Ethan Hunt and the IMF must locate the key to an AI gone rogue that poses a threat to the stability of the world as we know it. Although the audience doesn’t watch ‘Mission Impossible’ films for their gripping plots, this key is the McGuffin of the plot. Tom Cruise has made it his personal aim as an actor and entertainer since “Ghost Protocol” (2011) to surpass himself with daring feats in each new installment. As widely advertised in the trailers, Cruise rides a bike down a cliff in “Dead Reckoning Part One”. Naturally, this may seem to be the focus of the movie, and although it does look amazing on a wide screen, the action has much more in store over the course of the movie’s nearly three-hour length. The pacing of the script suffers a little, but the movie is intriguing overall, especially at the finale.
Once more, the constant need for Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie to push themselves to their limits culminates in some terrifying set pieces. They are successful at keeping you on the edge of your seat when combined with the enduring concept of the franchise. The lives of Ethan and several members of his team are in danger as a result of the conspiracy, including Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames), and Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson). In both tragic and hilarious settings, Hayley Atwell’s Grace is a remarkable performance and a delightful touch that enhances Cruise’s Ethan brilliantly. In fact, this could be the funniest MI movie so far in the series.
Of course, Tom Cruise is the main attraction, and despite his advancing age, his running antics never fail to impress. The fight choreography can breathe because of his dedication to performing most of his stunts, and the movie is much better as a result. It has gotten harder and harder to distinguish one adrenaline-fueled action movie from another in this year, but Cruise makes sure he sticks out from the crowd. It speaks a lot about Cruise and McQuarrie’s passionate devotion to action-based blockbusters that this franchise still has enough life left in it after seven films without becoming overly exhausted.
