2023 has been a good year for sequels of long-running action film series, with Fast X, Indiana Jones 5, and now, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Oddly enough, all three of those movies exhibit certain similarities, with Fast X and Mission: Impossible 7 – I’m calling it that from now on – both sharing the distinction of being the first half of a larger story. The similarities between those two films don’t end there, however, as both feature massive set pieces, bits of humor, and protagonists that value familial-esque friendships over anything else. That said, where Fast X fails, and fail it did, Mission: Impossible 7 succeeds. As I ponder why that is, two reasons immediately come to mind: Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie.

Mission: Impossible 7 picks up with Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) tracking down his longtime ally and friend, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), who has come into the possession of one half of a cruciform key. This key is being sought after by the most dangerous criminals and powerful governments in the world, including Hunt’s own. When Ethan realizes that the bearer of the key will control a weapon dangerous enough to start a new world order, he and his team go rogue and set out to destroy this weapon, no matter who or what tries to stop them. Along the way, they run into a crafty thief named Grace (Hayley Atwell), who unwittingly puts herself in the middle of this conspiracy. It’s not long until Ethan, Grace, and the others come face-to-face with Gabriel (Esai Morales), a ruthless terrorist with ties to Ethan’s past, before he joined the IMF. This shared history complicates things, challenging Ethan to stay objective with the entire world at stake.

One area in which Mission: Impossible 7 soundly beats it predecessor, M:I Fallout (2018), is plot and storytelling. While Fallout was an exhilarating thrill-ride, it’s well-known that the movie was written on the fly, causing its story to fluctuate in coherence. That’s not the case with Mission: Impossible 7, which presents a story that seems like it was fleshed out over several years. I was never confused when watching, which I couldn’t say for Fallout. Nonetheless, the script isn’t perfect. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it’s heavily flawed and highly unoriginal. Narratively, very few of the decisions made were surprising, including most of the plot twists. Upon reflection, the only twist that actually shocked me did so because it felt so unnecessary, rather than because I never saw it coming. At the end of the day, though, the Mission: Impossible movies have a tried-and-tested formula: the villains threaten the world, Ethan goes rogue, and ultimately, he saves the day and clears his name. I love that formula, so I’m fine with predictable.

What I’m not fine with, however, is mediocre bad guys. In Mission: Impossible 7, Ethan faces off with an old nemesis, Gabriel, who’s now the right-hand man for a mysterious villain called “The Entity”. A lot of this film’s heft lies on Gabriel’s shoulders not only because he’s the main foe we actually get to see, but also due to his past relationship with Ethan. While there is some mineable content there, Esai Morales just doesn’t offer anything extra to his performance. He doesn’t have the muscular charisma of Henry Cavill, the enigmatic creepiness of Sean Harris, or the effortless brilliance of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Don’t get me wrong, Morales delivers his lines competently and comports himself well in action sequences, so there are flashes. Still, it never amounts to anything memorable.*

To be fair, there’s one obvious reason to prevent Gabriel from stealing scenes: The Entity. Perhaps the strategy was to keep Gabriel a bit humdrum so that The Entity would shine in comparison, especially in Dead Reckoning Part Two. If that’s the case, okay, I understand it. Just the same, that tactic didn’t serve the latest Bond films well, so I’m not sure it was a wise choice here. A similarly unwise choice is having The Entity be an all-knowing enemy. Sure, bad guys of this sort are useful plot devices that provide screenwriters ample slack to take the story in whatever whacky direction they desire. I get it. But, we’ve seen this done before, in this very franchise no less. “If he wants something to happen, there is no preventing it!” That’s a line from Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation referring to Solomon Lane, and the same thing is uttered constantly in Mission: Impossible 7, except about The Entity this time. Dialogue like that definitely shifts this movie away from familiar and nearer to derivative.

Even as I type these critiques, my brain keeps cutting me off, saying “yeah, but Tom Cruise”. To those who know me, it’s no secret that I cherish the guy, and Mission: Impossible 7 does nothing to dissuade me not to. Cruise is spectacular once again, so much so that even when the film is bogged down in its weaker moments, it’s less noticeable. Obviously, his commitment to action scenes remains astounding, but it’s often overlooked how much his acting lifts the script and his co-stars’ performances. When Cruise shares the screen with Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames, they all legitimately feel like old friends that border on family. When Cruise shares the screen with his female counterparts, it only feels subtly different, without there being the overt sexual tension that one might expect. Since this movie requires its audience to wholeheartedly believe that Ethan won’t consider any plan that might endanger his friends, Cruise’s performance needed to be compassionate and nuanced, and he didn’t disappoint.  

