Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Since the beginning of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise which started in 1996, we have seen more plots with twists and turns to fill more storylnes than the seven films involved here. "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One" is the seventh incarnation of the franchise and is, by the very title, the first of a two-parter. There have been so many installments, that I thought I might become bored with it. Wow, was I wrong!

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team, including Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) and an outsider, Grace (Hayley Atwell), embark on their most dangerous mission yet: to track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces, namely Gabriel (Esai Morales), from Ethan's past closing in, 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 his mission--not even the lives of those he cares about most. 

Others to round out the cast are Vanessa Kirby as Ilana, the White Widow, Pom Klementieff as Paris, Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge, Shea Whigham as Briggs, Greg Tarzan Davis as Degas, Frederick Schmidt as Zola, Mariela Garriga as Marie, Cary Elwes as Denlinger, Charles Parnell as NPO and Mark Gatiss as NSA.

This was intensely and delineated with grit by Christopher McQuarrie ("The Way of the Gun" 2000, "Jack Reacher" '12, "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" '15, "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" '18). Certainly since the last two installments of the franchise grossed a ton of profit, and were directed also by McQuarrie, it was the obvious choice to have him helm this installment as well. With these ingredients, this will, no doubt, pull in the bucks. The chemistry between this filmmaker and Cruise is amazing, or I believe they would've made three films together. And of course, by the title, there will be the conclusion of this installment come 2024. His pacing and timing was incredible, so much so, that I didn't feel like I was sitting in the theater seat for the better part of 3 hours. It was also well sequenced and penned by Christopher McQuarrie ("Public Access" '93, "The Usual Suspects" '95, "The Underworld" (TV movie) '97, "The Way of the Gun" 2000, "Valkyrie" '08, "The Tourist" '10, "Jack Reacher" '12, "Jack and the Giant Slayer" '13, "Edge of Tomorrow" '14, "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" '15, "The Mummy" '17, "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" '18, "Tom Gun: Maverick" '22) plus TV, and Erik Jendresen ("Deadlocked" (TV movie) 2000, "Crazy as Hell" '02, "Otis" '08, "The Big Bang" '10, "Killing Lincoln" (TV movie) '13, "Ithaca" '15) plus TV and a video, based on the TV series created by Bruce Geller. This was written with a tight. cohesive, well thought out script, and considering its lengthy running time, it refused to become mired down with inconsistencies or choppiness. It definitely makes me wonder why Cruise is so believable as Ethan Hunt. First of all, Cruise is a talented actor if given the right role, and secondly, he, like his character counterpart, are both pretty much rogues, which can make the character come alive that much more. Cruise even performed a fair amount of his own stunts including the one he pulls riding over the cliff. The visual effects predominantly created by ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic) were both stunning as they were effective. 

If you like this franchise, or are a purist, and only care for reruns of the TV show, you'll still love this. It has it all: action, adrenaline, explosions, adventure and even humor all rolled up in a totally escapism film so as to please all. It's a great popcorn film, especially in this day and age of the world in such a disarray. Enjoy this gem--I sure did!

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                           Rated: PG-13                                          163mins.