Rebuilding Rob

I don’t consider myself a “fan of the mission, impossible franchise. It I’ve seen more than half of them, and I’m always impressed by the movies as stand-alone pieces. But when we hear about Tom Cruise, and his weirdness, it’s taking a little bit of luster off of the franchise for me personally.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part One brings the proverbial heat that one has come to expect from this franchise: action, suspense, blowing things up, political intrigue, crazy stunts, betrayal. Likewise, Dead… does all of this in a very styslish, very slick visual presentation. Kudos to the cinematographers. Furthermore, techno-gadgets – a necessity in a spy thriller – are, as always – state of the art. There are spy movies, and then there are the M:I movies. The franchise continues to raise the bar after nearly 3 decades.

Everyone’s favorite IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) returns and somehow, the “fate of the world” stakes have never been higher. This time Hunt has to stop the ultimate AI computer program, The Entity, from falling into the wrong hands. While different governments want The Entity for themselves, Hunt is out to destroy it. So sophisticated and world-altering is The Entity that any hands for it are considered “the wrong hands”.

There are several countries, spy agencies, and rogues who are all in pursuit of The Entity as well. Chief among them seems to be a man known only as Gabriel (Esai Morales). Morales plays his character to a T. He is cool, calm, calculated and very dangerous. Eastside Morales is one of those actors whom I think is grossly underrated. He’s a great talent who never really seemed to get the big parts. In fact, is the most memorable roles for me were in a La Bamba and the ill-fated Battlestar Galactica prequel, Caprica.

Joining Hunt in this latest mission are of his loyal team members Luther and Benji (Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, reprising their roles from previous M:I entries). The great thing about the mission impossible movies are that they are standalone stories. Yes, there are characters who return in multiple movies. And yes, it does help to enhance the story if you’re familiar with the dynamics between these characters, but the movies work just fine on their own. However, there is one death in this movie that had I seen all of the other M:I movies probably would have hit me harder. 

As the title implies, Dead Reckoning is the first part of the two part story, with the sequel, Final Reckoning, opening later this year. So the movie does end somewhat inconclusively. You do get a complete story, but you also realize that there is more still to follow in the story.

FINAL TAKE: highly recommended, to fans of action, adventure, espionage/spy, thrillers. With the movie like dead, reckoning, it’s no surprise that the mission: impossible film franchise has become one of the most lucrative in Hollywood over the last 30 years. And as much as Tom Cruise annoys me, he brings it in this movie. And in every other entry into the franchise. After watching the movie this weekend finally, I’m super excited to see The Final Reckoning later this year.

Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning, Part One is currently streaming on Paramount+.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, 👍 comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts

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The article: “Rob Reviews: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.

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