Scale. Grandiose. Ostentatious.
Unless you have been under a rock, you might have noticed the trend that has come in entertainment with the year 2023, be it in quantity or sheer production value. Capcom released a polished reimagining of their beloved action survival horror game Resident Evil 4, Warner Bros. released Barbie and Universal released Oppenheimer on the same day, HBO had their piece of the pie with the series finales to Succession and Barry, two of their finest shows and even premiering the game-to-tv adaptation The Last of Us. The opposite has happened too. Ubisoft rolled back on their limitless, 100+ hour RPG model for the Assassin's Creed franchise and went for a shorter game with Assassin's Creed: Mirage, Team Ninja basically did a side project with Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty before gearing up to release Rise of the Ronin come next year, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige promised there'll be less focus on quantity in the future. But one project that has both gone grander in the spectacle alley and a bit reserved in the narrative side, is none other than yet another one of Tom Cruise's expensive suicide attempts, Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One. And it is his most expensive attempt yet. And the expense may have taxed on the storytelling department too, unfortunately.
"Or as we like to call it.... Monday"
Dead Reckoning Part One finds the ragtag team of IMF agents on yet another mission; this time, a hunt for a device that can bring the international security systems to their knees, and anyone and everyone will kill everyone else to get it. Naturally, Ethan has vowed not to let it fall into *any*
hands, right or wrong be damned. What follows is 2 hours and 40 minutes of skirmishes among Ethan's team, the bounty hunters out to kill Ethan, newcomer pickpocket Grace played by Hayley Atwell and this film's main antagonist, the one who grants death like its a gift, Gabriel. Like the
previous installment, Fallout, the characterization is solid, the actors are punching above their weight as usual, and the movie is for a lack of a better word, enjoyable. Tom Cruise is, again, Tom Cruise, doing his usual bout of fencing with death as best as he can. It's also, thematically, the Mission: Impossible flick with the most going on, with concepts of revenge, disloyalty, truth-alteration, fearmongering, monopoly on security etc. And it is actually quite commendable. Until you notice the narrative cracks.....
"This Time, I'll Let You Choose."
Forgoing the mantra of "different director, different spice" long ago, Christopher McQuarrie returns to direct his third movie in the franchise. And somehow, he managed to make this movie feel different yet from his previous work. Gone are the gritty, noir-esque aesthetic, the tight pacing and dreamy camerawork of Fallout, this time a more kicked-back romp, with stakes that are higher, but none of the frantic, panicky undertones ever present in the previous movie. The runtime is also nothing to scoff at, one so ostentatious; the opening credits don't happen until half an hour into the movie. Even as a movie itself, while Dead Reckoning Part One is the longest running movie in the franchise, there's less going on
event-wise than Fallout. And that is not a bad thing on its own. This film has solid legs. But the pacing is admittedly a little janky. And some narrative choices do not hold up well upon magnified scrutiny. Nevertheless, as a purely action movie, Dead Reckoning Part One is no slouch. And even though the runtime might seem a little bloated, (which it kind of is, and some more cutting down would have helped the movie), its rewatchability is hardly diminished, on the contrary, getting more enjoyable upon every rewatch. But yes, it does feel McQuarrie chose scale over narrative cohesion a bit more than usual and its not without its merits and drawbacks.
"I Understand That You Are Upset"
Brian de Palma's work on the original Mission: Impossible still remains influential through the 30 years of the franchise's history. And as such, cinematographer Fraser Taggart saw fit to pay aesthetic homage to Palma's work by using Dutch angles to exemplify the quieter character moments. But the wide angles are also here to complement the set pieces, Dead Reckoning Part One is, nevertheless, as crazy as Mission: Impossible gets. The whole movie has a very classic action feel to it, which is thanks in no small part to Taggart's camerawork. The colors are punchy, the frames are well-composed, what else can I say? While a big departure from the gritty undertones of Fallout, Dead Reckoning Part One is also one fine looking piece of work.
And obviously, I am dutybound to mention Eddie Hamilton, the unsung hero of the crew. While the narrative pacing of the movie falls short, Hamilton is working overtime this go-around, giving the movie the snappiness it boasts so effortlessly. Not one cut, or jump feels inessential. The editing is, considering the materials Hamilton was given, fantastic.
All The Horns, All The Drums
One aspect the movie is absolutely infallible in, is the soundtrack. Returning composer Lorne Balfe presents Dead Reckoning Part One's music as testament as to why he is here to stay. And I'm all for it. Without hyperbole, this might be the best soundtrack among the Mission: Impossible movies. I am at a loss for words as to what else I can say about it. It is banging from the word go and doesn't let up until the credits are over. The strings, the drums, the blaring horns, are all a treat to the ears, just as they have been under Balfe's care in Fallout, only better this time around.
Cruise Wagon's First Pitstop
It is clearly evident that the Mission: Impossible franchise has sort of settled into a blockbuster style. Dead Reckoning Part One, in all its grandeur, (and like I said before, no slouch), feels the most standard of the new ones starting from 2011's Ghost Protocol. It is, in all its facets, a fun, bombastic action movie that has nothing but the audience's entertainment in mind, but with very little uniqueness that made the previous three installments stand out on their own.
While this review has been a hard criticism of the movie, I still have a soft spot for it. And I am sure I will, without a doubt, enjoy Part Two when it inevitably comes out. Nonetheless, Dead Reckoning Part One was one of my most anticipated movies of 2023, and some hiccups aside, absolutely made the year for me. Some years down the line, I hope to come back to this review and rework it with the contexts that will surely come with Part Two. Until then, I have a new fixation to waste hours upon to and I will happily stare at this frame below for as long as need be.
