Review of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) by Random-Dude — 22 Jul 2023

A solid 8.

This is a superb example of enjoyable and entertaining techno-cringe in an action film. Does the tech and science check out? Not really. Did the techno mumbo-jumbo make me chuckle? Yes. Was it entertaining? Heck yes!

It's surreal how real and tangible everything in this movie looked compared to other recent action-focused films. This wasn't shot at a sound stage with greenscreen, and it really shows. The only shots that came across as artificial were the underwater CGI-shots of the submarine.

No uncanny-valley with 3D-modeled characters doing the stunts in a rendered environment, but actual old-school stuntwork in a built set or actual environment. How refreshing!

What brought it down for me was the length and distracting/repetitive music (not main theme) during chase & action scenes.

The part with best sound design was the jaw-dropping stunt-jump with a motorcycle. When the music stopped and gave the scene some air, it made it more impactfull. Wish the Venice chase & fight -scenes had toned down on the music as well.

There's a lot of long shots of characters' faces reacting and contemplating, and that got a bit boring halfway through and maybe should've been trimmed down. It happening so often slowed the pace a bit too much and some scenes lost momentum as a result.

There was one joke/gag that didn't land on the audience I watched this with, otherwise it was a very lively theater. The joke in question was with the yellow Ford, where Ethan is trying frantically to explain the car choise. The whole theater was silent and it felt awkward. Perhaps the joke would've landed better if I was watching this at home.

Bonus points for actually well-written female characters! They had their own motives and agendas, made both good and bad calls, and their awesomeness wasn't artificially elevated by diminishing surrounding male characters - so no Mary Sues. They each shone on their own merits as women without ditching feminine characteristics for masculinity. Traditionally feminine traits are a strength too, and this handled it beautifully. Truly a rarity these days.

What a year, when best-written female characters in cinema can be found in a film marketed to a mostly male audience, in a genre that has long history of objectifying women in the past. How the times have changed.