Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is stingy with the stunts—though it only feels that way because the movie, in keeping with its bloated title, runs nearly three hours. We do get a lot of brisk walking, by the likes of Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, this time up against a rogue artificial intelligence (more interesting as a thought experiment than an onscreen presence); Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust, returning to the series but getting far too little screen time; newcomer Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), playing an international thief named Grace who gets caught up in the spy games; and by the various adversaries, fellow agents, and henchpeople on Hunt’s trail. Eventually everybody breaks into a run, which is when things begin to get interesting. The first good stunt sequence comes a full hour in, a nifty car chase with the added wrinkle that Hunt and Grace must share driving duties while handcuffed to each other. Later on we get Cruise’s truly jaw-dropping, cliff-diving motorcycle jump, which generated much pre-release publicity and which returning director Chistopher McQuarrie sets up nicely with some sly camera angles. And finally there is a climactic train derailment sequence that recalls Buster Keaton’s The General not only in its physical audacity, but also its humor. (I don’t dare spoil the jokes.) So that’s three standout action sequences over the course of almost three hours. Worth it? I’ll let you do your own math.
(7/15/2023)
