Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Review: Non-stop, heart-pounding action for nearly 3 hours

Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Review: Non-stop, heart-pounding action for nearly 3 hours.

Definitely go to the bathroom before watching
Rating:8 out of 10

In an era where beloved cultural icons like Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, James Bond, and Indiana Jones have either met their end or taken their final bow, Tom Cruise stands as the last bastion of the Hollywood superstars. As the Mission Impossible franchise approaches its eighth installment with Part 2, Cruise continues to defy age and expectations. Refusing to succumb to retirement or surrender to time, he relentlessly charges forward, and if his adrenaline-fueled running scenes are any indication, he shows no signs of slowing down.

For all the Mission Impossible and Tom Cruise enthusiasts out there, you can skip reading this review and dive right into the action-packed spectacle of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning if you haven't already. Much like in Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise graciously addresses his devoted fans with a pre-film message, acknowledging their loyalty and understanding their desires, a gesture that contrasts with recent Hollywood failures where executives seemed to have lost touch with their audience's preferences, resulting in consecutive box office disappointments.

Given the nearly three-hour runtime of the movie, make sure to visit the restroom beforehand, as there are very limited pauses in the action where you can take a break. Alternatively, consider waiting until the movie is available for streaming, allowing you to pause it at your convenience and enjoy it from the comfort of your own home, including your bathroom.

Spoiler Alert Zone: Continue at your own peril!

The movie commences with a Russian submarine equipped with an advanced super AI, enabling it to stealthily track other vessels. However, unexpectedly, the AI turns against its own crew, deceiving them into launching torpedoes at their own submarine.

Taking a step back, this situation evokes memories of the space race rivalry between the Soviet Union (Russia) and the United States. As NASA invested millions of taxpayer dollars to create a pen capable of writing in zero gravity, the Soviet cosmonauts opted for a simpler solution and relied on pencils.

The concept of a Russian submarine equipped with a super AI and intricate electronics susceptible to interference seems far-fetched. In reality, most nuclear Russian submarines likely operate on Cold War-era systems with analog instruments. If such advanced electronics and lack of fail safes were to be featured, it would be more plausible on a Chinese submarine. However, due to the sensitive Hollywood-China relationship and the lucrative Chinese movie-going audience, it's conceivable that such a storyline would limit the movie’s revenue generating potential.

This leads to the MacGuffin, a crucial object that drives the plot and motivates the characters, a crucifix key. This unique key comprises two parts that together unlock the AI within the Russian submarine. IMF (Impossible Mission Force, not International Monetary Fund) assigns Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise) the mission of retrieving both keys.

Gathering his trusted team of Benji Dunn (played by Simon Pegg) and Luther Stickell (played by Ving Rhames), along with newcomer Grace (played by Hayley Atwell), the following ensues: a failed key heist at Abu Dhabi airport, a thrilling car chase through the streets of Rome, an extravagant high-end party in Venice, and a jaw-dropping motorcycle leap off a cliff to catch a speeding train, all leading up to the classic Mission Impossible body double switch to secure the key.

Does the crucifix key hold the reins to the all-powerful, sentient AI, or will it inadvertently unleash chaos like opening Pandora's box? Considering the AI's capability to infiltrate anywhere globally, has Pandora's box already been opened? The question arises, why would the AI wish to destroy the submarine in the first place? What if it had triggered the detonation of the entire nuclear submarine, including itself? Wouldn't it be more strategic for the AI to manipulate the Russians, allowing it to remain undetected by other nations and silently expand its influence worldwide?

Although the primary antagonist appears to be the AI, known as the Entity, the more human adversary, Gabriel (played by Esai Morales), a villain employed by the Entity whose aspiration appears to be causing the Apocalypse.

Guided by the Entity, which possesses seemingly God-like abilities, Gabriel miraculously falls off the train at just the right moment, landing safely in an awaiting truck bed. One can't help but wonder, what if Gabriel had fallen off the wrong side of the train? What if the timing was off, or he missed the truck bed altogether? The situation seems so preposterous that obtaining the key should be trivial for the Entity.

The film attempts to forge a connection between Gabriel and Ethan Hunt's past, implying it led to "the choice" of joining the IMF. However, Gabriel's lack of clear motivation renders him as characterless as the Entity, leaving the audience struggling to care about his role in the story.

A more intriguing thing to note is that Gabriel shares his name with God's archangel from the Bible, which signifies "God is my strength." This namesake is significant as Gabriel was the angel who delivered the message to the virgin Mary about conceiving and bearing a son, Jesus. The biblical metaphor is evident, and it piques curiosity about what lies ahead for Gabriel in Part 2.

Throughout the film, Ethan rescues numerous individuals, despite their divergent objectives, such as sparing the life of a U.S. agent on the train and choosing not to eliminate the French assassin in Gabriel's employ.

Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning might be summerized as the following: Who's side is Ethan Hunt on? In the face of the Apocolypse, Ethan Hunt is on everyone's side.

And maybe that's the true Mission: Impossible, getting everyone to get along with what limited time we have on this Earth together.

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