Rating: 9.2
I have nothing but praise for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One! This is the type of movie that the big screen was made for! It’s insanely good — no one is doing it quite like writer/director Chris McQuarrie and star Tom Cruise! The action/stunts are incredible, script is really clever, and I love that the style/feel of the film is completely different from McQ’s other M:I movies! All around… it’s an insane movie that’s reminds you why these movies MUST be seen in theatres! My jaw was on the floor!
Film Info:
Premise: Ethan Hunt and the IMF team must track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity if it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than the mission -- not even the lives of those he cares about most.
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Paramount
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Written by Christopher McQuarrie & Erik Jendressen
Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Shea Whigham
Runtime: 2hr 43min
Rating: PG
Action, Adventure, Thriller
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IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
RT Audience Score: 95%
RT Critic Average: 8.0/10
RT Audience Average: 4.6/5
Metacritic Score: 81
CinemaScore: A
Letterboxd: 3.9/5
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Fun Fact: This, along with its sequel Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part Two (2024), will be the first Mission: Impossible movies to shoot entirely in digital, unlike the first six movies, which were shot on 35mm film.
Review
written by Tyler Park
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labour of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
I will never forget the first time I saw Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. Not only is the movie absolutely spectacular, but I got to watch it in one of the most famous movie palaces on the planet; the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in Hollywood! Let me tell you if you ever get the chance to see a movie there… do it! I got lucky enough to see a fantastic movie on that historic screen, but even if it wasn't, the experience alone would’ve been amazing. Plus the audience there was so into the movie, cheering and clapping numerous times throughout the runtime and I had so much fun with that!
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning is a movie that demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible! It’s an unforgettable cinematic experience — one of the greatest action movies of all time, setting the gold standard for spy films and delivering an exhilarating experience that commands your attention from start to finish! I was in complete and utter awe. Writer/Director Christopher McQuarrie and star Tom Cruise prove no one is doing it quite like them, crafting one of the most thrilling action flicks since 2018’s Mission: Impossible - Fallout — one of my personal favourite films of all time. So it is no surprise that I have nothing but praise for this new entry: Dead Reckoning Part One. Frankly, it’s an incredible film that will have your jaw on the floor. Not only are the iconic stunts absolutely breathtaking to witness, but the story is very cleverly written, the performances are brilliant and McQuarrie’s direction has so many Hitchcockian sensibilities to it while also feeling very Michael Mann or even Nolan-esque. It's a brilliant film that I can’t seem to find any faults with, adding to the lineup of Mission: Impossible films that consistently deliver some of the best experiences cinema can offer. This is why we go to the movies!
What I really love about this franchise is how it is continuously changing; it never stagnates and always evolves into something new. Each entry feels very different from the last, while also offering exactly what you’ve come to expect from these films. Until McQuarrie came on as director in 2015’s Rogue Nation, the directors would swap out after each movie, allowing for the style and feel of the films to change with each new entry. But man am I even glad McQuarrie has stayed on board. He is such a talented writer and filmmaker that he has been able to completely change everything about his approach to filmmaking for each of his Mission: Impossible films. With the visual style, approach to blocking, lighting, camera angles, cutting patterns, and music, McQuarrie seems to reinvent himself with each new movie. I love the look of the film, with lots of colourful lighting cues and gorgeously composed shots. Plus all the dutch angles were very welcome! I’m normally a sucker for movies shot on film, but I thought the switch to digital photography for this film made for quite the poignant shift and it aligned with the subject matter quite well — as well as giving this film a distinct look over the others.
