Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One Review - 7 Ups & 3 Downs

1. It's Not As Good As Fallout Or Ghost Protocol

Fallout set such a high bar for the series that it perhaps shouldn't be terribly surprising that Dead Reckoning Part One ends up falling short of it - no matter how persuasively the movie's marketing suggested otherwise.

As entertaining as this film is, it simply doesn't deliver the wit, kineticism, and inventiveness to the degree that both Fallout and the fourth film, Ghost Protocol, did so refreshingly.

This is a solidly crafted tentpole with flashes of invention but falls shy of greatness, much like Rogue Nation, which it's more-or-less on par with in terms of quality.

As such, this is a middle-to-upper tier entry into the franchise, which might disappoint some expecting an action extravaganza for the ages.

Given how messy the movie's overall narrative is, it's tough not to consider whether the pandemic - which caused production to stop-start numerous times - may have impacted McQuarrie's famously improv-heavy writing style, in turn resulting in a sequel that feels a little off at times.

These gripes aside, though, there's a lot to enjoy, and so here's what McQuarrie and Tom Cruise get oh-so-right...