There is a detachment from the action in most big blockbusters due to an over-reliance on CGI, the Mission Impossible franchise sidesteps this by going old school with the stunts and scenery. This is accomplished by travelling to real places and putting stuntmen in real peril, and since this is a Tom Cruise film that usually means him taking the big risks.
Those big risks give the action on-screen a much more visceral impact and the wow factor is elevated substantially. This is also needed as the character development in this, the seventh time out is minimal. Cruise is such a recognisable celebrity that it is difficult to see him other than himself but in that context, he rarely disappoints.
The storyline of Dead Reckoning revolves around a hot topic in today’s news cycle Artificial Intelligence or AI as it is commonly known. The AI in this case is called The Entity and it represents a grave risk to all the nations of the world by being able to override any computer system and not just allowing your child to cheat on their term paper.
By now, you know what you are getting with the new entries in the Mission Impossible franchise. With Dead Reckoning Part One they have ramped up the action scenes in both intensity and duration. Even at its long running time of 163 minutes, there is enough frenetic action to keep you interested until the very end, which in this case is the halfway point with part two coming out next year.
Rob Hudson
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