Changes: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning

Latest revision as of 22:29, 17 March 2024

“	Good evening, Mr. Hunt. It's been a long time. Our lives are the sum of our choices, and we cannot escape the past. Thirty years ago, you were offered the choice: join the IMF, or spend your life in prison. Because of your unique natural talents, your government forgave you. But we will never forget, just as you will never forget the death that brought you to us all those years ago. This is to remind you of your oath and allegiance to us. The stakes of this mission are higher than ever. Your habitual rogue behavior will not be tolerated. Should you choose to accept, it is imperative that you listen. Your government is searching for a key. Its purpose, its vital importance to us, is none of your concern. What should concern you is the involvement of your friend Ilsa Faust. She killed a courier in Istanbul, and we believe he was carrying one half of the key we’re searching for. Why she has chosen to interfere in this affair is a mystery, as are her whereabouts. What is certain is that your government has put a price on her head, and these bounty hunters are out to collect it. They never bring a fugitive back alive and rarely in one piece. We believe they are headed for the Arabian desert’s Empty Quarter in search of your friend. Find the bounty hunters, and you may just find her. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to acquire the key and deliver it to us. What happens to Ilsa after that is up to you. As always, if any members of your team are caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow all knowledge of your actions. This message will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Ethan.	”
–IMF mission briefing

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (formerly known as Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One) is the seventh instalment in the Mission: Impossible franchise. The film is directed by Christopher McQuarrie and was planned to be released on July 23, 2021, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was pushed back to November 19, 2021 then was pushed back again to September 30, 2022 then was pushed back once again in January 2022 to July 14, 2023. In Part One, Ethan and the team seek to destroy the Entity, a powerful AI, in order to keep its dangerous power away from corrupt governments. In several countries, the film's release date was moved forward two days to July 12, 2023.

The film was released digitally on October 10, 2023 and is set to release on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on October 31, 2023.

Rename[]

in January 18, 2024, it has been announced that Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One has been renamed to Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning.

Plot[]

The Russian submarine Sevastopol is preparing to return to Russia when an American submarine is detected by sonar nearby. The captain attempts to slip pass the sub, but the enemy vessel suddenly fires a torpedo and he is forced to fire one in return. Seconds before impact, both the American sub and torpedo suddenly disappear. The Russian torpedo changes course; the crew is unable to power it down and the Sevastopol takes a direct hit, sinking it and killing everyone onboard.

Ethan Hunt receives a new briefing from an IMF courier: he is instructed to track down Ilsa Faust, who has stolen one of two keys required to access a rogue AI, which has been dubbed "the Entity" and has the potential to access any digital system. Ilsa is now a fugitive with a large bounty on her head. Ethan tracks her down to a remote location in the Arabian Desert. Using the cover provided by a sandstorm, he and Ilsa eliminate the bounty hunters on her trail but Ilsa is shot and seemingly killed.

High-ranking officials of the U.S. Intelligence Community meet with DNI Denlinger and former IMF official turned CIA Director Eugene Kittridge, to discuss the threat posed by the Entity. Kittridge states that whoever can gain control of the Entity will be able to attain global hegemony and as such, every nation with the capable to search for the two missing keys will do so. However, he also notes that the Entity has gained a measure of sentience and could use its capabilities to threaten vital infrastructure, financial institutions, and other pillars of civilization, and that humans would be powerless to respond.

Kittridge's adjutant enters the room and deploys knockout gas; Kittridge is given a gas mask and remains awake, while the adjutant removes his Latex Mask to reveal Ethan. It is revealed that Ilsa is very much alive, as Ethan had faked her death and taken her key. He and Kittridge cannot agree on what to do with it - Kittridge wants to bring the Entity under IMF control while Ethan believes it is too dangerous to exist and seeks to kill it. Eventually, he simply tells his boss that he is going rogue, and that the IMF would be wise to stay out of his way. Kittridge alerts security to Ethan's presence, but gets shot with a tranquilizer dart.

Ethan, wearing another mask to impersonate the director, escapes and meets with Luther Stickell and Benji Dunn in the international airport at Abu Dhabi, where they have identified the man planning to sell the other key. Ethan tries to follow the man, but the key is suddenly stolen by a woman named Grace, whom Luther discovers to be a prolific thief and con artist. With a team of CIA agents led by Jasper Briggs in pursuit, Ethan convinces Grace to cooperate with him. However, she betrays his trust and boards a plane to Rome with the key, while Ethan only barely manages to evade Briggs and his team.

