It’s official. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is the best film in the series’ 27-year history. More than that, it’s also one of the best Hollywood films of all time.
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is out.
- It’s hailed as the best movie in the series.
- Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt.
- Part Two is set for 2024 release.
- The film features new and returning characters.
With the film set to hit theaters next week, the review embargo lifted earlier this week, giving critics a chance to publish their thoughts en masse and give us our thoughts about the film.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One has garnered a 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating from the 121 critics who have rated it so far. With that score, it takes the title of “Best Mission: Impossible film ever” off its predecessor – 2018’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
We expect the film to get more reviews in the coming weeks, especially after it arrives in theaters next week. This means the film’s rating can still drop. We doubt this will happen, though, especially since early test screenings of the film revealed positive reactions from viewers.
The Mission: Impossible franchise is one of the few great ones. Unlike some other franchises, such as the Vin Diesel-led Fast and Furious series, it has consistently churned out top-rated films over the years. In fact, the franchise seems to get better with each new iteration.
Case in point, 2015’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation earned a 94% Rotten Tomatoes rating, while the film before it, 2011’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, scored 93%.
In Dead Reckoning Part One, audiences will be treated to lead actor Tom Cruise’s suave and indelible performance as spymaster Ethan Hunt. They will also witness what has been touted as the “Biggest stunt in cinema history,” which involves Cruise riding a bike off a cliff. Literally.
Unlike the previous films, which had human villains with human blood and flesh, Cruise’s Hunt’s opponent is a product of the current times – Artificial Intelligence.
Since AI technology became more realistic than ever before late last year, there has been an uptick in conversations about it. Because of this, we think the film is timely. But then, its depiction of AI as a villain will probably only propagate public distrust of the technology, even though it has as much capacity for good – maybe even more – as it does for evil.
When Cruise’s Hunt vanquishes his AI enemy (we don’t see that happening in Dead Reckoning Part One since there is a Part Two slated for next year), he plans to find new villains to battle. On Monday, during an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, the 61-year-old actor admitted he wants to make Mission: Impossible films until he is 80.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One will race into theaters Tom Cruise-style next Wednesday, July 12.
