Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 review | The epitome of popcorn cinema
The exhilarating seventh entry in the Tom Cruise franchise contains an eclectic array of extraordinary action sequences.
In the 27 years since the hit TV series Mission: Impossible was first adapted into a feature film starring Tom Cruise, the franchise has gone through a number of different phases.
Having cycled through several different directors and cinematic styles – Brian de Palma, John Woo and JJ Abrams were among the filmmakers to take a stab – the series really settled into its groove when Christopher McQuarrie took the reins for the fifth instalment, 2015's Rogue Nation.
With that and its critically adored 2018 follow-up Fallout, McQuarrie expertly matched intriguing espionage plotting with increasingly bonkers action sequences to create two consistently brilliant films, taking the franchise to undeniable new highs which inevitably led to the question of how such jaw-dropping action could possibly be topped.
Well, now McQuarrie and Cruise are attempting to outdo themselves once again with the seventh film in the franchise, Dead Reckoning Part 1.
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As the title suggests, this new film is the first entry in what is planned as a two-parter – but if that makes it sound like just half a movie, then fans can swiftly put aside any concerns about being short-changed.
There are more than enough high-octane stunts and anxiety-inducing moments in this opening part to set pulses racing, and the film also does a good job of teeing up its successor while offering audiences a satisfying narrative arc in its own right.
The plot this time around sees Impossible Mission Force (IMF) agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his assorted accomplices – including Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) – tasked with a new threat that very much speaks to real-world concerns: a terrifying AI weapon known only as the Entity.
The weapon has already begun causing significant disruption to the world's digital infrastructure, and so naturally every major power in the world – not to mention a couple of rogue mercenaries – are desperate to get their hands on it.
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And so it falls to Hunt and his pals to track down the key that would give them control of the Entity, racing against numerous adversaries to prevent any individual or government from gaining the unlimited power the weapon would yield.
The chaos caused by the Entity leads to some interesting paranoia-tinged moments, but if there's a flaw in Dead Reckoning it's that it can also result in a little confusion – with the more nitty-gritty details getting rather convoluted at times.
For the most part, however, that hardly matters. The race for the key leads to an eclectic array of extraordinary action sequences, each delivered with the pomp and precision we've come to expect from McQuarrie and Cruise.
A nail-bitingly tense bomb-defusing scene at an airport? Check. An epic car chase through Rome that contains a nice dose of slapstick humour? Check. A late-night hand-to-hand combat sequence by the canals of Venice? Check.
And that's before we even get to the much-publicised climactic motorbike skydive/train sequence, an astonishing set piece that comfortably ranks among the franchise's best – and the full joys of which viewers are best left to discover on their own.
In addition to the familiar characters we know from previous entries, the film also introduces a variety of new faces, of which Pom Klementieff's gleefully crazed assassin Paris and Hayley Atwell's enigmatic and somewhat unreadable pickpocket Grace are the highlights.
Atwell, in particular, is given a lot to do – playing second fiddle only to Cruise – and the character is another welcome addition to the fold, her ambiguous loyalties and motivations providing a source of constant fascination.
It would perhaps be inaccurate to call Dead Reckoning Part 1 a truly faultless film – as alluded to above, the narrative is occasionally a little unclear and there are a couple of minor lulls in momentum. But the set pieces are so thrilling, the tension so tangible, the madman exploits of Cruise so death-defyingly breathtaking, that any slight falters are easily forgiven.
This is blockbuster filmmaking so exhilarating that most other major franchises should be embarrassed; the epitome of what popcorn cinema can and should be. Roll on Part 2.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 is released in UK cinemas on Friday 14th July 2023. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
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