McQuarrie conducts a symphony of action and heart-pounding thrills you need to see to believe! In a series that has topped itself with each new installment, they have done it again! The action is perfect, the world-ending stakes never more real than now and Tom Cruise remains unstoppable. What a movie. It’s also the Mission: Impossible with the most going on thematically since the first. Dead Reckoning is easily the most story-theme-plot driven Mission: Impossible since De Palma's, with a pivot towards the existential. Some of the heady discussions, veiled as exposition, slow the movie down, but they're some of my favourite bits––and clearly where McQuarrie's heart is at. The film feels like the complete opposite of Fallout, and that genuinely worked for me. Instead of using a plot structure built around the major set pieces like in Fallout, this film is a much more emotional, dramatic, and intellectual buildup to the explosive 3rd act. I found it so clever how McQuarrie structured the film, from what he let the audience know before the characters, to how he so cleverly made use of the villain in the film. There was lots to unpack here, and the writing made the action throughout so much more satisfying! Like, we’ve all seen THE STUNT for this film as they’ve centered the marketing around it and even released behind-the-scenes videos of how they did it… but that until you see what the stunt is for in the movie you won’t ever fully appreciate it. My god was my jaw ever on the floor! Yet again, the production value is THROUGH THE ROOF with some of the most well-defined and exhilarating set pieces photographed in ways that truly make you feel like you’re in the middle of the action. The emphasis on capturing things in camera makes a HUGE difference, and you can feel it. Again, no one is doing it quite like McQ and Cruise!
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is definitely THE movie of the year, with impeccable action scenes that border on perfection, it’s a franchise in an infinite crescent where each movie that passes gets better. Dead Reckoning Part One is an exhilarating spectacle filled with breathtaking stunts, cunning intrigue, compelling stakes & a breakneck drive that leaves your jaw on the floor. I never once felt its 2hr 41min runtime, in fact, when it ended I was in shock to see we had been there for 2.5 hours as the movie flew by! It’s exceedingly well-paced and well-written. The movie is a delirious blast — it’s a zany, almost dream-like tech-paranoia thriller infused with Hitchcockian intensity! Each action sequence is long, crazy, and intense. The story Is big and sprawling, but I like how it both felt complete and left you dying for what comes next in part two! I also really dug the mission this time around and how the technology they’re after factors into the characters' individual arcs. This MacGuffin has a haunting relevance to now which only made the movie feel darker, and this is already the darkest and most emotional of the M:I films. McQuarrie tells a very complex story with lots of moving pieces and characters, yet does a perfect job of guiding the audience along! It’s also quite the thematically intelligent script and has a lot for the audience to engage with besides the action!
There’s just so much to love in this film — and I haven’t even mentioned the cast! No one is doing it better than Tom Cruise of course — he defies all limits and is effortlessly cool, truly becoming a Swiss Army knife of an actor as he handles all of the action, drama, comedy, and emotion masterfully. He’s exceptional! But the rest of the cast was exquisite too! Hayley Atwell stole the show in all of her scenes and made for a great match for Cruise’s character! The returning cast members Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames are always MVPs, I just wish Rebecca Ferguson had a little more to do here. Vanessa Kirby and Esai Morales were both excellent inclusions to this film, the former having an even more interesting role here than in the previous film. But I really have to mention how incredible Pom Klementieff is here. She sculpts an entire character almost entirely through forceful body language, musical-like movement, and facial expression. It's almost a silent movie performance. She's truly remarkable here; even better than in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies!
I cannot stop thinking about the brilliance of Dead Reckoning Part One. Much like with the other McQuarrie Mission films, it is the perfect fusion of action, comedy, spectacle, and edge-of-your-seat set pieces. The level of craftsmanship here is truly insane. That last 3rd act sequence with the orient express is honestly one of the most brilliantly conceived breathless 10 minutes I’ve ever seen on film — it is easily the best train sequence I’ve ever seen! The entire film is a perfectly portioned meal of a movie, it's one hell of a roller coaster ride that manages to avoid the typical “Part One” issues! Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie have saved the movies…. yet again! Dead Reckoning Part One is an impeccably made action film that does not stop entertaining, it’s a tense film full of emotions that is easily one of the best in the franchise!
Bring on Part Two!
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