It’s a risky gambit to release a movie that is only half of a story. But perhaps buoyed by the longstanding success of the MCU’s Infinity War and Endgame, and the more recent successes of the first instalments of Villeneuve’s Dune and Across the Spider-Verse, the one-two punch of McQuarrie and Cruise have banked on audiences caring enough about Ethan Hunt and co saving the world to return when the sequel eventually drops.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One follows on from the undeniable success of M:I – Fallout, with Hunt being sent on a globetrotting quest to find two halves of a strange cruciform key. This latest Impossible Mission sees his crew of misfit hackers, assassins, tech geniuses and spies pitted against, not only half the world’s secret service agents but also, a gestalt of cyber-religious worshippers of a super-AI called The Entity.
If that sounds both painfully generic and also delightfully B-movie-esque, it’s because it is. M:I, much as with most other modern AAA blockbusters, is a rollercoaster ride that was built from the action sequences up. Stunt sequences which don’t disappoint, as we see the team lead a daring race around the streets of Rome, have shootouts in the desert, and fight across the top of a speeding train. It’s a largely breathless film that feels relentless at almost three hours long.
Cruise is excellent, as always, with 110% commitment to the part and to the stunt work but the MVP is Hayley Atwell’s gentlewoman thief, who gets embroiled in the global shenanigans and serves as both an audience surrogate and a breath of fresh air into the team’s dynamic. There’s capable, if largely background, support from series regulars, Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, ageing gracefully, but feeling a little redundant here. Better served are the delightful turns from returning franchise frenemy The White Widow (Vanessa Kirby), and Guardians of the Galaxy’s Pom Klementieff as a gleefully sadistic mercenary.
Unfortunately the film feels far more shaky when it comes to Hunt’s best friend assassin superspy and occasional love interest Ilsa Faust. It seems like the writers just didn’t know what to do with her, and although Rebecca Ferguson is flawless in the thankless role, she feels like a plot device rather than a character. Not much better is the film’s main antagonist, Gabriel (Esai Morales) who is as threatening and charismatic as an advert for life insurance. He simply doesn’t have the presence to stand out in this cluttered and loud movie, and manages to suck the air out of most of his scenes.
It’s also a let down that the dialogue feels decidedly overwritten, with characters completing each other’s sentences in long expository multi-voice monologues that feels like a moment of experimental cinema throwing in an unexpected Greek Chorus. This grates doubly as much of the plot, and even the action sequences feeling oddly reminiscent of moments from other films.
All of this isn’t to say that this is a bad film. It’s not. It’s two hours and forty minutes of slam-bang action, practical effects and stunt-work, and a familiar cast of likeable characters who have been at this schtick for almost 30 years. If you’ve ever enjoyed a Mission: Impossible film, you’ll have some fun here, it’s just not up to the highest standards of the franchise, and we can only hope that the second part will be better.
In Cinemas Nationwide now