Film review-Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One

Starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie

Cert 12A

By Roger Crow

At the start of James Cameron’s 1989 epic The Abyss, a nuclear submarine encounters an entity; the crew are killed, and a load of nukes linger on the seabed awaiting rescue.

For film lovers, there’s more than a ping of familiarity about the intro of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One, like a sonar recognising an enemy craft. And although we’ve been here before in films such as a couple of 007 epics, and Cameron’s wet version of Close Encounters, there’s so much going on with MIDRPO, as nobody is calling it, that you never feel short changed. Quite the opposite. 

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the old IMF gang are back together. Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) are like part of the furniture in Cruise’s juggernaut of chaos. 

The sublime Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), one of the saga’s strongest assets since Rogue Nation, gets to do her glacial assassin thing; Vanessa Kirby is back as The White Widow, a sales mediator between rival factions bidding in this case for a cruciform key. Like Dead Reckoning, it’s available in two parts, but how well the second movie slots into this one remains to be seen.

Strongest newcomer to the franchise is Hayley Atwell’s Grace, a light-fingered stranger who Hunt crosses paths with while Benji and Luther attempt to deactivate a very smart bomb at an airport. All of which paves the way for a hugely enjoyable chase round Rome in assorted cars where dozens of scooters are trashed. Hunt and Grace are cuffed together, which adds to the fun, and it’s here where the movie really shines. Fun, action packed, and like Fast X, Rome is such a great backdrop for OTT action that it’s a joy to behold.

Before long we’re off to Venice, where there’s more chases and a showdown on a bridge – one of ‘those’ moments which feels inevitable, but seems glossed over all too quickly. 

Added to the mix is Guardians of the Galaxy’s Pom Klementieff as Paris, a manic assassin whose Terminator 2-style pursuit of Hunt and Grace in an armoured truck is pure gold. Her manic grins and later ghostly make-up is as iconic as Harley Quinn. Esai Morales also stars as Gabriel, the arch villain, while other familiar faces include Mark Gatiss in a bit part, and Cary Elwes as a government suit.

If there’s a key problem with the movie it’s that some scenes last too long. That pre-credits sequence for a start, as thrilling as it is. There’s also a little too much soul-searching from Hunt and Grace, which is needed in places, but not at the expense of the thrills. And the epic 163-minute run time, like predecessor Fallout, is a little too generous. The franchise was spot on with 2015’s Rogue Nation, a personal favourite, though fans obviously have their own beloved chapters for different reasons. 

Cruise and company save the best for last with an audacious third act set on the Orient Express, part of which was shot in Pickering, though you’d never know it. Or maybe you would if you’re sharper eyed than me.

Admittedly train stunts were old hat 40 years ago when Roger Moore’s 007 was defying death in Octopussy, and since then the likes of Indiana Jones and assorted other heroes have done the ‘fist fight on top of a moving train/duck for tunnels’ thing. For a film so obsessed with artificial intelligence, conversely there’s something wonderfully old school about that steam train set piece, which is spoiled in the trailers, but what a thrill before the inevitable happens. 

Co-writer/director Christopher McQuarrie does a good job of orchestrating the comedy, thrills, drama and tragedy, while the score by Lorne Balfe gives us inevitable variations on Lalo Schifrin’s much loved original theme. 

The concluding part arrives in the summer of 2024, and given the wealth of stunts and set pieces on display here, Dead Reckoning – Part Two has a lot to live up to. 

Cast 8

Script 8

Direction 8

Rewatchability 9

Score 8

Editing 8

Film review: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Starring Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen

Directed by James Mangold

By Roger Crow

Many of us who love Indy thought his final adventure involved a Crystal Skull, malevolent aliens, and a fridge. That was 15 years ago, and when news broke that Disney was giving Jones a final outing, it seemed impossible. Could an 80-year-old actor appeal to the 18-35 market? Would there be a strong enough story? And who could carry on the franchise?

Well, the most lucrative audience members might be curious, the story is a cracker, and the good news is, Phoebe Waller-Bridge is wonderful. As always.

Grosmont, Yorkshire, where the early scenes of Indy V were shot in 2021

The plot. In 1944, Indy and Oxford professor Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) repeatedly escape death at the hands of the Nazis. Jones is about to be hung by the bad guys in a castle, when all hell breaks loose. In an all-too-brief scene shot at our very own Grosmont station, there’s a steam train packed with stolen artefacts because ‘Hitler’s a nut on the subject’. The quest for a coveted spear turns out to be a dead end, but luckily they happen upon half of the eponymous Mcguffin, which, as the title suggests, is not only an enigmatic gizmo, but the ‘Destiny’ bit is almost an anagram of Disney. (Clever marketing people almost embedding their brand in the title).

The head Nazi providing the through line for the yarn is Dr Voller (the ever brilliant Mads Mikkelsen), who oozes menace. 

Anyway, following that rip-roaring opening, we cut to 1969 New York, where retiring Indy struggles to sustain the attention of bored students at Hunter College. None of them writes ‘love you’ on their eyelids like in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

However, perky stranger/Indy’s goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe) seems to know a lot about Archimedes, and instantly brightens up every second of screen time from then on. Following the Moon landing, there’s a ticker tape astronaut parade through the city, which is a nice backdrop for one of the many chases. Indy and Helena versus seasoned Nazis, FBI agents and generic goons. 

As anachronisms are key in tentpole movies, we have a thrilling subway chase involving a horse and Jones. Because it looks weird, and cool, like it sort of did in True Lies. 

Anyway, we are eventually treated to one of a couple of legacy players teased in the trailer, and it’s a joy to see him.

Cut to Tangier, and following the introduction of Teddy (Ethann Isidore), Helena’s light-fingered young accomplice, there’s a throwback to the Raiders marketplace fight/chase, which feels right; Indy in more familiar territory. Like Octopussy, there’s a tuk-tuk chase, but everything borders on the comical and feels lightweight compared to a similar gob-smacking set piece in the 2011 Tintin movie. 

Cut to underwater shenanigans in Greece involving salty sea dog Renaldo (Antonio Banderas), some moving backstory about Indy’s past, a discovery, inevitable deaths, and then that third act. 

And what a third act it is. Like a revamp of cult movie The Final Countdown, there’s another anachronism, two planes, a date with destiny, and… well you’ll have to discover that for yourself. 

I’ve been a hardcore Indy fan since my first screening of Raiders in 1982, and seriously considered avoiding part five because of negative reviews and a need to remember my idol as a young man. But Indy was always destined to grow old disgracefully, as the excellent Young Indiana Jones TV series suggested. And that sucker punch finale left me drained. No spoilers, but I’m glad that what looked inevitable, like Han Solo’s fate in The Force Awakens, was rather different. 

It’s not a perfect movie. Some underwater scenes outstay their welcome, and some of the effects are ropey, though the de-aged Ford isn’t bad, but the scene of him running across the top of a train is. 

The main thing is it can be laugh-out-loud funny, heartbreakingly touching, and terrific value for money. 

Phoebe’s incarnation as the thinking person’s Lara Croft is a nice touch, and I’ll be very happy if she carries on the saga in years to come. 

You may hate it, or be bored by the 154-minute run time. Each to their own. I loved it, especially the John Williams score, which kept me hooked through the thousands of names in the closing credits. 

I will happily sit through it all again before it’s fast tracked to Disney+ in the coming weeks. 

One boulder may have stopped rolling but the torch has been passed, and, with any luck, it’s not going out. 

Story 8

Cast 9

Script 8

Score 8

Rewatchability 9