Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning proves Tom Cruise can do no wrong
When I watched the Burj Khalifa jump stunt in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, I thought the Mission Impossible series had peaked. There is not a higher place you can climb onto or a more dangerous place you can jump from. But then, Tom Cruise surprised us with Rogue Nation and more so in Fallout. After jumping off the Burj Khalifa, holding his breath for six minutes underwater, and breaking his ankle while jumping off another building, Tom Cruise and his crew somehow continue to surprise us.
The jump off the cliff in Dead Reckoning Part One was advertised beforehand. It was no surprise what he was going to do and how he was going to do it. But even then, the scene pushed everyone in the theatre to the edge of their seats. And that's where the film succeeds.
Dead Reckoning Part One contains the generic Mission Impossible franchise tropes filled with mask unveiling, race against time, Ethan Hunt going rogue, and of course, Tom Cruise running. But the film delivers each trope perfectly, pulls off the stunts beautifully and ends up being the most fun you'll have watching an action film in theatres.
This time around, Ethan Hunt is chasing an AI called the Entity that has gone rogue and can take control of the entire world. Ethan is in search of a pair of keys that, when joined together, gives access to the submarine that contains the mainframe of the Entity. While other powers are chasing the key trying to gain control over the AI and use it as a weapon, Ethan and his team have to find the key before anyone else, gain access to the Entity, and destroy it.
Even though the central plot feels loose on the surface, the movie takes its time to establish what's at stake and then jumps straight into the action with what might be the coolest intro to a film. The opening set piece at the airport is a perfect welcome to the race against time that the film promises to be. Even though all of these have been implemented over and over again in previous films, this one still feels fresh. The car chase scene in Rome is one that's been done over and over again in many action films and yet, the humour delivered in between the action set pieces combined with Ethan improvising his way out of danger feels exhilarating, something that John Wick 4 and other action movies in recent times have failed to deliver.
Despite the tight screenplay, some of the action scenes could've been a bit shorter to keep the movie within the 2 hours and 30 minutes mark. The villains in the Mission Impossible series haven't been the best in regards to intent or character development, and this one's no different. Also, the tilted camera angle in some of the scenes feels a bit disorienting.
But all of these get overshadowed because Dead Reckoning Part One delivers exactly what it wants to deliver – a fun moviegoing experience. With Top Gun: Maverick last year and Dead Reckoning Part One this year, it feels like Tom Cruise can do no wrong.
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