In Writer and Director Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1, Tom Cruise plays compassionate badass Ethan Hunt, who poignantly tells international thief Grace, played by strong, beautiful Hayley Atwell, “I swear your life will always mean more to me than my own.” She says that he doesn’t even know her. Ethan replies, “What difference does that make.” IMF (Impossible Mission Force) Agent Ethan Hunt is always about the greater good, that his own life is expendable. That’s the compelling, uncompromising story by Erik Jendresen and Christopher McQuarrie, amidst the non-stop jaw-dropping action like Ethan jumping his motorcycle off a mountain, then skydiving midair. Yeah, that’s all Tom.
Sixty-one-year-old Tom Cruise absolutely brings it in Dead Reckoning. His Ethan expertly uses Aikido and kickboxing to fight his mortal enemy, Gabriel, played with calm ruthlessness by Esai Morales, atop the speeding Orient Express train. In the moving narrative arc, Ethan cries over the loss of someone he loved.
In Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen’s narrative, Tom embodies Ethan’s dark gravitas. Thirty years ago, Gabriel killed Ethan’s great love. Enraged, he kills Gabriel’s men but not Gabriel. Consequently, the IMF recruits Ethan as their agent. Tom Cruise’s authentic vulnerability instills poignancy in Ethan’s mission of vengeance without forfeiting his humanity. Director McQuarrie displays breathtaking eye candy like the climactic train crash. Still, Tom is the heart and soul of Dead Reckoning. He’s at his old school movie star best. Just saying.
Thief Grace stole one of the two keys that activate the Entity, the AI (Artificial Intelligence) gone rogue. Seems as though rogue AI is the new vogue. Not just your screenwriter’s AI. The Entity became sentient onboard a Russian nuclear submarine in the Bering Sea. The Entity created tragedy that sinks the submarine in Dead Reckoning at the bottom of the Bering Sea. However, the two keys go missing.
Ethan accepts his mission from CIA Director Kitteridge, played with snake-like zeal by Henry Czerny, to find his ex-lover, rogue MI-6 agent Ilsa Faust, played by beautiful, cool, strong Rebecca Fergusson, who possesses one of the keys. In the Yemen desert ambush, Ilsa saves Ethan’s life. Kitteridge set him up; betrayed him.
Kitteridge messed with the wrong man, Ethan. He confesses to Ethan the grave conspiracy surrounding the possible weaponized sentient Entity. Ethan assembles his IMF team: master hacker Luther, played by solid Ving Rhames, and reliable and funny Benji, played by smart, exasperated Simon Pegg. Grace has her own agenda to steal the key from the potential buyer. Intrepid CIA Agents Briggs and Dega, played by Shea Whigham and Greg Tarzan Davis, join the chase.
Eventually, Ilsa and the rest of the team arrive in Italy. In the surprisingly touching scene on the rooftop, Ilsa and Ethan share a quiet moment together. Ilsa leans her head on Ethan’s shoulder as he puts his arm around her. It’s about love. Ilsa’s life will always mean more to Ethan.
The expert martial arts in Dead Reckoning are dramatic and ingrained in the narrative. Grace dispatches Gabriel’s henchmen with her street fighting skills. Knife killer, Gabriel, fights Ilsa, striking her katana (sword) on the bridge. Ethan trades kickboxing elbows and kicks with Gabriel’s cold-blooded assassin, Paris, played by strong, stunning Pom Klementieff, in the narrow Venice alley. Paris viciously beats the shit out of Ethan, until he drops her with his strike.
In the profound narrative arc, Ethan shows Paris mercy, sparring her life. Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba said, “True victory is victory over oneself.” Ethan’s GOAT (Greatest of All-Time) opponent is only himself. Tom’s Ethan is poignantly human as the man wounded by vengeance and loss. He would sacrifice his life to save the world, for the greater good. Ethan is a good man. That all makes Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 something special. It’s one of the best action movies of the last ten years. It’s one of my favorite movies of the year, too. Just saying.
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Watch the official trailer here:
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Photo credit: Shutterstock, modified
