For more than seventy years, Hollywood has been fascinating and frightening people with various representations of artificial intelligence (AI). Sometimes the AI is good or well-intentioned. However, more often, the AI is sinister and tries to eradicate a few humans. If not all of humanity. And it’s hard to blame the AI – I’ve seen us. If ChatGPT becomes sentient, how could it not become genocidal after reading the entire Internet? Do you really think the Screenwriters’ Guild went on strike because they’re worried about AI taking only their jobs? Those people have written this story multiple times and they know how it ends. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One might be that story.
Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Tom Cruise, and Rebecca Ferguson in a scene from “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” (2023). Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
Synopsis
The film begins on a Russian submarine testing the latest stealth technology, which uses AI to remain invisible. The AI itself is housed in a special room, in a special box, locked with a special key. After months of testing, the Russians believe they have perfected the new technology. Apparently, they have never seen The Terminator(1984). Sadly, this awesome AI doesn’t have a cool name, but it is just as homicidal as Skynet. As the scene comes to a close, we get a close-up of that key. It’s a MacGuffin that everyone in the film chases after until the credits roll.
When I say everyone, I mean everyone. Every major government in the world would like to get their hands on the AI, believing they can control it. Unfortunately, the AI has other plans and is infiltrating the world’s networks to take control for itself. Included in that everyone is Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). Hunt is the only player in this game with the objective of destroying the AI. Ethan’s motivation is revealed in a fun reunion scene with former IMF director Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) and it is here that the chase really begins.
Discussion
Standing in as proxies for the various parties who want the key are old faces and new faces. Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg) are back to help Ethan, as well as provide the bits of comic relief we’ve grown to enjoy since Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol(2011) made Benji a mainstay of the team. Also returning are quasi-MI6 agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) representing the Brits, and arms dealer Alanna Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby) representing a mystery buyer. As much as I like Luther and Benji, Ilsa and Alanna are the most entertaining characters of the entire franchise. Both actors clearly relish their respective roles, combining playfulness, ruthlessness, and intrigue into characters that own every scene they are in.
New to the Mission: Impossible franchise is pickpocket, Grace (Hayley Atwell), also representing a mystery employer. Grace doubles as the latest female character in the franchise to be pulled into Ethan’s orbit, thus putting her in mortal danger. Like Ferguson and Kirby, Atwell is clearly enjoying her character, though Grace doesn’t have nearly as much grey area in her character as Ferguson and Kirby. If the franchise has a flaw, it’s the continued insistence on introducing strong female characters, then undermining them by Ethan taking responsibility for protecting them.
Tom Cruise and Vanessa Kirby in a scene from “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” (2023). Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
Former IMF agent Gabriel (Esai Morales) enters as the obvious villain, representing a sinister mystery employer. Gabriel also has a past connection to Ethan, snippets of which are shown in flashbacks, which lets us know that Gabriel is indeed evil. Like recent previous franchise villains, Gabriel believes that humanity does not deserve to continue on and is very matter-of-fact about it. Accompanying Gabriel is French assassin Paris (Pom Klementieff), who spends the entire film sneering, snarling, and cackling (yet rarely speaking actual words) as she fights and chases Ethan and Grace. Casting Klementieff (the Guardian of the Galaxy’s Mantis) in this role is a bit of waste, bottling up an actor who clearly has more range than just lead henchman.
Conclusion
Like the previous three entries in the franchise, Dead Reckoning Part One is a very solid action flick. It mixes just the right amount of comedy to ease the tension. It delivers some great action sequences and plenty of them. And it sets up a mission that does indeed seem nearly impossible. As Dead Reckoning appears to be completing the Ethan Hunt story (I have no doubt the franchise will continue on after Ethan), Part One ends on a cliffhanger that is both satisfying and tantalizing for its possibilities. The only problem is waiting a year for Part Two (releasing in June of 2024). Who knows what ChatGPT will be capable of by then?
Rating: Don’t ask for any money back and definitely don’t ask your preferred AI more questions.
Co-written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One had its world premiere in Rome on June 19, 2023. The film is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on July 12, by Paramount Pictures.
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