Franchise Expansion (Or Implosion) – Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One

Franchise Expansion (or Implosion) is a column that looks at franchises that have new installments or releases forthcoming. In looking at a franchise, each entry in a franchise will be given a review and then be examined as part of the bigger franchise. (i.e., Was this sequel a worthy expansion of this franchise or was it an implosion of sorts?)

The mission, which I have chosen to accept is to review the Mission: Impossible franchise. A series which has spanned almost three decades now. Recently, the seventh installment in the franchise opened and takes the cliffhanger approach for the first time in M:I history. Does that mean that this newest entry is the beginning of the end? Or is it simply a return to agitating theatrical exhibition trend? Let’s find out as I crack open the IMF file on Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)!

For this column, I’ll generally go back and rewatch every entry in a franchise in advance of the newest installment. Granted, I will only sometimes engage in such rewatches if it’s been a couple of years between entries, especially for long-running series, such as the one in review. But, since we’re living in the age of the film industry relying on intellectual properties more than ever, two years between sequels, prequels, or spin-offs is the standard gap. But as it has been a surprising five years between Mission: Impossible- Fallout (2018) and the newest Mission, I decided to go back and revisit all the previous installments. Admittedly, I know Mission: Impossible (1996), Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), and Mission: Impossible III (2006) like the back of my hand, so I didn’t necessarily have to revisit those. But going over the extant material is only fair.

In revisiting these movies, my opinions on the latter half of this series fluctuated a bit. That is to say Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011), while very solid, wasn’t quite as good as I remembered. After which, of course, I entered the current era of this franchise — the Tom Cruise/Christopher McQuarrie installments. As someone who has always loved that each of the first five Missions were helmed by different directors who brought their individual senses and styles to each of those films, the current era is a departure with a returning filmmaker. While McQuarrie’s first entry, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), certainly glommed onto the much stronger IMF team aspect established in its immediate predecessor, Ghost Protocol, he certainly brought his own stylistic approach to Rogue Nation — although it’s worth noting that McQuarrie did uncredited punch-up rewrites on Ghost Protocol‘s screenplay. No doubt due to being in Tom Cruise’s tiny stable of frequent collaborators.

I was initially dismayed by McQuarrie’s return as both director and sole writer for M:I – Fallout. Frankly, I was afraid the sequel would get repetitive at the time and lack the quality of each earlier film’s unique nature. However, I was blown away when it became clear that Fallout, while indeed of a piece with the previous McQuarrie/Cruise entry, is very much its own unique installment. This quality was primarily thanks to the director and his star (and co-producer) being well aware that a filmmaker had yet to return to the helm for this franchise before that sixth installment. As a result, McQuarrie intentionally took on a whole new film crew to make Fallout feel different from his previous sequel. Moreover, M:I – Fallout proved to be and remains the second-best movie in this franchise, next to the 1996 original. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when these previous two collaborations only grew more impressive in my estimation.

However, it’s worth noting that such a gap between sequels was not intended. On the contrary, this seventh installment was supposed to have the quickest turnaround in the franchise’s history, with a plan to release the then tentatively titled M:I 7 a mere two years after Fallout. Interestingly, in listening to episode 238 of Light the Fuse: The Official Mission: Impossible Podcast, Cruise essentially said that in early discussions, this film was supposed to be a single sequel. After early discussions, McQuarrie explained that the story he concocted was so big that it would need to be done as a two-parter.

Therefore, roughly six months after the release of Fallout, it was announced that production would begin on the next two Missions, which would be shot back-to-back. When this announcement was made, it sounded like they would be M:I 7 and M:I 8, which I remember finding surprising as Cruise and company are known to take their time with these sequels. Thus, while a bit disappointing to me then, it made more sense when it was announced that Dead Reckoning would be done as a theatrical cliffhanger.

Even still, a group of seasoned filmmaking professionals with such ambitious plans to deliver Part One would have been achievable. That is, until the COVID-19 pandemic caused lockdowns all over the globe. In fact, the day filming commenced on Dead Reckoning Part One in Venice, Italy, the country was already locked down. But as different parts of the world initiated lockdowns at other times, the production moved around the globe to locations where film production was still allowed.

Alas, the film — like many others at the time — experienced release date shuffles as the production on this particular Mission continued to halt and resume due to the pandemic. As you might imagine, such delays caused the production budget to increase to a final reported production budget of $291 million. Dead Reckoning Part One became the most expensive Mission and the most expensive film of Cruise’s career as an actor or producer, which is saying something! Unsurprisingly, Cruise made the news twice during this difficult production: once by personally paying for a yacht for the rest of the cast and crew to isolate after 12 people in the production contracted COVID. Then, again, for going off on a few crew members for not following COVID protocols and properly masking up on set. While possibly excessive, the latter seemed perfectly understandable to me.

