Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands.Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands.Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands.
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- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 18 wins & 67 nominations total
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Summary
Reviewers say 'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One' offers thrilling action and impressive stunts, highlighting Tom Cruise's dedication. However, the convoluted plot, lack of character development, and inconsistent pacing are criticized. Hayley Atwell's Grace receives mixed reactions. The film's runtime and exposition reliance are contentious, with some finding it dragging and lacking emotional depth. Despite flaws, it is generally an enjoyable franchise entry.
Featured reviews
The latest Mission: Impossible film is a part one of two story but finishes in a satisfying way rather than annoying and you won't feel hard done by.
It's another great big screen action film that we've come to expect. It feels huge the whole time however I must say I while the set pieces were stellar, the hand to hand combat scenes were not great and a big step down from the last film (Fallout).
Thebeginning is slow with a lot of expository being dumped (more than you'd usually see) but once it gets going it is pretty nonstop.
This is a good chapter and Haley Atwell shines but it is nowhere near my favorite of the series.
7/10
Mi rankings
Mi6 Fallout Mi3 Mi4 Ghost Protocol Mission: Impossible Mi4 Rogue Nation Mi7 Dead Reckoning part one.
It's another great big screen action film that we've come to expect. It feels huge the whole time however I must say I while the set pieces were stellar, the hand to hand combat scenes were not great and a big step down from the last film (Fallout).
Thebeginning is slow with a lot of expository being dumped (more than you'd usually see) but once it gets going it is pretty nonstop.
This is a good chapter and Haley Atwell shines but it is nowhere near my favorite of the series.
7/10
Mi rankings
Mi6 Fallout Mi3 Mi4 Ghost Protocol Mission: Impossible Mi4 Rogue Nation Mi7 Dead Reckoning part one.
This movie started out promising but by the end, it just felt like being robbed of two and a half hours. I am a big fan of the MI movies (including MI2, which people seem to hate) and I could appreciate this movie for the few scenes that it did right, but it treats the audience like idiots in its bland, repetitive storyline (how many times do we need to hear the words "the key" and "the entity"? It was as if the writers of this movie just gave up on their jobs when they wrote this. Easily the weakest MI movie ever filmed. It had me staring at my watch every 20 minutes. As others have mentioned, the character development in this movie is also truly awful. I have barely any interest in seeing Part Two of Dead Reckoning at this point. The high scores this movie is getting absolutely baffle me. This movie by no means deserves a score higher than a 6 or a 6.5.
Ethan Hunt has left the mere secret agent status and has ascended to the all living perfect messiah.
There is so much wrong with this movie, which seriously pains me because I seriously love this series. The mission impossible movies have steadily become more convoluted and more stupidly written. This film reaches the peak of absurdity, feeling more like an over the top fast and furious movie. All foolish action, cheap parlor tricks to pull the heart strings (empty relationships), horrible writing, poor plot development.
I mean seriously what ever happened to show don't tell?! This is becoming rather ridiculous.
*convoluted villain dialogue* "So what you're telling me is you plan to establish a new world order if you get that key and if someone stops you that would be bad?!"
Has Ethan Hunt suddenly become this vanilla James Bond? With the Bond girl cycling through every few films? Lazy writing. Not natural feeling. Forced. Bligh
It pains me to give this so low.
The truth is, this movie is mindless entertaining action. Tom Cruise delivers on some awesome stunts (seldom compared to other MI films). It's not horrible. It's fun entertainment, but a scour on the (in my opinion) reputable authentic feeling mission impossible series.
There is so much wrong with this movie, which seriously pains me because I seriously love this series. The mission impossible movies have steadily become more convoluted and more stupidly written. This film reaches the peak of absurdity, feeling more like an over the top fast and furious movie. All foolish action, cheap parlor tricks to pull the heart strings (empty relationships), horrible writing, poor plot development.
I mean seriously what ever happened to show don't tell?! This is becoming rather ridiculous.
*convoluted villain dialogue* "So what you're telling me is you plan to establish a new world order if you get that key and if someone stops you that would be bad?!"
Has Ethan Hunt suddenly become this vanilla James Bond? With the Bond girl cycling through every few films? Lazy writing. Not natural feeling. Forced. Bligh
It pains me to give this so low.
The truth is, this movie is mindless entertaining action. Tom Cruise delivers on some awesome stunts (seldom compared to other MI films). It's not horrible. It's fun entertainment, but a scour on the (in my opinion) reputable authentic feeling mission impossible series.
Remember that classic MI scene where they broke in at CIA, and Cruise was hanging from the ceiling using wires? It's not a huge setpiece, but that scene is a nailbiting example of ingenious problem solving.
