Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 (2023) Movie Review
Five years after the last Mission Impossible movie, Tom Cruise is back reprising his role as IMF agent Ethan Hunt. This time his mission involves finding half of a key that is used to access something that is referred to as The Entity throughout the movie. The Entity is a powerful AI machine that every country wants control of because of its immense power. Ethan is tasked with finding the key that will unlock The Entity and gain control of the system.
Artificial intelligence is a hot topic these days and there’s no shortage of very real fears about its use and who has access to it. But Dead Reckoning’s melodramatic tone makes it hard to take The Entity seriously. At one point, the group is talking about its powers the way they talk about the ring and the Eye of Sauron in Lord of the Rings. One Entity to rule them all…and in the darkness bind them. It feels just a little hokey and over dramatic at times. But it sets up the story for Ethan’s most difficult mission (they say that every time).
He gets the gang back together to help, including Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg), and Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson). They also add in a high profile thief by the name of Grace (Hayley Atwell) who finds herself in the middle of the action when she’s hired to go after the same key that Ethan is pursuing. Together the unlikely team take on The Entity and its minion Gabriel (Esai Morales) who Ethan has a storied past with.
Most of the movie is incredibly fun. A scene where Ethan and Grace embark on a wild car chase in a tiny two-door car while handcuffed together is certainly action-packed with a layer of comedy that works well despite the overly long sequence. And a scene involving a train hanging precariously off a cliff is anxiety-inducing and so well executed it’s a tribute to director Christopher McQuarrie’s excellent skills helming action movies.
If there’s a negative critique of the film to be had it’s that it’s too long and it takes itself too seriously. Part of the schtick of these movies is that they’re campy and at times silly. Dead Reckoning gets away from that theme and ups the drama and intensity to a degree that at times plays well and at others will induce eye rolls. But the most grievous offense of all is the handling of Ilsa, who they’ve done well with up to this point. But she is such a minor character in Dead Reckoning it feels as if they forgot to include her at all. As easily the most interesting and nuanced character (helped along by the indelible performance of Rebecca Ferguson), fans of Ilsa will be left disappointed. We can only hope there’s a bigger plan here that will be revealed in Dead Reckoning Part 2, set to release in 2025.
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You are a hard core fan of the Mission Impossible franchise
2. You want to see Tom Cruise drive a motorcycle off a mountain
3. You like well executed action movies
