Ethan Hunt needs to find a key.
Well, some other stuff happens…
Review © 2023 by Flytrap
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Written by: Bruce Geller, Erik Jendresen, Christopher McQuarrie
Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Pom Klementieff, Esai Morales, Henry Czerny, Vanessa Kirby
Complete cast and crew are HERE
Rated PG-13
Running time: 163 mins
Really, the whole point of this movie is the search for a key to a MacGuffin that can take over/end/otherwise ruin The World. That’s not to say it’s not an exciting quest — in fact, it’s pretty thrilling. Beautiful scenery, captured by some expert cinematography, enhanced by a rousing (and loud) score. Good versus evil, guns, knives, and fist fights galore. Old villains, lost loves, new faces to root for — this should have been spectacular. And mainly, it is.
However, a lot of the dialog seemed flat and uninvolving; I found myself cringing at times. And while the stunts were fine , that’s really all they were. Another car chase, another motorcycle chase, another fight on a high-speed train. I’ve seen it all, nothing really new or novel here. And after all that, two and a half hours or so, they didn’t resolve the problem. We have to wait however long to see what happens. But kudos especially to Atwell and Klementieff; you were great!
I’ll give this one a mild recommendation, but if possible, see a matinee to save some bucks. It’s not gory or sexed up, so it should be fine for the kiddos. There are no scenes after the fifteen minutes or so of credits (this is getting out of hand — someone make it stop), so give your bladder a break and duck on out.
Flytrap rating: 7/10
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