With so many delays and a story that needed to be split in two, what exactly is brought to us with Dead Reckoning Part One? Well, this seventh Mission is the most prescient (albeit somewhat fantastical) installment yet when it comes to the film’s McGuffin. Dead Reckoning Part One finds IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and the rest of his small but firmly established team on a mission to get a hold of two keys that can control an advanced AI-based weapons system known as “The Entity”. While not quite sentient, this piece of AI tech can compute information on a dime and present an immediate threat as it can take possession of any weapons system the controller of The Entity itself desires. Thus, the IMF, on behalf of CIA/IMF director Kittridge (Henry Czerny) — returning from the original film — is in the chase to get the keys to gain control of The Entity before anyone else who could pose a threat … not only national security, but the world at large can.

Oddly enough, the race to get this AI tech under lock-and-key comes from only some of the areas you would expect. The fact that other governments (or a myriad of criminal organizations for that matter) are chasing this same piece of artificial intelligence is merely implied. Instead, Ethan and company are really in a race with two people. The most prominent opposition is a thief-turned-terrorist named Gabriel (Esai Morales). He will do whatever it takes to control The Entity, including killing anyone who gets in his way. Also, an everyday thief, Grace (Hayley Atwell), gets intertwined between our heroes and villains. Everyone in-between unwittingly gets a hold of one of these keys, so they must all journey across the world until the pair of keys are united!

While this plot is undoubtedly timely, you have to suspend your disbelief a bit, even for a Mission: Impossible movie. The Entity, as it’s dubbed here, is reminiscent of Skynet from The Terminator franchise (1984-2019), which is one of the issues I have with the film. Yes, the idea of a conscious weapons-based AI program is terrifying, and this film’s approach is certainly more grounded than that sci-fi series. But The Entity’s existential threat needed to be expanded upon. If you’re going to stretch this story over two installments, why not show how everyone is after this artificial intelligence? And, to be fair, they might in Part Two. But for the case of this first half, it feels too much like a video game, chase-based plot for my liking.

Of course, part of the reason this film feels like a video game for me is its villain — Gabriel. Don’t get more wrong; Morales plays his part well enough, but the character could be more varied considering Ethan Hunt’s past adversaries. At times, Gabriel felt more like a cyborg than a human. Granted, such a quality is appropriate for this particular entry. Nevertheless, I still don’t care for it –especially considering that Gabriel has explicit ties to Ethan’s past, seemingly coming out of nowhere.

I also wasn’t fond of Dead Reckoning Part One‘s newly introduced supporting protagonist and possible love interest, Grace. Frankly, her character arc here strikes me as ridiculous. Sadly, though, this Mod Squad-esque idea is something McQuarrie doubles down on throughout the picture. Grace’s origins, in combination with Atwell’s performance, made this new female lead a bit grating. If, for no reason other than that, the film focuses too much on her and Ethan for my taste. This was a disappointing direction considering the Mission: Impossible film series had found the perfect balance to make this movie truly team-based over the last few films. At the same time, I have to admit that Atwell and Cruise have solid on-screen chemistry, and she integrates into the team well enough.

While these new characters didn’t thrill me, Cruise and the rest of the returning cast are all at the top of their game here. Moreover, this film has a couple of brief quiet moments where we see these characters access some more profound emotions. Outside of those rare moments, though, Dead Reckoning Part One is an absolute thrill ride and is, without a doubt, the most entertainment value you’ll get this summer if not this year! The action setpieces here are bigger and longer than ever, with almost no breaks between them. Admittedly, I could have used a little breather as I almost felt this particular Mission was too similar to a John Wick flick in its breathless pacing.

For me, the Mission: Impossible franchise is at its best when it slows down between pursuing its macguffins and the action that comes with that. Furthermore, this is not one of the best action movies ever made, as many of my fellow critics have dubbed it. Even still, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is no doubt a Franchise Expansion. This sequel expanded the series into a new bifurcated territory and beat the James Bond franchise (all of which you can read my reviews for on this same site) to the punch when it comes to AI being the villain. Beyond that, even with some quibbles, this movie is the most fun I’ve had in the theater this year and it demands a theatrical experience if you’re so inclined.

Unlike many franchises I’ve reviewed here, the immediate future of Mission: Impossible is more certain than most. Initially, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two was supposed to be released next Summer. Alas, like every other major motion picture in the pipeline, the conclusion to this cliffhanger has been put on hold due to the current Writer’s Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strikes. Considering these industrial actions have been going on for nearly 100 days, I’d guess Dead Reckoning Part Two will get delayed to December 2024 at the earliest. But I’m okay with that, as I’m guessing the conclusion will go in an aquatic direction, which is exciting to me!

Beyond that, between the subtitle of this two-parter and Cruise’s age, it was hypothesized that the seventh and upcoming eighth films would end this franchise. However, that notion was recently debunked as McQuarrie clarified that he has more ideas for Missions. More importantly, though, Cruise has said he wants to make these movies until he’s 80, citing Harrison Ford and the recently released Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) as an inspiration. Wherever these movies go, though, I’ll be there as the franchise will soon hit its 30th anniversary in 2026 and beyond!