Are you ready to accept this latest mission? Are you ready to watch Tom Cruise defy death once again? Well, here is Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One to give you what you want. Starring Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson and Hayley Atwell, this latest adventure for Ethan Hunt (Cruise) sees him go up against a terrifying being known as ‘The Entity’.
Can Ethan defeat this seemingly godlike force, save the world and keep his “family” together? This is the basic premise of the film. The film talks a big game, with a lot of exposition and info-dumping, but it ultimately boils down to Ethan trying to fight an artificial intelligence to save the world. Can Ethan Hunt fight fake news? It’s a bizarre concept and pushes the Mission: Impossible franchise into sci-fi. This is both a positive and a negative for me. It’s great to see the franchise try something new, unfortunately, there are a lot of teething issues.
Also, a lot of the dialogue is unimpressive. There’s nothing particularly memorable said in the film, it’s all about the actions of the characters and the action itself. I did love that some of the characters are genuinely brilliant in particular moments. Simon Pegg’s Benji is a standout in his performance. There is a scene early in the film that he is absolutely brilliant in. I was on the edge of my seat.
Now with regard to the action and stunts, which these films are known for, it’s incredible. Cruise, Ferguson and Atwell are a part of some phenomenal set pieces. There is an extended car chase which involves Cruise, Atwell and Pom Klementieff which was a lot of fun.
My major problem with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is how some characters are written and how the plot of the film is treated. Some characters don’t get nearly enough time and it’s an absolute shame when your favourite character doesn’t get to do much. Also the writing of an AI as a villainous force feels strange. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One hammers it over your head, because they are positive we don’t understand what AI is.
Ultimately though with all its issues, I still thoroughly enjoyed this latest mission with Ethan Hunt. I even got a little whistful knowing we are close to the end of Hunt’s (and possibly Cruise’s) madcap adventures.
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