In 'Dead Reckoning' there's none of that. Here it's keys changing hands every 10 minutes that is suppose to pass as suspense. And of course the only true selling point: the stunts performed by Tom Cruise.
But I want and expect more than that.
A large part of the film is devoted to people sitting or standing in a room, explaining what the plot is. Endless talking and explaining. We are told in several scenes the same information we just heard. Worst one is Benji, who is merely there to repeat things for someone in the cast, to make sure everyone in the audience knows what is going on. That is sloppy writing. One of the biggest no-no's as a screenwriter is resolving to "so what you are saying is, that..." info sharing. Benji does this all the time. And he is as incompetent as usual. And he is supposed to be a part of a small and unique team that is saving the world? Really?
I hope MI:8 isn't just another Tom Cruise stunt reel where it looks like they make the story up as the go along, as long as all marks are checked in the end (running, face swapping, dealing with heights etc), and where character development takes a backseat. Bigger is not always better. And the action ALWAYS has to serve the story, not the other way around.
In 'Dead Reckoning' there's none of that. Here it's keys changing hands every 10 minutes that is suppose to pass as suspense. And of course the only true selling point: the stunts performed by Tom Cruise.
But I want and expect more than that.
A large part of the film is devoted to people sitting or standing in a room, explaining what the plot is. Endless talking and explaining. We are told in several scenes the same information we just heard. Worst one is Benji, who is merely there to repeat things for someone in the cast, to make sure everyone in the audience knows what is going on. That is sloppy writing. One of the biggest no-no's as a screenwriter is resolving to "so what you are saying is, that..." info sharing. Benji does this all the time. And he is as incompetent as usual. And he is supposed to be a part of a small and unique team that is saving the world? Really?
I hope MI:8 isn't just another Tom Cruise stunt reel where it looks like they make the story up as the go along, as long as all marks are checked in the end (running, face swapping, dealing with heights etc), and where character development takes a backseat. Bigger is not always better. And the action ALWAYS has to serve the story, not the other way around.
Just saw this one in a theatre, and boy... what an adrenaline rush it is. The latest Mission Impossible features some of the most incredible stunts ever put to camera. The story is absolutely exhilarating and continues to bring new life to a veteran movie franchise. The sheer scale of this movie is epic, and with every twist and turn of the movie, you cannot help but marvel at the incredible sets used to bring this movie to life. Such a movie begs to be seen on the biggest screen possible where you can truly feel the grandeur of the film. Tom Cruise has once again delivered one of the best movies of the year, and I cannot recommend that you see it enough!
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe frequent delays caused by COVID-19 ballooned the budget to $291 million, making it the most expensive Mission: Impossible film (surpassing Fallout, $178 million), the most expensive film of Tom Cruise's career (again surpassing Fallout), and the most expensive film ever produced by Paramount (surpassing Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), $217 million). The insurance company Chubb originally gave Paramount only £4.4 million (about $5.4 million) for the delays, arguing that the cast and crew could still fulfill their duties to the production despite being infected with COVID-19. Paramount sued Chubb in 2021, and the two companies settled in 2022. In 2023, Chubb gave Paramount a £57 million (about $71 million) payout for the COVID-caused delays, reducing the film's budget to about $220 million, which still makes it the most expensive film for Cruise, Paramount, and the franchise.
- GoofsSteam trains, especially moving at high speeds, need to be continuously provided with fuel, in this case coal. With the engineers killed and the controls opened all the way, the locomotive would have gradually slowed down and come to a halt as the pressure in the boiler dropped. That train would never have reached the bridge for that distance with no coal provided.
Since the early 1900s, when firebox coal consumption exceeded the efforts of two men, the trains have used mechanical stokers. The coal would continue feeding without one missing coal shoveler.
- Quotes
[from trailer]
Eugene Kittridge: Your days of fighting for the so-called greater good are over. This is our chance to control the truth. The concepts of right and wrong for everyone for centuries to come. You're fighting to save an ideal that doesn't exist. Never did. You need to pick a side.
- Crazy creditsDisclaimer as one of the last entries in the end credits scroll: "The Producers wish to express that in no way, shape or form were the Rome Spanish Steps used to drive a moving vehicle down. This segment of the film was re-created with a set built on a Studio backlot."
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Most Anticipated Franchises Returning in 2023 (2023)
- SoundtracksThe Mission: Impossible Theme
Written by Lalo Schifrin
- How long is Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Misión: Imposible - Sentencia Mortal Parte 1
- Filming locations
- Helsetkopen, Møre og Romsdal, Norway(motorcycle jump)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $291,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $172,640,980
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $54,688,347
- Jul 16, 2023
- Gross worldwide
- $571,125,435
- Runtime2 hours 43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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