MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING – PART ONE – Ethan Hunt is Back!

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE is the seventh film in the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise, and is directed by Christopher McQuarrie. The movie stars Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Esai Morales, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, and Henry Czerny.

Ethan Hunt and the other members of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF), including Benji and Luther, have seen their share of seemingly impossible missions over the years, but they now face their greatest challenge ever. A mysterious algorithm is continuing to learn and grow more powerful, which is being pursued by the mysterious Luther, a man who has ties to Hunt’s past. Hunt and company must travel the world to put a stop to the algorithm and Luther’s plans, encountering the morally ambiguous Grace, arms dealers from Ethan’s past, and Luther’s assassins, including the deadly Paris.

As I left my screening of DEAD RECKONING, I heard a fellow critic tell one of the reps something along the lines of “I wish the JAMES BOND movies were this good.” Who would’ve thought a film from 1996 no one had the highest expectations for, which was an adaptation of an old 60s TV show, no less, would grow into the biggest and best modern action movie franchise out there? Early installments in this series were solid enough, but it was when director Christopher McQuarrie joined the series for 2015’s ROGUE NATION that the series truly it its stride and became the juggernaut it is today. In the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE films, Tom Cruise has found the defining role of his career (okay, maybe alongside Pete “Maverick” Mitchell from the TOP GUN series). As the title dictates, DEAD RECKONING PART ONE is the first of two parts, with the second installment due out Summer 2024.

With its lengthy 163-minute running time, and as what’s merely PART ONE of a bigger story, I had my worries that this might be a lengthy slog that wouldn’t impress or would have all the good sequences in its second part. My fears were quickly unfounded. DEAD RECKONING PART ONE is the best action movie of 2023, never stopping to catch its breath but still keeping us attached to these characters. The performances are great, the action setpieces never let up, and it’s never dull or uninteresting. With Christopher McQuarrie in the director’s chair, this series remains in the best hands imaginable. Nearly three decades since the release of the first installment in this unexpectedly solid franchise, it remains a mission you should accept.

While dominated by impression action sequences, the performances from the cast give the film the dramatic weight it needs. Tom Cruise continues to portray Ethan Hunt, handing the task exceptionally well. Having a villain who ties into Hunt’s backstory gives some much needed levity, and makes the already-entertaining character even more interesting. Cruise’s chemistry with his fellow IMF agents, portrayed by Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames, is as entertaining as it’s ever been, with Pegg providing some much-needed comic relief in what’s a very dark and dire story. The cast is further rounded out by Hayley Atwell portraying Grace, a woman with a history awash in counterfeit passports, past felonies, and bad decisions galore. Her character arc isn’t the most original thing you’ll ever see on the big screen, but when you see her doing what she does best, you’ll agree she’s quite possibly the best thing about an already impressive film, though it’s hard to get into details without going into spoiler territory. So just take my word for it.

A good team of heroes needs a good set of villains, and I’m pleased to say DEAD RECKONING delivers in that department as well. The eerily creepy Gabriel is portrayed by Esai Morales, who’s certainly come a long way from portraying Richie Valens’ half brother in LA BAMBA back in the day. He chews up the scenery every time he’s on the screen, oozing charisma and serving as the villain you love to hate. And yet he’s arguably overshadowed by his female assassin Paris, a femme fatale who looks like she’s been modeling her look after Harley Quinn or Lady Gaga. Too many pieces of cinema, past and present alike, give us fantastic heroes but lackluster villains. DEAD RECKONING PART ONE gives us heroes and villains who are equally compelling. I wouldn’t say Gabriel or Paris quite touches Henry Cavill’s character from the previous film, but they’re still above-average cinema villains in a movie industry that desperately needs them.

What would a MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE film be without some killer action sequences? DEAD RECKONING PART ONE throws in everything but the kitchen sink from the very beginning and never slows down. Submarines under icy seas, an epic airport chase, a shootout in the deserts of the Middle East, a car chase in Italy where everything that can go wrong does go wrong, and one of the greatest train sequences ever filmed in any movie in any genre, it’s a relentless action epic. And it’s not devoid of humanity. The screening I attended was in the IMAX room of AMC Town Square, where these scenes looked absolutely fantastic.

One of the biggest surprises of DEAD RECKONING PART ONE is how it manages to create a compelling plot, and one that hits eerily close to home. The story deals with an algorithm that’s growing in intelligence, and the desire of characters to either control or destroy it. Along the way, there are plenty of corrupt government agents and rogues who want to get this for themselves. 30 years ago, this plot would’ve been pure science fiction. Nowadays, where news stories about artificial intelligence and corrupt governments and officials are commonplace, it doesn’t feel so farfetched. It makes the final result even more hard hitting.

Probably the only minor complaint I have with an otherwise stellar film is that there are too many characters, governments, allegiances, loyalties, and the like that it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with these plot elements as the movie unfolds. Perhaps some light editing and removal of a few characters and factions would’ve made the final result a little more streamlined, but this is a minor flaw overall that barely impacts the damned impressive final project on the big screen.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE is an cinematic action masterpiece and one of the best films of 2023 so far. The movie hits hard with its shockingly relevant plot, great performances from its cast, and never-ending action sequences and suspense throughout. It’s been a few years since we had a MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movie (largely due to the pandemic), but DEAD RECKONING PART ONE was worth the wait and then some. Bring on PART TWO!

ABSOLUTE HIGHEST RECOMMENDATIONS!