Tom Cruise is back to save movie theaters again.

Score: 4/5

Fun, the summer blockbuster season has been severely lacking that. Like last year with Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise is back to blast down the door with more fun than one might be able to handle. Seriously though, after Mission: Impossible Fallout’s revenge-like feel Dead Reckoning Part One generally feels more humorous in tone and in some of the action scenes. For someone who loved Fallout (and it probably is still my favorite), I still super enjoyed this new entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise.

The big action sequences were all super memorable with a hilarious car chase, and a final act involving a train being the major standouts. While it is expected this far into the franchise, it never ceases to amaze the absolutely insane stunts that Tom Cruise will perform for these movies. Driving a motorcycle off a mountain and parachuting to safety multiple times to give us, the audience, these wild shots on film are things no one else can provide. The Academy Awards should add a stunt category and it should be called the Cruise Award.

I must imagine the writers of this entry are super pleased with themselves as this entry involves AI in all the ways our society is currently freaking out about the topic. That’s a golf clap moment right there. Also, while this movie is labeled as a Part One, it doesn’t leave off with a massive cut-to-black cliffhanger. Like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the writers mapped out a complete story while setting the pieces for the next entry. Yes, I know that sounds like the nightmare that Marvel movies have become, but this isn’t to spin off to a dozen more movies, it’s only focused on what is immediately next, so it works.

Cast-wise, the ensemble Cruise has built around Ethan Hunt has returned, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Rebecca Ferguson all reprise their roles and help build on the stakes of this particular mission. Also returning is Vanessa Kirby’s White Widow, and the long-lost former head of the IMF Kenry Czerny’s Kittridge. Rounding out the already impressive list of talent are newcomers Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, and Esai Morales. Atwell’s Grace and Klementieff’s Paris were both major standouts to me. They injected energy and a fresh feel just like Rebecca Ferguson and Henry Cavill did when they first entered the franchise.

There are not many franchises that have been around as long as this one that still seems to blow everything else around it out of the water, but Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie have found a way to keep upping the ante. Here’s to another excellent Mission: Impossible experience. I can’t wait for the next one.