Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One rules. It rules so hard that I stifle my internal scream over having to write out that godforsaken title with its ludicrous punctuation out of respect.
It has something that is so rare for a tentpole action film these days: a plot that makes sense and you can actually follow. It’s also audaciously current. The Big Bad of the film is artificial intelligence that could destroy the world, if enabled by greedy politicians and billionaires. It’s a fascinating adversary for a blockbuster like this, given how much AI is on our minds. But it’s also not a guaranteed smash for audiences, who are conditioned to expect cartoonishly evil villains as the dastardly entertainment in films like these, not sentient lines of code.
Because the narrative of the film is so stellar—and the performances from Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, and newcomer Hayley Atwell so spectacularly winning—the action sequences (the real reason for purchasing a ticket) come off even better. They’re not there to dazzle and distract. They’re there to dazzle and be important.
What I love about the movie is that the major stunt sequences do seem integral, but they are also so much damn fun. (Remember when movies were fun?!) The fight sequences, the chase scenes, the major stunts: They’re largely completed with practical effects, meaning the cars were really driving and Tom Cruise was really Tom Cruising. You forget how thrilling it is to watch sequences like these done without overreliance on CGI until you see one. You also forget how funny they can be. The audience at my theater switched between laughter and applause (legitimately, they would clap) as these scenes unfolded.
The movie also perfectly built itself up, action sequence-by-action sequence, to the biggest stunt, the one that’s gotten the most advanced press and has already been the subject of jaw-dropping making-of videos. At the film’s climax, Cruise rides a motorbike off a cliff, releases a parachute, and skydives down a ravine, eventually crash-landing into a moving train.
Tom Cruise really did this. We know that because of all that advanced hype—and because it’s his whole thing to really do these stunts. But watching it on screen, there’s no doubt. His cheeks flap in the wind as he falls through the sky, delivering his lines. Yes, while skydiving on film, Cruise also delivers lines of dialogue.
The minute the motorbike began heading for the cliff, my theater started whistling and applauding. When the parachute released, they started cheering. When Cruise started speaking, they laughed hysterically.
It was so good and so fun. I hope they make these movies forever.