Wednesday 12 July 2023

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One - The scoop and digest

For the first time, mission is bisected.

Tom Cruise - Ethan Hunt
Hayley Atwell - Grace
Ving Rhames - Luther
Simon Pegg - Benji
Rebecca Ferguson - Ilsa Faust
Vanessa Kirby - Alanna Mitsopolis
Esai Morales - Gabriel

Summary

Ethan is assigned to retrieve the first half of a key from his ally Ilsa Faust.

In Washington, bigwigs are discussing the Entity, an artificial intelligence that has become sentient and developed a mind of its own.

Benji's description:

"A self-aware, self-learning, truth eating digital parasite infesting all of cyberspace."

Meanwhile, the Entity's chosen messenger Gabriel is keen to share the gift of death.

Everywhere and nowhere

Fallout was arguably a better film, but Christopher McQuarrie still delivers another relentlessly entertaining, pulsating thrill-ride.

Even though there's so much going on, story never feels messy.

We've already seen it in trailer, but Tom Cruise riding a motorcycle off a cliff is possibly his most ambitious stunt yet.

The man is FUCKING INSANE.

Ethan and Grace bomb around Rome in a yellow Fiat 500, referencing Lupin III.  Titular hero was first paired with classic motor in Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro.

Brilliant climax is interesting in more ways than one.

First off, shot of locomotive plunging into ravine mirrors Back to the Future Part III.

Once action moves inside, we watch a rejigged opening of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

WTF?

If I had to nitpick, Morales' boring villain had no presence whatsoever.

To be fair, there's time to right wrong.

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