It might seem unwise –– or even unfair –– to compare the continuing ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise with the ever-more ridiculously over the top ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise, but the parallels are there, particularly in terms of blending continuing characters with outrageous stunts.
And in the trailer for the latest ‘M:I’ entry, ‘Dead Reckoning Part One’ there is certainly a focus on the family aspect of Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) team and how the latest villain targets them, spurring action from our hero.
But the ‘Mission’ movies, of course, boast the dual, not-so-secret weapons of Cruise (who is willing to put himself in mortal danger to pull off the latest set-pieces) and filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie, who has been guiding the franchise since he was brought on to help with 2011’s ‘Ghost Protocol’ and then directed the last few films, including this new two-parter.
(L to R) Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson in ‘Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Reckoning with the story
‘Dead Reckoning’s plot has still largely been kept under wraps, but the basics include Ethan Hunt committing himself to his latest mission, which brings him into contact with the villainous Gabriel, played by Esai Morales, who appears to have a connection to Hunt’s past and is looking to make sure he doesn’t have a future.
Gabriel’s threatening the team –– including Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust, Ving Rhames’ Luther and Simon Pegg’s Benji –– sparking the typically gritty response from Hunt: “If anything happens to them, there’s no place that I won’t go to kill you…”
Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in ‘Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Related Article: Tom Cruise Soars in New ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning’ Stunt Video
Cue plenty of the expected big stunts, such as Hunt driving a bike off a cliff (he has a parachute, he’s not a complete idiot), a clash on top of a speeding train and daring driving through the streets of Italian cities.
“We didn’t shy away from it,” McQuarrie told Empire Magazine of the train scene. “We pushed it to absolute extremes. It’s incredibly physical, incredibly dangerous and a very technically challenging sequence. And what I love is, these are shots I’m perfectly comfortable just throwing out there.”
In addition to Morales’ Gabriel, Ethan will also have a run in with Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny), a character from the first ‘Mission’ movie who, while he’s not a villain, is certainly no fan of Hunt and is looking to shut him down. Then there’s The Community, a gathering of leaders within the intelligence community who don’t seem thrilled with what Hunt’s team is investigating. They dispatch operatives played by Shea Whigham and ‘Top Gun: Maverick’s Greg Tarzan Davis, who seem set to cause more problems for our heroes.
(L to R) Hayley Atwell and Tom Cruise in ‘Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Who else is in the movie?
Completely new this time are Hayley Atwell’s Grace, plus Pom Klementieff, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss, Rob Delaney, Charles Parnell and Esai Morales, who was drafted in to replace Nicholas Hoult as the villain after the latter had a schedule clash due to the movie’s many delays.
With ‘Part Two‘ coming in 2024 (June 28th next year, to be exact), we’re expecting one heck of a cliffhanger. Probably involving an actual cliff.
‘Mission: Impossible –– Dead Reckoning Part One’, meanwhile, will be jumping into theaters on July 12th.
(L to R) Tome Cruise, director Christopher McQuarrie, and Rebecca Ferguson on the set of Paramount’s ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout.’
Other Movies Similar to ‘Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One:’
Buy ‘Mission: Impossible’ Movies On Amazon
‘Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One’ is produced by Paramount, Skydance Media, New Republic Pictures, and TC Productions. The movie is scheduled to release in theaters on July 12th, 2023.