Of course, a Mission: Impossible flick wouldn’t be complete without a plethora of shootouts, car chases, and obligatory shots of Tom Cruise running. This movie has all of those things in spades, and Cruise hasn’t lost a step. It’s in these action sequences that director Christopher McQuarrie really shines, as his cooperation with cinematographer Fraser Taggart leads to a number of eye-catching set pieces. The motorcycle/parachute stunt is indeed as impressive as it looked in the trailers, and the subsequent train sequence blew my mind. Even less known is the Arabian desert gunfight that’s nearly as riveting, which sees Ethan and Ilsa take on a group of mercenaries in the midst of a sandstorm. All of the action is choreographed and shot very well, demonstrating the filmmaker’s seasoned grasp of framing and geography. Despite that, there are some action beats that are undone by their silliness.

Sure, Mission: Impossible’s action has always been ludicrous, but the films – except for M:I 2 – always knew when to pull back in order to prevent it from verging on dumb. Unfortunately, some of the action here is pretty dumb, undercutting the drama in a Disney-like way. This mainly occurs when Grace is involved, especially during the overlong car chase through Rome in the movie’s second act. I did enjoy most of this sequence, especially the tense standoff with Briggs (Shea Whigham) and Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis)**, but its tendency to skew toward funny was inappropriate. Yes, Grace is new to this life and she’s going to mess up, so one or two gaffes is tolerable. More than that, though, and you lose me. Thankfully, Cruise and Atwell keep these moments from being downright annoying.

Now, I don’t want you to get the idea that Grace is unlikeable, because that’s not the case. She’s a proper balance of capable and vulnerable, and her uncanny ability to pickpocket makes her a nifty addition to Ethan’s roster of allies.*** All in all, she’s a solid addition to the off-and-on heroines in Ethan’s life. If there’s any reason to gripe about her addition, it’s that she takes away screen time from Ilsa, the most badass person in these movies. Of all of my criticisms, the only one that really gets to me is this movie’s treatment of Ilsa. Once Grace comes along, she’s relegated to an afterthought. After the work that Rebecca Ferguson put in during the last two installments, this feels pretty tactless for a series that’s gotten pretty good at handling its characters.

As I wrap up, I should note that because Mission: Impossible 7 is only one half of a two-part story, most of my comments should be taken with a grain of salt. After all, it’s quite possible that Dead Reckoning Part Two will clarify and improve the narrative and new characters, as well as tack on some unforgettable action scenes that make both films better on the whole. Or, maybe the opposite will happen. Either way, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is a pretty satisfying action thriller on its own, even if it’s the weakest of the Cruise-McQuarrie collaborations. With the SAG-AFTRA strike halting the filming of M:I 8, no one can say for certain that it’ll hit theaters in 2024. That’s an awful shame, because I, like so many others, really cannot wait to see this story conclude.

If I had to score it, I’d give Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One a 7/10.****

Notes:

* Really, the only memorable villain in this movie is Gabriel’s henchwoman, Paris, played by Pom Klementieff. Her character is cool and it looks like she’s having a blast, and that enthusiasm is contagious. The only problem with Paris is that she lacks any apparent motivation, so her alliance with Gabriel seems kind of random.

** Whigham and Davis are an amusing pairing that bring the right brand of humor to this movie. Assigned by Kittridge (Henry Czerny, who’s fun to have back) to hunt down Ethan and his team, Briggs and Degas are entirely in the dark about what’s really going on. Watching them catch up and figure things out was an entertaining bonus gift I didn’t expect to receive.

*** Speaking of pickpocketing, there’s way too much of it in this movie. You know the saying “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”? Well, what happens when it’s “fool me a few dozen times”? I think it’s “shame on the screenwriters”.

**** This score is pending. If Dead Reckoning Part Two improves on a few things, then I could see my score of Part One rising to an eight.