by ECI Released : 2023-07-12
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is the seventh film in the Mission Impossible franchise starring Tom Cruise. The film sees IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) face off against an evil A.I known as the entity.
Ever since the fourth film in the franchise Mission Impossible has found a formula that has elevated the quality of the films and allowed it to become one of the best action franchises of all time. These often involve death defying stunts by lead actor Tom Cruise. Some action scenes that were fantastic in this film include, a chase scene through Rome, a fight on a train, and Cruise jumping off a cliff on a motorcycle.
Returning cast members, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Rebecca Ferguson add their usual levity to Ethan Hunt’s team, with Pegg and even Rhames at times providing comic relief throughout the film.
This film also manages to do something unexpected, it adds backstory to Ethan Hunt and IMF as a whole that makes sense as a form of retroactive continuity without feeling forced or half baked. The film's biggest flaws lie in the fact that it is a part one. The previous Mission Impossible films involve Hunt completing a mission either for the IMF or as a rogue agent on multiple occasions. In this film he literally finds a key to the greater puzzle that is being teased in the next installment. Other plot points like Hunt’s connection to the villain are shown but not elaborated on choosing instead to save the information for the next installment. While this does well in getting audiences invested in Dead Reckoning Part Two, it prevents Dead Reckoning Part One from reaching the heights of some of the previous installments which had tighter plots and better pacing.
Despite these criticisms, Dead Reckoning Part One is undoubtedly one of the best films of the year, and a must watch for any fans of the franchise or Cruise in general. It continues his string of fantastic films dating back to Mission Impossible: Fallout and Top Gun: Maverick and with Dead Reckoning Part Two set to be released next summer that streak should continue.
