Streaming Standard: Mission Impossible- Dead Reckoning (Part One) {2023}

 As the new (and possibly last) Mission Impossible Film hits Theaters, let's jump back to the last one.

Full disclosure- I've never followed the Franchise much after the first 2.

Will this seventh Film win me over?

Ethan's Mission- should he choose to accept it- is to track down an old ally/enemy in the Arabian Desert.

Why does he need to do this?

Well, full-on exposition time...

The US Government accidentally created an AI so advanced that it declared its own independence and went free, calling itself The Entity.

I have a book called that, but it is about a Ghost that forces himself onto a woman.

This one is instead trying to get possession of a key.

Hunt and his compatriots are immediately on their own, as they want to get the key to destroy the Entity, not control it.

A corrupt US Government?  Perish the thought!

You know what this means- spy gadgets, deception and lots of running!

The fight over the key (which is all that this Movie is about) ends up involving a thief (Hayley Atwell).

Her and Cruise end up chased throughout Rome by the Police and a woman working for the Entity in a small car.

Anyone else getting Deja Vu?

Said woman- Pom Klementieff- is Paris and she- along with Gabriel (the other new antagonist) are a real thorn (or knife) in our heroes' sides.

Mind you, the Film's main Villain is 1,000,000,000 lines of code, so they have to do the heavy lifting.

Why is she dressed like Mad Moxxi though?

Can our heroes fight the future?

Can they- again, this is the only thing happening here- keep people from getting a key?

Are you just here for the Stunts?

To find out the answer to the first two questions (we all know the third), stream/buy it now.

A big, boisterous Film with lots of fun location, stunts and moments.

Does that make for a good Movie?

I suppose your mileage may vary.

This one is sometimes self-aware, notably in a Scene where they explain the IMF premise to the DNI and he's confused as to why they 'get to choose to accept it.'
Fair.

As for the rest, the Film is loud, with a Soundtrack that does about 40% of the heavy lifting. 
Imagine watching Tom Cruise run in a Rough Cut with no Soundtrack.  Would you?

The Film has some real self-importance going on, which can be fun at times or dour, depending on the moment.  It likes to make the big moments feel *really* dramatic.

There's enough fun here that I don't regret watching this as a semi-outsider.  I will say that it is funny to see the Director deride 'fan service' when that's exactly what is going on with bringing back the original IMF Director's Actor from 1996.

Come for the stunts.  Hopefully enjoy the Plot, even if it is only half of one.

That said, the signature stunt of the Film- Cruise riding a bike off of a cliff and parachuting to safety- has been done many times by yours truly....in GTA Online.

A fun Film that sometimes struggles with a dour, self-important feel.  Hopefully it has got you hyped for one (likely) last adventure.