Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One

I am not much of a fan of Tom Cruise as a person, but dang! He makes some good movies! Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 is about 2.75 hours long, but it is one of those movies that is so fast-paced and interesting that it doesn’t feel like it is that long.

Of course, Tom Cruise reprises his role as Ethan Hunt in the 7th Mission Impossible film in the series. Ving Rhames returns as Luther Stickell. Simon Pegg also reprises his role as Benji Dunn, the It genius IMF agent. Pom Klementieff appears as Paris. Klementieff was almost unrecognizable since she played Mantis in the Guardians of the Galaxy film series. Esai Morales, Jr. a recognizable actor who plays the antagonist in the film. Morales is known for many roles, such as the cartel boss in the Netflix series, Ozark. The remaining cast members are excellent in their portrayals.

The plot begins with a scene on a Russian submarine equipped with an AI that is activated with a special key. The AI makes the crew of the submarine think that a hostile vessel is attacking them. They launch missiles at the hostile vessel and the AI turns back on them, thus sinking the submarine and killing all on board. Next, Ethan Hunt travels to the Arabian desert to retrieve the key from a former IMF agent who is supposed to be dead. Ethan retrieves the key, but the agent is killed. Back in Washington D.C., Ethan Hunt impersonates a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community to find out more about the key and what it is for. Director Eugene Kittredge explains that AI can control world finances, intelligence community and defense systems at will. Ethan learns that the key to the AI comes in a set of two. The dead IMF agent had one half of the key but the other half must be retrieved from an unnamed subject. The team travels to the Abu Dhabi airport to extract the key from the subject only for a thief to steal it not knowing what it is. or the power that it holds. Grace, the thief, escapes Ethan’s clutches and goes to Rome. Ethan follows her there and convinces her to help them retrieve the key. The rest of the movie is a cat-and-mouse adventure that will have the audience on the edge of their seat as the IMF team retrieves the other half of the key.

Filming began in September 2020 but was delayed a bit by the Covid-19 shutdowns all over the world. The film used multiple cities around the world, so segments had to be rescheduled depending on the city’s country. Further delays occurred due to accommodate the elaborate train wreck. that involved blowing up a bridge. The train scene was not settled upon and filmed for another 9 months later in August 2021. Industrial Light and Magic along with additional vendors provided visual effects for the movie. Lorrie Balfe returned to compose the score for Part One and Two of the Day of Reckoning movies as she had in previous Mission Impossible films. Christopher McQuarrie directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Erik Jendresen. The film was released by Paramount Pictures in July 2023 and has grossed a whopping $552.6 million dollars worldwide. Ironically, even though it brought in such a phenomenal amount of money, the film will not make much of a profit due to its astronomical budget.

Mission Impossible: Day of Reckoning Part One is a film that will have the audience sitting on the edge of their seats and anticipating Part Two. It is one action-packed scene after another that makes the film move at a fast pace. I give this movie a 5 out of 5 stars. It’s a shame that the film is rumored to not make a huge profit.