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Posted in: Kaitlyn Booth, Movies, Paramount Pictures | Tagged: mission: impossible - dead reckoning, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Paramount Pictures
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Review: Doesn't Meet Expectations
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One would always be compared to the two previous films, and a near-impossible bar for any franchise to try and clear. However, the step back here feels much more pronounced, and the final film being mediocre instead of great or even good is a shame.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is as big of a step back from the last two films as its title is overly long. Another mediocre summer blockbuster that is way too long, which kneecaps pacing and structure while also seemingly forgetting what made audiences fall in love with the last three entries.
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Summary: Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands.
In a summer packed with films, there hasn't been any room to be mediocre. We have seen that in the numbers for movies like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and the slow march Elemental has had to $100 million domestically. There is no reason for audiences to seek out anything other than excellence when there are so many offerings. A new movie is coming out every week, and most people will see a couple of movies a month; between the recession, gas prices, and rising theater prices, people have to be picky about what they will see. It seemed like Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One would be one of the three sure things of July. The movies have improved since Ghost Protocol, and people have loved the new direction. However, Dead Reckoning was the COVID canary in the coal mine. It was the first major production to shut down due to the virus and had many false starts due to the virus and many delays. All that behind-the-scenes chaos seems to have impacted the final film because it shouldn't be this disjointed, even if this is a Part One.
The overly long runtime, yet another pattern we see this summer, doesn't help. This is a Mission: Impossible movie, so we expect chaos, but things were usually at least coherent. This time, the film is seemingly so keen on being clever that it loses all the charm that had made the latter entries of this franchise so much fun. After three movies of leaning into the team dynamic and how Ethan (Tom Cruise) is not a one-man army, this film has decided that Ethan is the only one who can save the world again. We had written about how this franchise improved when it stopped trying to be "American James Bond But Tom Cruise Runs Good And Also Does His Own Stunts." There are moments when we see that dynamic, but it's far fewer than the previous films and not as fun. It makes what had recently been a franchise that stood out for characters, banter, and all of that instead only stand on its stunts.
That said, those stunts are absolutely fantastic, and if you watch anything about the bike jump scene, there is a moment when you can see director Christopher McQuarrie briefly wondering if he just killed Cruise. However, and this was a problem that Indiana Jones also had, there seems to be a lot of reverence for this franchise. It's clear that both Cruise and McQuarrie are incredibly invested in all of this, but they seem to be too invested. They don't have the heart to cut anything, which makes the movie too long and even clunkier when you consider that this is Part One.
Some issues come with being a Part One of Two. We saw them with Dune in 2021, and we saw them with the near-perfect Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse last month. That means you have to work twice as hard to ensure everything in your movie needs to be there, and there aren't any moments when the entire film grinds to a halt. Dead Reckoning would be poorly paced and too long without being half a movie. Still, it becomes all the more apparent when it just ends with only a partial resolution and a monologue declaring that Ethan and only Ethan can save the world.
Does all of this add up to a bad movie? No, much like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Elemental, this one is mediocre. One plot point will likely go over poorly with people and will be compared harshly to Rogue Nation and Fallout, but it's not bad. Regarding action movies for the summer, this is probably the best one that isn't based on a comic book. Cruise and McQuarrie remain a dream team for executing and framing stunts, and they know how to drop you right in the middle of a scene. You can feel the uneven roads of Rome as a car speeds through streets not exactly fit for high speeds. Your breath catches when Ethan takes the bike off the cliff and goes into the air because there is still that tiny voice in your brain wondering, like McQuarrie during the first take, "Are we about to watch Tom Cruise die?"
The supporting cast remains the foundation that holds the Mission: Impossible films up, and Dead Reckoning is no different. Hayley Atwell is a fun addition, playing a major role in this film and the next one. Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Rebeca Ferguson are, unfortunately, the casualties of this film in the sense that they are horribly underutilized. It would have been nice to see more of them, and it is baffling that these three of all characters are the ones that this film decided to give the short sticks to. Lovely to see Vanessa Kirby again coming in for a bigger role and there are even some hints about her character. Pom Klementieff is the standout of the two villains putting in an absolutely buckwild performance, while Esai Morales is much more understated in a way that doesn't quite match what his character is doing. Also lovely to see Shea Whigham who is here with another rather thankless role, while Henry Czerny returns to the franchise for the first time since the first film. And Cruise is Cruise.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One had an uphill battle before COVID through a wrench into everything. It would always be compared to the two previous films, and they are often rolled out on the "movies that are nearly perfect" lists. That's a near-impossible [an impossible mission, one might say] bar for any franchise to try and clear. However, the step back here feels much more pronounced, and the final film being mediocre instead of great or even good is a shame. Perhaps this one will seem better once we finally see Part Two; it is always hard to review half a movie, but judging by this half? Perhaps we should lower our expectations quite a bit.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
7/10
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is as big of a step back from the last two films as its title is overly long. Another mediocre summer blockbuster that is way too long, which kneecaps pacing and structure while also seemingly forgetting what made audiences fall in love with the last three entries.
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