Movies…with a little bit of obscure culture and sports mixed in
Ethan Hunt is back. The IMF is back. Where Tom Cruise is running full speed, one can guarantee that action, elaborate set pieces and backstabbing are all accounted for.
“Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands.”
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Writers: Christopher McQuarrie, Bruce Geller
Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Cary Elwes, Shea Wigham, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss, Esai Morales, Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny
Release Date: July 14, 2023
IMDB
Ethan Hunt is back. The IMF is back. Where Tom Cruise is running full speed, one can guarantee that action, elaborate set pieces and backstabbing are all accounted for.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023) brings back all the integral characters from the franchise’s rebirth and adds in a few drops of nostalgia for good measure. There is a sense of comfortability with director Christopher McQuarrie back in the director’s chair and the fresh vibrancy from Hayley Atwell being added to the rogue’s gallery.
All the ingredients are there for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning to be a dynamite, can’t’ miss, action thrill ride. Unfortunately, just because you can cobble together all the perfect ingredients doesn’t mean the feast will be five star worthy.
Dead Reckoning – suffers from its own ambition. It is bigger. It is bolder. The cast is massive and the stunts are impressive. However, there is still a story to tell. There is still a pace to maintain. Dead Reckoningtakes a step back into the Pierce Brosnan 007 era where the plot serves the stunts rather than the other way around.
Before the masses come leaping through the screen, it’s important to say that Dead Reckoning is by no means a bad movie. This latest IMF adventure is a consequence of the franchise’s scaling success. It is hard to maintain success at a high level without even a little dropoff. With that being said, there is a recent franchise that has been able to accomplish the tough task of consistent improvement and innovation. We will get to that.
So what’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning all about?
The out-of-context start of Dead Reckoning takes place on a Russian submarine in the Bering strait. The navy is testing out a new artificial intelligence weapon and defense system that has made their military asset nearly impossible to detect. The technology, which has been kept secret from the world, is housed in the center of the submarine and is protected with extreme security measures. Things are going swimmingly on the submarine until a scare from an enemy combatant sends the crew into a frenzy. The stress-inducing situation turns out to be a mirage created by this new A.I. and as a result, the vessel is destroyed. We see two officers floating to the icy surface with two parts of a key in plain view.
Cut to a shadowy location somewhere above ground and we get our first glimpse of Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). Dead Reckoning’s main plot begins with Hunt having to track down disavowed MI6 agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) to retrieve half of a key needed to unlock…something. Hunt doesn’t know exactly what he is trying to unlock, but because he can, Hunt infiltrates a U.S. Intelligence Community meeting that has the Director Of National Intelligence Delinger (Cary Elwes) and CIA Director Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) discussing the power of “The Entity” and its already proven power hacking into major defense systems.
We learn in this conversation that The Entity is Artificial Intelligence with the capability to blackmail humans and wreak cyber havoc. Hunt deduces that Kittridge himself put out a hit on Faust because the United States government has a vested interest in having this undefined technical power. Such a betrayal propels Hunt and his IMF friends to acquire the second half of the key themselves. Naturally, none of the willing participants know the trails and tribulations laying before them.
Things first get messy when professional thief Grace (Hayley Atwell) foils an espionage plan at the beautiful Abu Dhabi airport. Pickpocketing, computer hacking and bomb diffusing all simmer on the screen while Hunt is confronted with a memory from his past. The handsome malevolent face of Gabriel (Esai Morales) is revealed and we eventually learn that the mysterious man with a glorious accent is serving The Entity. Gabriel is attempting to acquire both halves of the key because the A.I. wants to possess the only way that it can be stopped. The Entity wants to ensure its permanence in the world and break the ceiling on its potential to control all the most important international relationships.
So a quick recap. There is an A.I. program called “The Entity” which has gained immense power and self-consciousness. The only way to potentially stop The Entity from becoming a bodiless tyrant of international diplomacy is to go find its source code which is at the bottom of an ocean. The source code can only be unlocked by a key which is split into two halves. Hunt wants the full key to keep it from the American government out of rage at Kittridge and a sense of duty. Gabriel wants it for The Entity because he is serving his invisible overlord like an angel would God, if you believe that sort of thing. Hence his name. And somewhere in the background are a pair of United States intelligence officers who are constantly 10 steps behind trying to protect America’s interests despite not knowing the full picture.
Got it? Great.
All of the interested parties in the key coverage in Venice under the watchful eyes of Alanna Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby), also known as the White Widow. A tense huddle ensues with Grabiel, Ethan, Grace, Ilsa and Alanna all take turns trying to convince the others that their motives are best. We learn that Grace was hired by Alanna, and now the international arms dealer has the heavy decision of giving it to her friend Ethan or selling it to the highest bidder, Gabriel. A chase ensues through the streets and canals of Venice, setting up personal stakes for the final act.
