Throughout Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, a fitting mouthful of a title for the now seventh entry in the action series, there is one performance that encapsulates the experience. No, it is not Tom Cruise's tired IMF agent Ethan Hunt running hither and thither to prevent an AI-driven apocalypse. Instead, it is character actor Shea Whigham as newcomer Jasper Briggs who is never far behind after being tasked with taking Hunt down after he goes rogue. Playing a pseudo-antagonist, Whigham perfectly embodies the exasperation a bemused Briggs has for these spy shenanigans. From when he offers a comically grandiose proclamation about Hunt's notorious propensity for evading capture to how he claws at the face of a random man in the hopes he is wearing a mask, his gruff familiarity with the rules of this franchise is where the movie also is at its most fun. Even as you shake your head at its silliness, you're still along for the ride.
Directed once more by Christopher McQuarrie, who previously helmed 2015's Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation and 2018's Mission: Impossible — Fallout, the film follows Hunt as he must move quickly to avert yet another looming catastrophe that no one else is capable of stopping. However, in a moderately timely plot that could be read as being about a broader crisis in Hollywood, he'll have to fight a newly sentient AI program that's both everywhere and nowhere. Returning to assist are Simon Pegg's Benji, Ving Rhames' Luther, and Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa who are now the closest thing Hunt has to a family as they go on mission after mission together. Unwittingly getting caught up in this is the plucky thief Grace, played by Hayley Atwell of many a recent Marvel blockbuster, who interrupts a mission for a key Hunt and company are after.
The plot doesn't particularly matter all that much other than as an excuse to get to the extended next action set piece. It calls back to the very first MI movie to resurrect faces new and old, though it is by no means necessary to revisit it before this. The film is often a delightfully slick operation, giving just enough exposition to provide the basics of what you need to know before we get to the kinetic thrills of this globetrotting romp. Whether it is a shootout in a sandstorm, a tense yet playful cat-and-mouse game in an airport, a well-executed car chase that makes this year's abysmal Fast X look even worse by comparison, or a climactic confrontation on a speeding train (that does a far better job of replicating a sequence from the Uncharted games than the forgettable film adaptation from last year did), it all makes for a propulsive action film that is certain to be one of the genre's best this year.
Yes, this includes Cruise doing a big stunt that has been the centerpiece of the film's marketing, though it is also the work of countless craftspeople whose creativity deserves just as much praise. If anything, the jump the franchise lead does on a motorcycle is only one small part of the whole. While the film can feel like it is missing the punch of something like the bathroom fight of the prior film with Henry Cavill "reloading his arms," the sheer presence of Pom Klementieff (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) as the new relentless pursuer Paris or Esai Morales (Ozark) as the suave yet sinister Gabriel makes up for this. In many regards, it is this supporting cast that routinely outshines and proves to be far more dynamic than Cruise himself. As we come to see, all of the film's best components stem from the ensemble having a ball with these characters.
When it all falls into place, the delights of Dead Reckoning Part One ensure it is one of the best entries, if not the best, in the series yet. Where other 2023 blockbusters have been DOA, this film shows there's still life to be found in franchise filmmaking. All it takes is a maniac of a lead willing to go off a cliff, a stellar supporting cast and an expert stunt team to launch into the sky. ♦
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - DEAD RECKONING PART ONE
Rated PG-13
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Starring Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames
