MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE – A Review by John Strange
Mission: Impossible, the TV series, ran from 1966 until 1973. First led by Daniel Briggs (Stephen Hill) and later by Jim Phelps (Peter Graves), the IMF faced weekly challenges that they never attacked head-on. They used guile and disguises to reach their objectives. It was an excellent show.
In 1996, Brian De Palma directed a new look at the IMF. Mission: Impossible starred Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, doing everything the original TV show did, but bigger. WAY bigger. And Tom did his own stunts. And Tom was a producer on the project.
Since that first film, the M:I franchise has made five additional films, each wilder and more daring than the previous films. Now, the franchise is back with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. And Tom, still the star, is an Executive Producer and still does his own stunts.
As always, the powers-that-be have put Ethan and his team in an untenable situation. One where to fail will probably lead to their deaths. Their foe du jour is not a human but a sentient AI that uses humans to reach its goals. Those bad humans are led by Gabriel (Esai Morales), a man who has a history with Ethan.
The action is intense. The drama is almost over the top but expected in these films. The acting is superb. And the special effects? Absolutely mind-blowing. The filmmakers have spent a not-so-small fortune on the effects and the quality shows.
As this is a two-parter, I was worried about how they would handle the break. They did a great job. You can leave the theater without that sense that they just dropped you in a bottomless pit of despair. The action peaked and left us where a good cliffhanger ending should, satisfied but ready to see the next chapter.
A note for you Marvel-ites out there: Pom Klementieff, Mantis from the Guardians of the Galaxy films, does a great job in this film!
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Tom Cruise, Pom Klementieff, Vanessa Kirby, Hayley Atwell, Rob Delaney, Cary Elwes, Simon Pegg, Shea Whigham, Indira Varma, Ving Rhames, Esai Morales, Henry Czerny
MPAA Rating: PG
Selig Rating: 5 Stars
Runtime: 160 Min.
Release Date: 07/12/2023
Release Locations: Wide
Language: English
Movie Site: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE Official Franchise Site
Trailer: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE Final Trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well, there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.