Much like Mission: Impossible (1996), Dead Reckoning’s climactic sequence takes place on a train. Gabriel begins killing folks on the train and making his way through the crowded cars while the IMF team, which now includes Grace, has its own master plot in motion. Backstabbing the backstabber becomes the motto as pickpocketing skills once again become a premium. The once lonely swiper (who has a name that is conveniently religious based like the movie’s new malevolent character) finds herself in perilous danger with the looming eyes of Gabriel and Kittrdige both locked in on her presence,
Cue the theme music, time for Hunt to parachute in and save the day!
Dead Reckoning ends with Gabriel and Ethan having a mono-et-mono battle atop the train, and one final pocket double-check resulting in The Entity’s henchman angrily screaming to the clouds. Hunt flees the train wreckage (because naturally there was a crash) intact and having the upper hand. Grace is left on the train, but she escapes any potential criminal proceedings by informing Kittridge of her desire to enlist in the IMF.
Did you get all that?
No? Need to read it again? I don’t blame you.
The plot of Dead Reckoning is complicated to follow and its tangled web results in a movie that runs too long. Spanning 2 hours and 43 minutes, it is the longest Mission Impossible adventure by nearly 20 over Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018). You could start the movie with Hunt infiltrating the U.S. Intelligence meeting and reuniting with Kittrdige. The submarine scene, while key for setting up the second movie, could be cut, as well as the desert rescue scene with Ilsa.
This leaks into a second issue where the action set pieces act more as checkpoints in a race rather than parts of a story. The plot, which is convoluted and centers are an entity that isn’t tangible, seems set on making the the characters are set up for extravagance rather than making it a necessity of what needs to be done.
Now there are those reading this that will say they don’t come to Mission: Impossible movies for the plot, and that’s where one has to just admit their differences. If you prefer Mission: Impossible, the original, compared to the rest, then Dead Reckoning may be a bit a slog. An entertaining slog for sure, but one where you’ll be checking your watch a few times.
Perhaps part of the problem is that there is no face to the evil that Hunt and company are after. This is another example of how Dead Reckoning feels a tad like a Bond venture more than past escapades. The Entity is a lot like Ernest Stavro Blofeld acting as an overseer to a very capable henchman. His orders are to be followed to the letter, or else there will be dire consequences. Gabriel is a follower of The Entity till his dying day, but how he got to that mental state is something we don’t know yet.
Hunt is the American version of James Bond, literally blending into different scenarios using espionage techniques while also managing to be a master of parkour, gun fights, and fist-a-cuffs. The Pierce Brosnan era Bond films pinned him as Superman but in a tux, able to avoid every bullet and take on every fighter. When he was close to death you never believed it, and he never looked too battered or bruised. And in the end, he always got the girl.
Bronson didn’t get the death send off like Daniel Craig did in No Time To Die (2022), but perhaps that should be the case for Hunt? We are just spitballing here.
Speaking of getting the women, that is one thing that Dead Reckoning does right. Hayley Atwell as Grace is spectacular. Playing the part of the tourist in a bustling city, Atwell is the audience avatar trying to make sense of all the chaos around her. Atwell goes toe-to-toe with Cruise on multiple occasions and holds her own. Even when she is matched up against Kirby in Venice at the club, Atwell feels as if she belongs with the whole crew despite only being introduced a short time earlier.
The stunts, violence, car chases and other-wordly BMX accomplishments all look great. There is no denying it. We have to accept with glee that the care Cruise and McQuarrie put into the pull-away jaw dropping stunt shots. Applause, applause, applause. Respect it.
With that being said, it’s hard to watch Dead Reckoning without thinking of another action franchise that continued to one-up itself till a simply sublime finale. I am talking about the one and only John Wick. Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves’ passion project began small and character oriented and grew into something grand. Where the John Wick franchise thrives is that Wick that character is the focal point. Yes, there are absurd fight sequences, but there are quiet moments during the wreckage. There is a look, a camera cut, or a grunt that grounds the hero back on the floor. Yes, yes, yes, Wick is invulnerable in his own right. But Wick at least looks like he went through a war! Hunt looks as if he is coming out of the spa and barber shop with his hair perfectly quaffed.
Dead Reckoning has a club scene, but can you guess what franchise has perfected the tenacious club scene tinged with violence. Yes, the answer is John Wick. We move on.
This review may appear harsh on Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, but Tom Cruise still delivers the good. For many, Dead Reckoning cranks up the adrenaline to a new level and it has been welcomed with open arms. Reviews are strong and audience love is high. If you love the grandiose moments most, then this seventh installment in the franchise may be your favorite. If you prefer the quieter moments then it may be a slight disappointment. It takes time to adapt to the fact that the main villain is invisible, but thankfully Kittrdige is back to add some charismatically evil energy.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part 1 has been nominated for two Academy Awards. The film has been nominated for Best Sound, and Best Achievement In Visual Effects.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part 1 is streaming on Paramount +.
Ademmet to add on fast. Following my James Bond saga of rewatching and ranking all those movies, I have also given myself the task of rewatching all the Mission Impossible movies. I am very excited for the task, with the exception of Mission: Impossible II (2000).
STANKO RATING: B
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There is a lot happening in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. One could argue that there is too much going on.
Much maligned as the worst of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible II doesn’t do itself any favors upon rewatch.
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