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Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
This year, more than most in recent memory, feels like the year of the action film. With the likes of John Wick: Chapter 4, Creed III, and others like Extraction 2, the seventh Mission: Impossible film fits well into the cog with this year’s other action films.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One continues the high octane action of the last couple films, 2015’s Rogue Nation and 2018’s Fallout. While the seventh entry also has great emotional beats, there are bits here and there where the script feels lighter than it wants to be and it feels like these beats belong in an early film in the series rather than here. However, these small bits fade away amongst the chaos of the film, albeit that they still remain and will keep the script lower than it should be when compared to the entire series.
Moreover, with Dead Reckoning Part One the franchise continues to prove that it is one of the best action series in the world of cinema. With practical stunts abound, no one else is really making these types of films but stars like Tom Cruise and directors like Christopher McQuarrie. It also works well enough that McQuarrie knows his main character similar to that of Sergio Leone and The Man with No Name.
This entry shines in letting the audience know that this is in fact the beginning of the end for Ethan Hunt. The dialogue continuously throws out ideals about things like destiny, and the world ending and “fighting the good fight,” and where Hunt really belongs in the grand scheme of fate. This is when the emotional beats really shine. The stakes feel extremely high and on the nose for Ethan, which have truly never felt better to see played out on screen.
Spoilers to follow.
Where We Begin
After setting up a huge plot device in the cold open, essentially a sentient AI, Dead Reckoning Part One reveals more about the Impossible Mission Force’s recruitment tactics and reminds us that the government might forgive, but it won’t forget. Perhaps one of the best elements at the start, is revealing that our own Ethan Hunt was given “The Choice.” Part One and Two’s villain, Esai Morales’ Gabriel, is also connected to Ethan’s past before he accepted the choice, which was probably a bit criminal in nature.
Gabriel took the life of someone close to Ethan and won’t be phased having to do so again. Speaking of such, it would’ve been great to see more of Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust, but she and Gabriel square off in the film’s climax, and it reinforced Ethan’s ideals that the series, at times, leans on heavily.
While some may hate the scripting decision to do so, it usually feels refreshing when someone close to the protagonist dies because it tends to make the film much more interesting in terms of our hero’s journey. In Ilsa’s case, she ultimately became somewhat of a martyr for Ethan’s continued fight in the upcoming eighth entry. This is especially the case when considering the way McQuarrie and co-writer Erik Jendresen have crafted this epic two part story.
Part One also feels like the first half of our overall story, which is great and feels necessary. The ending is near perfection as well. The ending leaves the audience wondering, but not necessarily about where the story will go, because McQuarrie and Jendresen know the audience so well, so of course we know where it will go. It leaves the audience wondering things like where Hayley Atwell’s Grace will go, and who Gabriel really is and how Marie (Mariela Garriga), a woman from Ethan and Gabriel’s past, factors into the next entry, which are all fantastic questions. In doing so, the script alone will make audiences be in the theatre for Part Two next year.
However, there are moments within the mass chaos, that ultimately hurt the seriousness of the scene and it’s more annoying than anything, but still entirely noticeable. They are few and far between, such as Grace and Ethan realizing their car is a Fiat 500 and at first try, Ethan runs into a nearby wall. Things like this are best left for earlier entries in the series like Mission: Impossible II. But while these things are entirely forgettable, they are still worth pointing out for the sake of the tone Dead Reckoning Part One sets early on, and these moments just feel out of place.
The bond between Ethan’s usual IMF team of Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) has never felt stronger and it makes for a great dynamic between the three actors in each scene. Pegg and Rhames get plenty of time to shine and have really turned into their own fantastic supporting characters, next to Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. Another returning character, not seen since the first film in 1996, Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny), now the director of the CIA, serves a great purpose and had a real role in his return, rather than just being Ethan’s handler. It’s welcoming to see another face already established in this universe nonetheless.
Our Biggest ‘M:I’ Cast of Characters Yet
This entry introduces several new characters with great performances all around. Ethan will end up sacrificing more than he wants to by the end of next year’s Part Two and it seems that Gabriel will continue to prove his point one way or another before it’s all over. After all, he’s now been responsible for the death of two women Ethan cares about and there’s no telling who else Gabriel will take down.
