularly around the A.I. threat. Whilst it’s a subject that is rarely out of the headlines in 2023, it’s not necessarily a concept that all of the audience will immediately be on board with. For the most part McQuarrie and Jendresen’s script carries it off without a hitch. There are a few moments, perhaps one per act, which get bogged down in superfluous exposition. A scene early in the film in which a group of various US agency leads discuss the looming threat is crying out for a sharper edit. But these moments are few and far between in a film which really relies on its action.
I saw an early reaction which suggested the film had too much dialogue and not enough action. I wonder what film that person was watching. Dead Reckoning jumps from submarine to Dubai Airport, to Rome and on to a thrilling conclusion on the Orient Express. Whilst those heavy dialogue moments do exist they are simply connective tissue between some of the best espionage action Hollywood has produced since… well Mission: Impossible – Fallout. If you’ve seen a Mission: Impossible movie before then you know what to expect. Plenty of Tom Cruise running and some kind of death-defying stunt. Here it’s the much teased motorbike jump witness in trailers and posters.
Setting expectation aside, Dead Reckoning really does push the franchise to the next level. McQuarrie and Cruise continue to construct huge set pieces around practical stunt work what is unparalleled in big studio features. At 61 Cruise continues to defy ageing, performing many of his own stunts to the benefit of the whole production. There’s also plenty of action for Atwell’s Grace who quickly finds herself in the centre of the story. Atwell’s history with Marvel has already proven her ability to perform this kind of role. But leaving the cinema there’s no doubt that Dead Reckoning will push her career to a whole new level.
The returning Rebecca Ferguson (Silo), Pegg and Rhames all have plenty to do in their own specialist areas. There’s no doubting I would have liked to see more of Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust but there character still has an integral role in Ethan’s journey towards 2024’s Dead Reckoning Part Two.
When all is said and done Dead Reckoning Part One is one of the better examples of a two-part story structure. The film’s ending rounds out the storyline with a satisfying conclusion whilst perfectly setting up Ethan and co.’s next mission. Less of a frustrating cliffhanger and instead a true appetite whetting setup for what is to come when Part Two eventually hits our screens.
This wouldn’t be a Mission: Impossible film without a bold musical score. It’s once again over to Lorne Balfe, who joined with Fallout, to provide the soundscape to this latest caper. Balfe, fresh from Ghosted, Tetris and Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves is on top form. From the legendary theme tune through each of the epic set pieces, Balfe’s score the perfect accompaniment to enhance the film to new levels.
Verdict
Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise have accepted the mission to save the summer box office. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is a true classic blockbuster. A great (timely) story with impeccably well crafted action and brilliant ensemble cast.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