Benji is lured away into the airport's baggage area by a suspicious package, which turns out to contain a nuclear bomb. He disarms it, but learns that the device is fake and was planted as a means for the Entity to analyze him and Ethan, whom it views as a threat. Ethan orders the team to go their separate ways while he tips off the police in Rome to Grace's criminal history. Another man, Gabriel, is also shown to be following Grace, sending a French-speaking assassin, Paris, to capture her. Grace once again outsmarts Ethan and he reunites with Benji, Luther, and Ilsa, who has decided to risk her newfound freedom to help him.

They identify Grace's mysterious employer as Alanna Mitsopolis, and both Ethan and Ilsa infiltrate a party thrown by her organization. Grace and Gabriel are also present, and it is revealed that Ethan knew Gabriel from before he joined the IMF. Gabriel explains that he is now an agent of the Entity, and wants to obtain both keys to ensure that no one can exploit the AI's weaknesses. He tells Alanna that she will meet him in three hours on a train in the Austrian Alps and sell her half of the key (he already has the other half) because the alternative would be her certain death. Ethan begs Alanna not to succumb to Gabriel's threats, but she decides to comply.

Ethan, Ilsa, and Grace escape from the party, but Ethan is dumb and fooled by the Entity mimicking Benji's voice and walks into an ambush set by Paris; he beats her down but chooses not to kill her. Grace runs into Gabriel, and is quickly overpowered. Ilsa then intervenes, but Gabriel manages to stab her with Grace's knife. Ethan seemingly arrives too late, and is suddenly reminded of another woman he failed to prevent from dying at Gabriel's hands.

Back at their hideout, Grace finds herself riddled with guilt for Ilsa's assumed death. The team members each explain to her that they were all once in her shoes in the past - living dangerous lives and nearly getting killed before being offered the "choice" to join the IMF and use their skills to protect the world from the shadows. Ethan creates a plan: Grace will wear a mask and voice changer to assume Alanna's identity, board the train, obtain the key from Gabriel, and then pass it to Ethan, who will be disguised as her brother Zola. Ethan also assures Grace that once they are done, she should approach Kittridge and allow him to offer her the "choice".

The plan is soon ruined when the Entity disables Benji's equipment. He is able to finish Grace's mask, but not Ethan's. The team is forced to improvise by having Grace go to the meeting alone, while Ethan will access the train via motorcycle. Luther departs, telling Ethan that he needs to be completely isolated in order to prepare for the coming fight. Aboard the train, Grace dons her mask and tranquilizes the real Alanna before meeting with the buyer, who turns out to be Kittridge himself. Gabriel sabotages the train's controls via instructions provided by the Entity to prevent Ethan from boarding, and meets with Denlinger accompanied by Paris.

The DNI requests an "alliance" with the Entity, giving America dominion over the nations of the world, and threatens Gabriel with the knowledge that aboard the wreck of Sevastopol is the AI's source code, the only thing that could endanger its existence. Gabriel slits his throat and stabs Paris, telling her that no one who knows of Sevastopol can be left alive. Grace quickly settles into her role as "Alanna", agreeing to sell the keys but then deciding to betray Ethan once more by offering to conclude the deal on the promise that Kittridge use IMF resources to give her a new identity. Grace ultimately cannot bring herself to betray the team again, takes the keys, and leaves just as the real Alanna appears and exposes her.

Guided by Benji, Ethan drives off a cliff and parachutes down to board the train, just in time to save Grace from being shot dead by Zola and another one of Alanna's henchmen. Gabriel intercepts them and pockets the key. Ethan engages him in a close-quarters fight, but the sudden appearance of Briggs enables Gabriel to jump off the train and detonate bombs to destroy the tracks, ensuring that there will be no survivors. Ethan, having secretly pick-pocketed the key in time, has Briggs get the passengers to safety while he helps Grace escape from the train before it crashes into a ravine. They find Paris barely alive, and she gives them the information she learned about Sevastopol.

Ethan uses a wingsuit to make his getaway while Kittridge and Briggs find and stabilize Paris. Grace tells Kittridge that she accepts his offer to join the IMF. Ethan meets with Benji and they set off to find the submarine while Kittridge narrates how the world may not know who Ethan Hunt is, but are now counting on him to stop the machinations of the Entity.

