Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One Review

August 4, 2023 at 3:42pm
By Jason Stettner

The final outing has begun, and shockingly it would seem that Mission Impossible is coming to an end. This all starts with Dead Reckoning Part One which is a bit of an odd naming focus but that does set the tone. There’s a feeling of almost finality building and a darker theme to it all.

We have Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) once again working with his team and going up against something slightly more fluid than he’s used to dealing with. It’s a movie of action set pieces as we’ve come to expect and luckily while being a part one it does have its own set story to it with its own finality, so honestly the naming scheme is odd.

The plot here largely revolves around Hunt’s team trying to figure out what they’re up against while searching for a special key. This then involves newcomer Grace (Hayley Atwell) that’s an absolute pain for Hunt to try and constantly find or well save. Many of the previously setup characters return alongside the shocking continuation of Kittridge (Henry Czerny) who really adds a nice layering of depth and age to the situation.

I didn’t necessarily love how certain characters were handled in this one, but it did keep the action flowing the twists a turning throughout. The set pieces were marvelous in this one; with some spectacular views, wild chases and then some crazy extended moments of panic.

I did find this movie to be rather visually stunning, but that’s just sort of what this series provides at this point. It also for the most part feels rather visceral and real, with some touches of CGI that stuck out here or there. The performances were about as expected though I did desire to see more of Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) considering how important that character has become over the last few movies.

It was interesting that in this entry that they were able to start adding more details about the past of Hunt, introduce new characters and provide an overall foe that will mark the conclusion of the series. It’s strange, as it feels so open but at the same time definitely has a good feeling of a conclusive point being arrived at in the near future. I will also give a mention to a great continuation of the character The White Widow (Vanessa Kirby) as that role was really neat here.

The Conclusion

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One may not be quite as strong as the perfect Fallout that preceded it; but this movie was fun, action packed and a great entry in the franchise. I was at times giddy with excitement in the twists and turns and at others blown away by the tension created by the insane moments that were going on.

This series really nails that sense of scale, craze and humor just so perfectly well. It’s truly wild what’s going on, but at the same time believable which is appreciated. You really do get the vibe that people are actually doing the things you’re seeing and it comes across as grounded.

They play around with technology well, have fun with the strange moments and continue to deliver a franchise that I really do love to watch. This one just had so many great surprises, twists and it kept me guessing where things would head the whole way through which felt special.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One Review at Theather with Standard Viewing

Rating Overall: 8.8