My Review of "Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning part one"

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning part one is quite a mouth full when you read that out loud. It's one of the big releases of 2023 but it didn't fare well in the theatres. For this reason, it took me a while to get to this movie. I didn't have too much interest in it as I've never been a huge Mission Impossible franchise fan. With that said, I still appreciate all of the movies that have come out before it. I guess I'm part of the problem. I thought this was going to be more of the same. In a way it is and in a way it isn't.

The movie starts out with a mysterious Russian submarine. They apparently have the most advanced technology in the world. To their surprise they seem to have been infiltrated when they're supposed to be undetectable. All hands are on deck when they think they're going to be attacked. Instead they are a victim of their own paranoia or are they?

It turns out that their systems were hacked by someone and it ultimately destroyed them in the process. To launch their ultimate weapon they needed this special key that is divided into two pieces. Everything looked to be sunken in the depths of the sea until we find out that spies around the world have discovered their existence.

Things get a little murky at this point but you just go with the story. Logically the whole movie doesn't really make sense but if you think this way you won't be able to enjoy the rest of the movie. Think of it as a big blockbuster action movie and you're going to have a lot of fun.

So eventually our hero Ethan Hunt is on the case. He has to find the two halves of the key and find out what it opens. While chasing down the keys he and his wacky crew discover that there is a self aware AI that is plotting against them. I like this aspect of the movie because it makes you question everything. Since the whole team depends on technology to get their job done how are you going to circumvent an AI entity that is connected to most technology nowadays?

There's a ton of twists and turns and a few new characters to add to the fun. Due to the convoluted story it was really appreciated that the dialogue was slowed down and extremely simplified. Although, I think of myself as a smart person, I recognize that they needed to slow things down so I could understand. This may seem a little weird when you see this in action but it's important that they did this or else I would be lost.

Action sequences are top notch in this movie. I didn't really have any moments where I got pulled away from ridiculous CGI. A lot of this movie looked like it was done in real life. That's kind of insane because of the grand scale of some of the stunt work. It's quite impressive and in some ways this can be the reason for checking this movie out in the first place.

The cohesion of story, action and all out charisma of the characters are perfectly for a great night with this movie. It's very well crafted and extremely entertaining. I recognize that this movie has a part one in the title but it does have a satisfying ending that just so happens feels like it can continue on.

Overall, I had a great time with this one. Actually, a better time than I was expecting. It's a long one but the minutes pass by fast as the pacing of the movie is quick and frantic. I always felt like I was at the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next. I have to give this movie a 7.5 out of 10 and would definitely recommend to those that want a fun popcorn action movie.