Mission Impossible 7 (Part 1) proves that Cruise’s touch remains golden

Between the Top Gun sequel last year and, now, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One (I know, it’s a mouthful), Tom Cruise is certainly doing everything he can to save the theater industry. He didn’t disappoint last year, and he doesn’t again, proving that he may still be the most bankable action star around, even at the ripe (young) age of 61.

In this film, Ethan Hunt and his team may be up against an enemy that cannot be defeated. The premise, set up in the first 15 or so minutes is thus: Russia has built an artificial intelligence program for its military, and was in the middle of testing it in their latest high-tech submarine, when the program becomes self aware and kills everyone on board. Called the Entity, it has now gone online and has the potential to hack into any system in the world. There may be only one way to stop it: locating the two halves of a key that plugs into its original mainframe in the sub (now resting at the bottom of the sea), where the Entity’s source code still rests. The problem is, very few people know what the keys do, or where the sub’s location rests, only that those keys have the potential for great power. As such, governments around the world and power individuals (mostly of the bad-guy variety) would all love to get their hands on that key. Hunt knows that cannot be allowed to happen, and destroying the Entity is the only option.

Hunted by his own government, bad characters the globe over, and a villain from his past who has been promised riches untold by the Entity, Ethan sets out to get those key halves and discover what they unlock. He has his duo of friends (Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg), and comes across old allies and enemies along the way. We also get a new member of the team: Grace (Hayley Atwell), a thief who originally wanted the key to sell to the highest bidder, but who gets drawn in to Ethan’s quest to do what is right.

This movie is fantastic. It is an old school action flick; in a time when stunts are slathered up by CGI (often to mixed results), much of this film is done the old fashioned way, with Cruise doing the bulk of his own stunts. And it tells. There is a feeling of “realness” even in the most insane car chases and fight scenes that is often lacking in most movies these days. If I have any quibbles, it’s that the movie feels a little long (expected, as it runs at 2 hours 43 minutes), and that some of the dialogue/explanation takes awhile to get through, to make sure the audience is getting everything that is going on. But even so, the action of the movie more than makes up for it, and it is a movie that must be seen on the big screen. Can’t wait to see the finale next year! ★★★★★