Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One review

Tom Cruise first did a Mission Impossible movie way back in 1996. I was still in high school. And we have never gone more than about 5 years between installments, so this franchise has really spanned my whole adult life. And with no signs of stopping. 

We are now on to the 7th movie, Dead Reckoning Part One. Yes, this is another half movie in a summer of them, following Fast X and Across The Spiderverse. Part Two is, I believe, set for next summer. And Cruise will probably keep going after that.

I will probably get killed for saying this (well, if I say it elsewhere) but I liked those other two half films better.

Dead Reckoning is the 3rd straight MI film to be directed by Christopher McQuarrie. The franchise began with each installment bearing the distinct imprint of its director. I kind of miss that, even if MI2 went a little goody with all the John Woo slo-mo and doves and all that. McQuarrie is a solid director, but these last 3 movies all feel a little bit bland. 

Not to say Dead Reckoning is bad. Not at all. It's good. I think I liked it more than the previous 2. But again I kind of left this movie wanting.

The reason this movie is better is almost entirely due to Hayley Atwell. Finally! Finally this woman was given a real showcase role as something other than Peggy Carter (not that I didn't like her as the character). Here though she gets to let loose with the charisma and the sexiness and holy shit. She's incredible. And she has actual chemistry with Cruise. So glad her character in this is positioned to be in the franchise for a long time.

The plot here? I honestly gave up after about an hour even trying to follow it. There's an AI (called The Entity every 2 minutes) and a bunch of characters trying to locate the two pieces of a literal key that can maybe defeat it. Esai Morales is the primary human villain but he is a dullard whose motivations are not really explained. 

In general I found it hard to stay that engaged when we are told (and shown) that this AI can basically just do anything it wants. It can make characters see and hear things that aren't there. It can apparently predict the future. It really lowers the stakes.

We get much of the regular cast back, with Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames and Rebecca Ferguson and even Henry Czerny from the first movie. Pom Klementieff gets a cool, badass part as an assassin. Shea Whigham plays one of a pair of CIA guys chasing Cruise around. Vanessa Kirby pops back up for a few scenes. There are some other CIA guys and assorted henchmen. Too many characters.

What makes Dead Reckoning a still satisfying experience are the action set pieces, which really deliver. None moreso than a chase through Rome (getting used a ton in 2023 action flicks) that is a masterpiece of action and silly comedy. And the train finale is great fun too. Everyone saw the shot of Cruise riding a motorcycle off a cliff.

I think this franchise has kind of settled into what it's going to be now: a series of reliable action movies but no more absolute classics.