Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One Review - 7 Ups & 3 Downs
A step down from Fallout, but still an entertaining ride.
In a summer that's been a total bloodbath for major blockbusters so far - both critically and especially commercially - along comes the seventh Mission: Impossible movie to hopefully deliver a standout experience entirely worthy of the big-screen.
And indeed, Dead Reckoning Part One is absolutely a solid entry into Tom Cruise's impressively enduring spy action franchise, even if it's worth cautioning fans not to get too swept up in the vocal pre-release hype and near-unanimous critical praise.
While Cruise's latest doesn't match the heights of the last Mission: Impossible movie, Fallout, nor even last year's unexpectedly brilliant Top Gun: Maverick, it's nevertheless a consistently entertaining piece of work that should leave most viewers happy and eager to see Part Two.
As long as you aren't expecting an all-timer action classic on the level of Fallout - which, understandably, you might be - there's plenty here to enjoy, while being far from the best entry into the franchise.
But before we get into the many reasons you should seek out Dead Reckoning Part One on the biggest screen you can find, here's what doesn't quite work...