Cast[]

Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt
Hayley Atwell as Grace
Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell
Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn
Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust
Vanessa Kirby as Alanna Mitsopolis/White Widow
Esai Morales as Gabriel
Pom Klementieff as Paris
Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge
Shea Whigham as Jasper Briggs
Greg Tarzan Davis as Degas
Frederick Schmidt as Zola Mitsopolis
Mariela Garriga as Marie
Cary Elwes as Denlinger
Rob Delaney as JSOC Representative
Indira Varma as DIA Representative
Charles Parnell as NRO Representative
Mark Gatiss as NSA Representative
Marcin Dorocinski as Captain
Alex James-Phelps as India Zulu 254

Production[]

This film were to be shot back-to-back with Mission: Impossible 8 (previously known as Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part Two), much like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In September 2019, director Christopher McQuarrie confirmed on social media that Hayley Atwell will join the cast.

The films are no longer being shot back to back.[1]

Production was stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and ended in September 2021.

Mission Impossible is a film that has always covered a wide geography of shooting. The new part is no exception and it was filmed in the Arabian Desert, Abu Dhabi Airport, the streets of Venice, near the most famous sights of Rome, on the picturesque railway lines of Norway and the lakes of England.

Music[]

The Sevastopol
The Phantom
Collision Alarm
A Ghost in the Machine
The Sum of Our Choices
Dead Reckoning Opening Titles
The Entity
Your Mission...
This Is Not a Drill
The Plot Thickens
You Are Dunn
Get Out Now
A Colorful Past
Rush Hour in Rome
Roman Getaway
You're Driving
Hit It
He Calls Himself Gabriel
A Most Probable Next
Run As Far As You Can
You Are Done
Chasing Grace
I Was Hoping It'd Be You
Ponte Dei Conzafelzi
To Be A Ghost
What Is Your Objective
Murder and The Orient Express
Mask of Lies
I Missed The Train
Key Details
The Moment of Truth
Should You Choose To Accept
Leap of Faith
Consequences
You Stop The Train
Chaos on the Line
Countdown
This Was the Plan
Curtain Call
Ethan's Fate*
A Life Remembered*
Point of No Return*
The World Is Changing*
The Iron Path*
Ink and Keys*
The Truth Is Vanishing*
Shadows of Sorrow*
Passion's Embrace*
The Excommunication of Autumn*
Mission Conclusive*
War Is Coming*
Xm09 Barren Wilderness*
Xm18 Dunes*
Xm22 Hunt*

* = these tracks are featured only on the Extended Edition.

Reception[]

Box Office[]

As of September 24, 2023, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One has grossed $172.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $395.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $567.5 million. Variety reported that given the film's massive budget, it would "likely not turn a profit" in its theatrical run, later estimating that it would lose the studio around $100 million if it did not cross $600 million worldwide. In September 2023, it was revealed through U.K. tax filings that Paramount had received a total of £57 million ($71 million) in COVID-19 insurance payouts related to the movie.

In the United States and Canada, Dead Reckoning Part One was initially projected to gross around $90 million from 4,327 theaters over its first five days, as well as another $160 million from 70 international territories, for a five-day worldwide debut of around $250 million. The film made $15.5 million on its first day (including $7 million from Tuesday night preview screenings), and $8.3 million on its second. After making $16.7 million on Friday, weekend and five-day estimates were lowered to $54 million and $78 million, respectively. The film went on to debut to $54.7 million in its opening weekend and a total of $78.5 million over its first five days, just behind the second film's $78.8 million in 2000. While the film fell short of expectations after it "turned out a much lower opening weekend than expected", Deadline Hollywood noted that unlike Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), another near-three hour film that cost around $300 million and opened to $84 million over its first five days, Dead Reckoning Part One benefitted from better critic and audience scores. Despite that, the film dropped 65% to $19.4 million in its second weekend, finishing fourth behind newcomers Barbie and Oppenheimer and holdover Sound of Freedom. Some outlets noted that the film's unexpected box office drop could be attributed to ceding IMAX screens to Oppenheimer, as well as business going to the Barbenheimer doubleheader phenomenon despite Sound of Freedom also outperforming it domestically. It made $10.6 million in its third weekend and $6.7 million in its fourth, finishing in fifth and seventh place, respectively.

