I first got into the Mission: Impossible franchise, not long after the release of the previous film Fallout, which I thought was one of the best movies of 2018.
So, going into the seventh installment in the series, once again directed by Christopher McQuarrie, I was expecting a well-directed action film with a fun story and characters, and thrilling stunts from Tom Cruise, which is exactly what I got.
Dead Reckoning Part One follows Cruise’s IMF Agent Ethan Hunt, who is tasked with collecting a key, which could be used to eventually control a powerful rogue AI known as the Entity.
However, believing that the Entity is too dangerous, Ethan instead sets out to kill it, along with his fellow agents and friends Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg).
They are not alone in the search for the key, as Ethan has to enlist the help of a thief named Grace (Hayley Atwell), all the while being pursued by Gabriel (Esai Morales), a dangerous man from Ethan’s past.
The story of Dead Reckoning Part One is a lot of fun, with its still surprising portrayal of espionage, and interesting take on AI with one reveal about the Entity being pretty intense.
Speaking of intensity, the film is not all fun because there is some sadness to be had, due to specific events that I cannot get into because of spoilers.
There is some good humor to balance the sad moments, though.
One thing I was worried about going into Dead Reckoning Part One is the Part One of the title.
Movies being separated into parts seems to be a returning trend in movies these days and this can lead to some frustrating experiences, most notably Across the Spider-Verse which, while still one of the best movies of the year, ends very abruptly with the rest of the story being continued in Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Thankfully, this was not an issue for Dead Reckoning Part One because, despite being only the first part of the story, it still ends in a satisfying way, while making me want more.
This “more” includes more amazing stunts from Tom Cruise.
I honestly don’t know how the guy can keep doing these death defying scenes, with a cliff jump in the teasers being particularly nerve wracking.
I just hope he doesn’t end up seriously injuring himself or worse with these stunts.
Overall, Dead Reckoning Part One is a satisfying beginning for a two-part story in the Mission: Impossible franchise.
Fingers crossed that they can pull off Part Two just as well but there is nothing which leads me to doubt that.
THE REVIEW MONSTER 