Once again, Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must criss-cross the globe in order to stave off Armageddon. This time in search of a very special key. The problem is; no one seems to know what it unlocks, but every one is interested in acquiring it, including governments, arms dealers and a very powerful - but rogue - artificial intelligence known as 'The Entity'. But will the IMF's propensity for pulling off the absolutely insane be enough to outsmart them all and keep whatever the key unlocks out of their grasp?
Christopher McQuarrie delivers yet another high-octane instalment in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Only this time he faces the very real dilemma of outdoing his own creation. Yes, you could argue he has done that before - Dead Reckoning being his third Mission movie - but this time it's a little different, given that Fallout is widely considered to be the best movie of the franchise, and by some margin. So how do you outdo something like that? Well, you go bigger, naturally. And that's exactly what McQuarrie and his running mate, Mr Cruise, have done.
On the one hand, Dead Reckoning is everything you want from Mission: Impossible; high stakes, high intensity storytelling, beautiful locations, a lot of action around some very real stunts, and a few laughs along the way. However, what sets Dead Reckoning apart from its predecessors is the greater sense of urgency to the story. Something hinted at in the far from joyous, but never-the-less fun reunion of Ethan and a certain Mr Kittridge (Henry Czerny still plays that slimy arsehole perfectly). At times that urgency is almost palpable, not to mention something that really adds to that 'edge of your seat' factor. Which is probably why the near three hour runtime really doesn't feel that long. In fact, it almost flies by as Ethan (Tom Cruise), Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg) and - to a certain extent - Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) work to acquire the two halves of this mysterious cruciform key and keep them out of the hands of pretty much everyone.
All of the returning cast slip back into their roles brilliantly. So much so that it's like being reunited with old friends. I particularly like that Luther and Benji continue to be like bickering siblings for Ethan to take care of. While Shea Whigham and Greg Tarzan Davis are welcome additions as the US agents pursuing our IMF friends. However, I was surprised how little screen time Rebecca Ferguson was given, especially given the connection between Ethan and Ilsa. I don't know if it has anything to do with Dune, but Ilsa is hardly in the movie and given almost nothing to do. Leaving her role feeling painfully predictable, and more importantly robbing her of any real impact. In fact, there are times throughout the movie when it almost feels like she has been replaced.
Of course, this greater sense of urgency is reflected in the action as the team and all of their adversaries move from one tense play to the next. The mission inside the Abu Dhabi airport terminal is particularly exciting, as our heroes attempt to pursue their target whilst simultaneously evading the government agents hunting them - somewhere between a dance and a game of cat and mouse. It's also a perfect introduction for Hayley Atwell's character (Grace), who from the off shares some electrifying chemistry with Cruise, whilst also proving to be an unpredictable thorn in just about everybody's side. This bleeds into the delightfully chaotic chase through Rome, featuring a door-less BMW, a bright yellow Fiat 500 and Pom Klementieff as the sinister 'Paris' chasing Ethan and Grace in an armoured truck. Klementieff's hilarious facial expressions adding a whole new level of expression and excitement to the whole thing. Definitely the better of the two car chases through Rome to hit cinemas in 2023!
Unfortunately where this movie falls down is with the villain. As much as it is becoming more and more relevant here in the real world, a rogue A.I. and its human servant/representative - in this case, anyway - don't make for a compelling antagonist. The combination of the Entity's blinking lights and Esai Morales' snotty, pontificating terrorist/bad man is like an insufferable take on the Skynet/T-800 dynamic. Although he is good at hiding knives! Not that I put the blame for this on Morales, either he wasn't given enough to work with or we just don't know enough about his character - the perils of a two-part story, perhaps. Thankfully this doesn't prevent him from ramping things up in the train-based finale. They may have revealed a little too much of Cruise's motorcycle BASE jump, but it still manages to be the perfect opening to a phenomenal finale involving all the fun trains and gravity can muster.
Another exciting instalment in the Mission: Impossible franchise. But with its rather faceless, more annoying than intimidating villain, and an almost side-lined Rebecca Ferguson, Dead Reckoning doesn't come close to knocking Fallout off the top spot.
7.5/10
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