Critics[]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 407 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8/10. The website's consensus reads: "With world-threatening stakes and epic set pieces to match that massive title, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One proves this is still a franchise you should choose to accept.". The site's Audience Score sits comfortably at 94% with over 5,000 verified ratings. The new Audience Says feature, implemented on February 2021, reads: "With a terrific cast and some beautifully shot stunts, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One might be the best action movie of the year.". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 66 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale (tied with Fallout for the highest grade of the series), while PostTrak reported 90% of filmgoers gave it a positive score.

In a positive review for The Guardian, Mark Kermode gave the film four out of five stars, applauding Cruise for his acting in the film, while also praising the film for its "join-the-dots plot" and "thrilling" action. Similarly, Todd McCarthy for Deadline Hollywood and Siddhant Adlakha for IGN found that the film represents "Hollywood action filmmaking at its peak" and that "if every tentpole franchise entry were this fun and finely tuned, the theatrical-versus-streaming debate would be immediately put to rest". Brian Truitt for USA Today lauded the action sequences, saying "it's the first half of a man vs. machine epic that doesn't skimp in the thrills department. Just don't think too hard about it, though you'll probably still give serious side-eye to your laptop."

In a mixed review for The Curb, Nadine Whitney criticized the film's "slow and sloppy pacing". Popmatters concurred, describing the film as an "overcooked, under-rehearsed vehicle". In a mixed review for Little White Lies, Adam Woodward said: "Tom Cruise and co gear up for another high-stakes mission, but it’s diminishing returns amid all the ambitious action".

Gallery[]

Opening Title Sequence & Curtain Call Sequence[]

Dead Reckoning Part One - Opening Title Sequence

Dead Reckoning Part One - Curtain Call Sequence

Trailers[]

Mission- Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - Official Teaser Trailer (2023 Movie) - Tom Cruise

Mission- Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - Official Trailer (2023 Movie) - Tom Cruise

TOM CRUISE RUNNING IN MISSION- IMPOSSIBLE SINCE 1996

Mission- Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - Final Trailer (2023 Movie) - Tom Cruise

Behind the Scenes[]

Mission- Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One - The Biggest Stunt in Cinema History (Tom Cruise)

Mission- Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One With Introduction By Tom Cruise

Mission- Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - Rome Car Chase Behind-The-Scenes - Tom Cruise

Mission- Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - Speedflying Behind-The-Scenes - Tom Cruise-2

Mission- Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - Train Stunt Behind-The-Scenes - Tom Cruise-2

Mission- Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - 4 City Surprise (2023 Movie) - Tom Cruise

Mission- Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - Venice Chase Behind-The-Scenes - Tom Cruise

Mission- Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - World Tour (2023 Movie) - Tom Cruise

Mission- Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - Afterparty Q&A with Tom Cruise & Cast (2023 Movie)

Posters[]

Characters[]

Characters (Textless)[]

Trivia[]

Dead Reckoning surpasses several records set by Fallout, including:
- Longest entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise: whereas Fallout was 2hrs and 28mns, Dead Reckoning is 2hrs and 43mns, a full 15 minutes longer.
- Most expensive Mission: Impossible movie: Fallout's budget was 178 million dollars, whilst Dead Reckoning's budget stands at 291 million dollars, 113 million dollars more expensive.
- Longest score for a Mission: Impossible movie: Fallout's score was 26 tracks and 1-and-a-half-hours long. Dead Reckoning's score is 39 tracks and 2 hours long. Including the Extended Edition, the score for Dead Reckoning stands at a staggering 54 tracks and a 3 hour runtime.
- Longest time taken to drop the title sequence: Fallout's title sequence drops sixteen minutes in, after Ethan Hunt knocks out Nils Delbruuk with a serum. Dead Reckoning's title sequence is dropped twenty-eight minutes in, after Ethan Hunt assumes Kittridge's identity using a Latex Mask before tranquilizing him.
The chase in the yellow Fiat is likely a reference to Lupin III. The Lupin III manga parodied the Mission Impossible TV series in the early chapter Operation Shippai (titled Impression Impossible in English).
At the 96th Academy Awards in 2024, Dead Reckoning was nominated for Best Sound and Best Visual effects, making it the first Mission: Impossible film to be nominated for an Academy Award. However, it lost both, losing the former to The Zone of Interest and the latter to Godzilla Minus One.