Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One review ★★★★★

The Mission: Impossible film series is one of the few action-movie franchises that’s worth caring about. Decent time passes between each chapter (the longest being six years), there are no spin-offs (so far) to confuse the plot, and – crucially – the action sequences fire with balletic brilliance. It also has a superhuman advantage: the near-suicidal insanity of Tom Cruise.

Dead Reckoning Part One is Cruise's seventh and penultimate outing as secret agent Ethan Hunt (his first was in 1996), and he's never skimped on the danger. It's baffling to consider the infamous stunts, never mind the number of times he had to repeat them. For now, though, let’s revel in them with the assurance that they haven’t flown him into the grave (yet).


Left to right: Simon Pegg as Benji, Ving Rhames as Luther, Tom Cruise as Ethan and Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa. Photo: Paramount

Unlike the last few films, you can watch Part One without much prior knowledge. The Syndicate, The Apostles and their genocidal leader Solomon Lane barely play a part here – aside from the beautifully malevolent Vanessa Kirby as the 'White Widow', introduced in Fallout. Instead, this chapter opens with a brand-new threat: an apocalyptic, machine-learning AI called ‘The Entity’, capable of manipulating the truth and, by extension, reality.

This ‘ghost in the machine’ has become sentient, and nations around the world are racing to gain control of the technology. But Ethan Hunt, ever the honourable hero, wants to destroy it.

Although artificial intelligence has recently surpassed mere speculation – spilling into an immediate issue – its extreme relevance in Part One is presciently coincidental (production started in 2020). The film leans into the series' sci-fi aspects more than ever before, but you can’t help but fear the possibilities in the real world.

The Entity holds a dark and divine influence like an algorithmic Beelzebub, pasting together probabilities and formulating the future. It’s ‘an enemy that’s everywhere and nowhere’, inspiring demonic disciples with a rousing, digital growl. Director and co-writer Christopher McQuarrie doesn’t push into the cultish potential far enough, but Part Two could prove a decent chamber for such extremist, technological piety.

The only way to stop The Entity is with the Cruciform Key, split into two parts that need to connect to function. Ethan gathers his usual team of Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg), and his sort-of love interest Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). Marvel favourite Hayley Atwell also joins them as the nervous yet nimble thief Grace, an infinitely enjoyable addition to the IMF crew.


Hayley Atwell as Grace and Tom Cruise as Ethan. Photo: Paramount

In a Vox interview for Fallout, stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood stated that the action sequences are organised to be as practical and ‘character-based’ as possible. It’s not just about brushing with death or an excuse to blow up a car; these scenes reveal personality. That cinematic philosophy fills Part One, and with a wealth of humour too. The funniest example involves Ethan and Grace, handcuffed together, rushing through Rome like an accelerated dodgem in an old Fiat 500.

But it's the near-climactic motorcycle stunt (much publicised) that’ll really have you laughing, out of anxiety rather than comedy, as Ethan/Cruise drives off a cliff and speed-flies towards an unstoppable Orient Express train.

Dead Reckoning Part One doesn’t grip with the same tangible intensity as Fallout, but it’s still an impressively thrilling experience that dissolves a near-three-hour runtime and leaves you gagging for Part Two. At 61, Cruise is looking older but clearly not feeling it.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One will be in cinemas on Monday 10 July.