Who would have figured 7 films and 27 years after the first MISSION IMPOSSIBLE film, that the long-running franchise… and its seminal star Tom Cruise – would still have plenty of juice in the engine to make this latest installment even more thrilling than many of its predecessors.
But, that’s exactly what Cruise and his supporting cast deliver in spades with its current installment MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING ( Part One )
This latest foray into high stakes counter-intelligence and espionage packs a truly edge of your seat wallop of excitement from start to finish.
Sure, many films, such as the abysmal FAST AND FURIOUS franchise deliver a non-stop cacophony of noise and carefully choreographed car crashes masquerading as action and entertaining excitement. But, what Cruise and his crew deliver here, as usual, are tense – at times humorous – set pieces of action that are smart, detailed and always unique in scope and execution.
The plot centers around Ethan Hunt ( Cruise ) and his IMF crew, tasked with getting two parts of a mysterious key – that unlocks the ability to destroy or control an artificial intelligence capable of accessing and manipulating the world’s digital network.
The race to obtain the key is literally among the world’s superpowers and a few minor ones as well.
The plot can be a bit labyrinthine and confusing at times as everyone is chasing the key and the A.I. MacGuffin it opens… but that’s almost secondary to the brilliantly staged action set pieces throughout the film.
Whether it’s the blazing gun battle in a desert sand storm that opens the film – or a tense chase through a crowded international airport; the action in this film barely stops for the audience to catch its breath.
A great deal of publicity has been spent on the spectacular motorcycle leap off a mountaintop cliff by star Tom Cruise. However, as daring as that stunt is by the film’s star; that’s only one of a barrage of high-stakes action that permeates this ride.
Whether it’s Cruise and co-star Hayley Atwell handcuffed to the wheel of a mini-car while trying to escape multiple pursuers through the crowded streets of Venice, Italy
… or a death-defying attempt to escape the Orient Express train as it teeters over the edge a blown up bridge – this film barely gives the audience… or its crazy stars a chance to breathe.
Kudos to Cruise for giving the three female leads in the film, Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell and Vanessa Kirby plenty of opportunities to shine and show off their action chops… as well as actress Pom Klementieff ( previously seen as the mild Mantis in the Guardians of the Galaxy films ) as a ruthless assassin trying to kill Hunt.
Esai Morales is exceptional as the main villain Gabriel who shares a dark encounter and tragedy from Hunt’s distant past.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE : DEAD RECKONING delivers on all counts. It’s astonishing that Cruise completed this complex film on location at the height of the COVID pandemic.
As producer, his much publicized angry chastisement of some crew members for potentially breaching the safety protocols and endangering the film’s completion may have garnered brief headlines at the time.
But, while watching this film, supreme credit must be given to Cruise for managing to even pull off such a complex piece of filmmaking during the pandemic – when most studios were shutting down even the most basic of productions.
The film has a near 3-hour running time, but it’s barely noticeable given all the excitement taking place on screen.
Bear in mind, this installment is only part one – of a story yet to be completed.
I can’t wait for MISSION IMPOSSIBLE : DEAD RECKONING – Part Two.
CATCH IT !
