With director Christopher McQuarrie’s third film of the franchise, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One doesn’t quite hit the same levels as Rogue Nation and Fallout. However, it still delivers an incredible action-packed film with compelling characters that manage to bring both moments of extreme tension and laughs. While the movie boasts a two-hour and forty-minute runtime, it is paced perfectly, so that even the moments in between the action never lull.
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team are tasked with tracking down a new weapon that threatens to end all of humanity. Nothing new for this special agent, but dark forces from Ethan’s past are involved and closing in around him, threatening to derail the whole mission. Ethan has always put his team’s safety above all else – but the importance of this mission forces Ethan to question if that is still the case.
McQuarrie and Cruise have succeeded in creating some truly fantastic action setpieces. There is the requisite car chase that exceeds expectations and is rivaled only by the one from Rogue Nation. Rather than Ethan and Benji (Simon Pegg), it’s first-timer Hayley Atwell as Grace in the passenger seat…and the driver’s seat…and the passenger seat. Without giving the context of the scene, the chemistry between Atwell in Cruise is phenomenal, and the chase sequence is only enhanced by it. Every sudden turn and concussive impact leaves the audience in a state of awe, as the film continues to demonstrate why we keep returning to the theaters for this series.
The returning actors like Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and Henry Czerny bring much to not only the film but the franchise as a whole. Rhame, Pegg, and Cruise on screen together are a lot of fun. Their shared experience as characters and actors pops off the screen, and it’s clear they enjoy working together. Fortunately, the new cast members mostly add to that enjoyment, with Atwell being the one who shines the most. She is absolutely at home in this film and only builds excitement for Part 2. Pom Klementieff is the next addition that really works. Her character is menacing, and her talent at on-screen hand-to-hand combat is impactful. Other notable additions are Esai Morales, Cary Elwes, and Shea Whigham, who all bring something to the film – but are not as impactful as the two previously mentioned.
The biggest flaw of the film is some of the silly dialogue and overly stylized exposition dumps. While not uncommon for a spy film to have these scenes that explain the plot so the action can get going, at least two moments feel too preposterous. An early scene explaining the threat of the new weapon has five characters essentially tag-teaming the exposition dump, picking up each other’s sentences. It’s too much, and it’s only made less palatable by the direction the story takes. That gets a little too into the plot, but the weapon Ethan is after is a bit too threatening and makes for some weak logic gaps in some key moments in the story.
Despite some of the shortcomings, fans of the franchise should be mostly satisfied by Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and should leave excited for the pending Part 2. The film kept me on the edge of my seat because I was so invested in the characters. There are some great laughs and awesome performances for something that could otherwise simply be a popcorn movie that would still satisfy. Mission Impossible is something just a little bit more.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is out on July 12.
Rating: Must See
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