Along with the inclusion of Kittridge, Grace is a fantastic character who seems to keep Ethan on his toes in ways he wasn’t expecting and will ultimately choose the right path over a hefty payday. Another interesting character is Jasper Briggs (Shea Whigham). He’s another CIA agent tracking Ethan, and while it is never revealed, also seems to be connected in some way to Ethan’s early IMF career, because it seems extremely personal for Briggs.
Vanessa Kirby and Frederick Schmidt also return as Alanna and Zola Mitsopolis, respectively, and have a bigger role to play here than in Fallout, which was great to see. Greg Tarzan Davis portrays Degas, Briggs’ partner, who sees right through Briggs and can sense that somehow he and Hunt are connected, even if Briggs tells him it isn’t personal. Pom Klementieff portrays Paris, an assassin who’s ultimately spared by Hunt, for better or worse. She plays against type here and it’s a bit refreshing. Cary Elwes portrays Denlinger, the Director of National Intelligence, and I don’t remember the last asshole role he had, but he plays it well here and he’s a bit of a smartass, which is kind of funny.
Action, Action and More Action!
The action set pieces rival even the biggest blockbusters in Hollywood today. While many decide to go with CGI, every set piece feels as real as possible, being that it is all practical. The infamous motorcycle to cliff jump to parachute stunt that was filmed on the first day, and that Tom Cruise did a dozen times before they got the take they wanted, was perhaps the craziest moment of the entire film. It was anticipated as soon as the screen began playing the film and the moment it happened, audiences should feel some sort of shock and awe at the insanity of Tom Cruise. It’s just freaking awesome. He keeps the audience thoroughly entertained.
The first big action set piece, set in the desert, is a great way to kick off Dead Reckoning Part One and doesn’t prepare you for the rest, but not in a bad way at all. There’s a sense of a slow burn between each set piece and they just keep the audience begging for more. The airport sequence is also fantastic and it keeps the plot moving forward while also allowing more exposition and depth for our characters. The train sequence, also the last big action set piece, was amazing to see all at one time, because the trailers do not do enough justice for it. Each set piece is bound to be a different favorite for everyone, it’s so thrilling!
Technical Elements
While the script has its great, good and bad moments, the direction is McQuarrie’s best in the series so far. He continually pays homage to the tense moments that were present nearly all the time in Brian De Palma’s original film with dutch angles and crocked framing. This is some of the best action camerawork in recent times, especially considering the overuse of the one take shot present in many action films today. The camerawork also shines during car chases, the way McQuarrie and cinematographer Fraser Taggart, bob and weave around passing cars, all while keeping the chase in near perfect framing and blocking. It is truly impressive camerawork.
Eddie Hamilton’s editing is also top-notch and doesn’t overshadow, or hurt, the already amazing camerawork on display. The editing is so smooth here. Lorne Balfe returns to score Dead Reckoning Part One, to great appeal. This is definitely the best score since Mission: Impossible III and even surpasses Fallout, which also featured a great score by Balfe. The score adds to the overall feel and tone of the film and the percussion heavy pieces here are some of the best from Balfe.
Gary Freeman’s production design is some of the best from an action film I’ve ever seen and really adds to the depth of the locations throughout the film. There are a few newer locations in this entry and it’s refreshing. The stunt work and effects are also superb and nothing really feels out of place or like timing is off, everything is near perfect.
Final Thoughts
What many refer to as “cheese,” or “cheesy moments,” they are few and far between to keep the audience thirsty for more. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is a fantastic action summer blockbuster. It is designed to entertain and keep the audience coming back for more. It is a film that deserves to be seen on the big screen and will perhaps go down as one of the greatest action films of all time.
Tom Cruse, Christopher McQuarrie, and the cast and crew have given audiences something to be proud of. Besides a few smaller moments here and there, the script and story are amazing and this feels like a proper “part one” of two parts. The ending of the film feels necessary. There isn’t any “cliffhanging” aspect to the end, but there is definitely a question of “okay so where do we go from here?” This is fantastic because it doesn’t leave the audience hanging for another year while we wait for what the cliffhanger reveal. It’s honestly very refreshing for a story with two parts. Part One is cohesive enough to stand on it’s own even though we know there is another part to this story, and honestly, that’s perfectly okay, because this was one of the best action films ever put to screen.
4.5/5 stars.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is now playing in theatres everywhere!
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Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
