Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) Review

Over the last few years, The Mission Impossible films have been some of the best action films in Cinema. Now the 7th film in the franchise Dead Reckoning Part One has been released and I watched it yesterday, here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees Ethan Hunt and his team have to track down a device that could cause World War 3. 

Main Character

Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt and he continues his career renaissance with a fantastic performance here. Even though the man is 60 years old, he is brilliant in all the action sequences and there is no inkling that he has any plans on slowing down. His character has also developed really well, you see how the previous films have affected him and it is cool seeing his view on being a member of IMF. 

Supporting Characters

Hayley Atwell is new to the franchise and plays Grace. She is an exciting supporting character and has a really good dynamic with Cruise, it is a major part of the film and I liked how her character was used here as it really felt different to other female characters in this franchise. 

Ving Rhames & Simon Pegg are back in their roles as Luther and Benji and they are both great. This has been a great team together over the last few films and they continue to be a fun duo in this film too. Luther ends up having a larger role then I expected and that was a nice surprise for sure. 

Esai Morales plays the villain Gabriel and I really liked his portrayal. He is physically an equal to Ethan Hunt but he also plays the psychological game and it makes him stand out. His motivations are a little blurry but Morales has the chemistry to make it work. 

Vanessa Kirby & Pom Klementieff do really good jobs in their roles and I thought they were enjoyable to watch depsite not being an integral part of the plot. 

The one character they do treat a bit poorly is Ilsa Faust played by Rebecca Ferguson. She was a major part of the previous 2 films but feels underutilised here, she is just a background character and unfortunately gets no development which is a bit of a let down. 

Story

The story is alright. I liked how it showed how much technology has become a part of our everyday life and once it stops working or even works against us it can really affect people. Also the story of Ethan Hunt as a character is pretty well written and actually shows some development. But it also feels very much like a Part one, in terms that everything feels like build up for the next film, I mean its fun but definitely build up. Also there are certain story elements that aren't really explored or explained and it makes things a bit uninspired and generic. 

Script

The script is pretty well written. The film is pretty serious and that is conveyed well by the actors and the writers. There are dribbles of humour in there and when used appropriately they certainly gave a chuckle and I am glad it doesn't overuse this. 

Style

The film looks fantastic and there are some awesome action sequences. The film travels all over the world and it is really cool seeing these different locations and these sequences used in these environments. Knowing Cruise does his own stunts makes it even more crazy considering some of the stuff that is done in this film. Though I did feel like this film was a little long, it could have shaved 15 mins off and would have been a better film for sure. 

Overall

Overall, Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is a great film that continues the really good work that the franchise has been doing. It isn't perfect but certainly has me excited for the 2nd part of this film and see if it really hits the spot. 

Rating - 8/10