Details from IMDB:
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands.
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- Stars
Initial Thoughts:
I’ve seen every Mission Impossible (except this one) in theatres. I wanted to see this in theatres but I’m not the intense movie fan that I used to be and when it quickly went out of our only IMAX theatre, I decided to wait. Then I waited some more for it come on Paramount+ (which I have) and it finally did the of January. So long story short, we finally saw it early February.
Main Points:
I have enjoyed watching Tom Cruise for most of my life. Despite all his flaws and unusual ideas (and actions) for me he is one of the best actors alive. I think one of the reasons I still go to his movies is that he continues to do his own stunts and do everything he can to promote a movie he’s in (I think he produces most of them now as well). Like lots of people I had heard about the motorcycle off a cliff (with a parachute as well!) and was excited to see it.
For me MI movies are about action, car chases, fight scenes and some good twists and turns. Sure it matters for there to be a decent plot and some good acting but honestly for these movies it is not the most important part. I thought everyone here did a good job, I always enjoy seeing Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg. I thought Haley Atwell was excellent in this, though I wish they would have given her a bigger role. The plot is very topical as it is essentially Ethan trying desperately to stop an evil AI that wants to destroy the world.
As always, the action scenes are excellent, and Cruise still has his Ethan run that is as much as part of the MI franchise as anything else. I will say that I thought the 2.45 hours runtime is bit much (and its only part 1!) I think a good half hour could have been trimmed and nothing would have been lost. As much as I have enjoyed the MI movies (I will do my best to see part 2 in IMAX as that’s the best experience) I do think its likely time for them to end or at least pass the torch to a younger actor (who Cruise approved of naturally).
Final Thoughts:
We split this up over 3 sittings, so I’ll admit that it is probably not the ideal way to watch it. I give this 7.5 out of 10, it has everything I want in a MI movie and I did quite enjoy a cliffhanger (not literally as it could have been!) type of ending. Cruise is Ethan Hunt and honestly despite my above statement, I’m not sure anyone else could play this character, he has certainly put his own stamp on it. I’m looking forward to part 2 and if that’s the end of the series, I would be good with that too. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good action movie and of course a MI fan. There is some nice humour, great action and the usual trimmings you have come to expect. Ages 13+ for language, intense action and some suggestive material.