Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One
The biggest issue I have with the Mission Impossible movies is that there are now so many of them, that in my head they all kind of run together. I've seen them all, but I would be extremely hard pressed to tell you specifics from each. Don't get me wrong, I've always enjoyed watching them in the moment, but afterwards it becomes hard to recall plot points or specifics. Tom Cruise does some awesome action sequences, his team has some redeeming moments, disaster averted. “Dead Reckoning Part One” fits this mold as well as all the rest, with the slight exception that this is “Part One”. So the disaster might only be beginning for our (basically) super heroes in the Impossible Mission Forces.
Tom Cruise must be immortal. Some of the stunt sequences here are so hair raising and shockingly real (like driving a motorcycle off a cliff only to para-glide to the bottom, which he did six times in a day while shooting) that they're hard to believe ANYONE did, little own someone whose 61 years old. But he did all his own stunts as usual, and dammit do they look good. It's hard to believe Tom is hitting his action hero stride NOW in his 60s, but after last years “Top Gun: Maverick” (which was my favourite movie of the year, by the way), and now this year's “Mission Impossible”, it's hard to argue with.
We got to see a sneak preview showing of it, and as such there was a little featurette shown before it that showed how they did some of the stunts in Rome. It was pretty cool, but unfortunately it kind of took away from seeing the moment in the actual film. It would have been far better served to show the featurette after the movie, but maybe they though people wouldn't stay or something. It was kind of a rock and hard place to be in because I liked seeing this thing, but wish they hadn't spoiled a moment. Luckily I don't think most viewers will have this issue.
The entire cast is good as you'd expect from an action set piece of this level. But the two gems are Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell. Atwell especially is a breath of fresh air. I kind of hate how she's been used in the Marvel projects, honestly, so to see her here in a similar, yet more free role was a real treat. She definitely has the action chops and I can't wait to see more of her in the future.
The villain this time around is (to boil it down) an A.I. System. Sound convoluted? It is. But it works, and is actually extremely timely. This is probably a more real representation of the type of warfare we're going to see as we drive into the future, which makes for a scary proposition. So even when the movie goes off the deep end of believability, it's still kind of unsettling. How much of what seems like borderline magic in the film is actually what systems are capable right now in our real world? Like real time camera footage altering, or indistinguishable voice copying? Creepy things to think about.
Even if you might forget the specifics once the credits role and the film melts into a stew of all 7 “Mission Impossible” movies in your mind, it's still an excellent rollercoaster ride while you're on it. I look forward to Part Two.
8/10