How do you make a sequel to the most ambitious action film of all time? How do you top the death-defying stunts that left audiences gripping their seats, stunned at what they were seeing on screen? Since the release of 2011’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, director Christopher McQuarrie and producer/star Tom Cruise have been confronted with these questions. Cruise scaling the Burj Khalifa set a bar so high with the franchise’s fourth entry that clearing it seemed impossible. However, much like M:I’s indelible hero Agent Ethan Hunt, Cruise and McQuarrie overcame the challenge, delivering an action film worthy of its successors and, in many ways, superior, no less than three times. 2015’s Rogue Nation and 2018’s Fallout were met with critical acclaim and widespread fanfare upon release. Miraculously, after a delay of nearly five years, McQuarrie and Cruise have done it again, delivering arguably their best entry so far with Dead Reckoning Part One.
McQuarrie and Cruise demand to be mentioned in the same breath when discussing the film. Without one or the other, the project does not work. It is no great secret that the franchise has become Tom Cruise’s passion project; he pours every ounce of effort into the creation, production, and distribution of these films, from performing insane stunt work to enduring endless publicity tours. The film itself opens with the credit “A Tom Cruise Production,” and that it most certainly is. Without Cruise, the franchise likely dies with the first (or, at the very least, the abysmal second) film. His commitment to authenticity, to creating a memorable theater experience, is not lost on audiences. Even with outrageous budgets, these movies never fail to turn a profit. Nobody understands the medium, both artistically and economically, better than Cruise, and it shows.
As a performer, Cruise continues to excel in the role of Agent Hunt, a character with whom audiences have developed a close relationship over the franchise’s 25 year history. Cruise recognizes this relationship and uses it to his advantage, working hard to keep audiences engaged in the character’s gradual progression. Dead Reckoning, though the seventh Mission: Impossible entry, contains a series of firsts for the character. For the first time, Hunt reaches a believable middle-ground between a hardened soldier and an aging, reflective man. Cruise’s performance is undeniably human; for the first time in the franchise, the losses hit hard. We feel Hunt’s sorrow alongside his characteristic determination.
It goes without saying, as well, that the stunt work on display in this film is second to none. Any doubt of Cruise’s commitment to the character or to audiences vanishes instantly upon watching him take a leaping plunge, atop a motorbike, off the side of a sheer mountain cliff.
For all of Cruise’s contributions to the franchise and to the films it continues to produce, Chris McQuarrie’s influence as director should not be understated. Though some bemoan the loss of “auteur” filmmakers’ influence as the franchise has aged, the consistent quality of McQuarrie’s films has settled audiences into a comfortable set of expectations, eager to have them shattered once again. His direction in Dead Reckoning is beyond simply competent; long sequences of necessary exposition feel alive and energetic thanks to some inventive and consistently unique coverage. The action is impeccably traced, easy to follow without feeling static for a moment. Last month’s Dial of Destiny, which also features a high-octane fight atop a moving train, only serves to highlight the technical and artistic mastery on display here. Where that film lags, Dead Reckoning moves. The film’s action sequences are fatiguing in much different ways than Mangold’s; his feel repetitive and boring, while McQuarrie’s leave audiences out of breath, hearts pounding, as if they themselves have just narrowly escaped a loaded gun or a crushing blow.
There is no franchise, no film, and no creative team more deserving of the legendary status they have acquired over the past decade. Dead Reckoning Part One delivers everything audiences could hope for and much, much more. It demands to be seen in theaters, in a packed crowd. It demands attention. For those willing to give it, the experience is unforgettable.
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