In the seventh installment of the Mission: Impossible action-adventure film series, Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise) is shown perched atop a massive cliff on a motorcycle. The daring stunt that he is about to attempt involves driving the bike off the cliff and attempting to base jump onto a speeding train situated far below. And that’s just one of the incredibly dangerous stunts Cruise is up to in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1.
Early in the film, Ethan has an impromptu meeting with Kittridge (Henry Czerny), his old boss and now CIA director, who tells Ethan, “This mission of yours is going to cost you dearly.” That doesn’t stop Ethan from going rogue once again to find a key that could give anyone – any country, any billionaire, or any terrorist group – access to a new and dangerous artificial intelligence device called the Entity.
To make things just a little more difficult, the key has two unique halves that are currently held by different parties. Ethan and his IMF team – Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames), and Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) – must find both halves and figure out exactly how to use the complete key to destroy the Entity.
Their search takes them to the Dubai airport where Ethan and his team come across a thief/incredibly talented pickpocket named Grace (Hayley Atwell) who, through her talents, ends up with one-half of the key. Of course, the chase is on to unite the keys. And, of course, Ethan also finds himself being hunted by anyone and everyone after the key. Ethan also becomes aware of another foe in the mix, Gabriel (Esai Morales), a formidable enemy from his past.
With thrilling action scenes, breathtaking locations, and nerve-racking, jaw-dropping stunts, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 is another superb addition to the action-adventure film franchise. Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie have elevated the action in this outing, incorporating an intense and funny Fiat car chase in Rome involving handcuffs, a trip through tourists down multiple flights of stairs, and a riveting and spectacular fight on top of a train followed by a massive crash. Not to mention the stunt referenced in the opening paragraph of this review: a death-defying motorcycle jump off a cliff combined with a base jump onto a train. They have truly outdone themselves!
Most of the IMF team cast is back, including Ving Rhames as no-nonsense Luther, Simon Pegg as comical computer genius Benji, and Rebecca Ferguson as ex-MI6 operative Ilsa Faust, who still has wonderful chemistry with Cruise. The only flaw with the film is the lack of screen time Cruise and Ferguson share in this outing.
Haylee Atwell is a welcome addition to the cast as Grace, an exceptionally talented pickpocket who enjoys playing both sides and seems only to be looking out for herself and a sizeable payday. Atwell and Cruise shine together onscreen and have an intensity between them, especially during the Fiat car chase and the train crash sequences.
Tom Cruise does most of his own death-defying stunts, including fighting on top of a train built for the film while it speeds along at 60 miles an hour and driving a motorcycle off a remarkably high cliff and freefalling until he can pull his parachute. To say that the latter stunt is an eye-popping moment in cinema is an understatement.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 is an extraordinary action film that should be seen on the big screen for the full exhilarating moviegoing experience.
GRADE: A-
Release Date: July 12, 2023
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Violence, Action, Some Language, Suggestive Material)
Running Time: 2 hours 43 minutes
Studio: Paramount Pictures
