Mission Impossible review: Tom Cruise pulls off incredible stunts in a visually stunning, paisa-vasool action entertainer

Starring: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, and Isai Morales, among others

In a scene from Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One, Tom Cruise revs a motorbike and drives off a really high mountain cliff in Norway. In another one of his incredible stunts, to fulfil yet another impossible mission, he pulls out a parachute and jumps onto a high speed train. 

There have been many versions of grown men battling it out atop trains running at high altitudes–slickly altered to suit different geographies–in almost all MI (Mission Impossible) films so far. Yet you never get tired of the scene–it still continues to drag you to the edge of your shaking seat (thanks to modern-day movie technology).

As Ethan Hunt (Cruise) manages to stay alive, in one piece, to take on more unthinkable risks to save billions on our planet, you heave a huge sigh of relief. 

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It isn’t easy to keep a franchise that’s nearly two decades old still relevant and thrilling. But director Christopher McQuarrie and Cruise have pulled off a mega spectacle that reiterates your faith in the cinematic grandeur of big-ticket movies.

Hunt has his tech experts Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) by his side as they deal with the mind games that AI plays.

In the backdrop of a stunning desert landscape, shooting mercenaries on horseback, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) returns to team up with Hunt. A sassy thief Grace (Hayley Atwell) too joins the mix as an unreliable team player, but Hunt recognises her potential and also cares for her. 

They all have to battle a highly complex, super intelligent rogue AI that the US and Russian governments are chasing with all their resources.  

Not just them, every other nation with aspirations for global dominance wants to control this piece of AI, whose source code is hidden in an unknown location. It has infiltrated intelligence service networks and databases across countries and entered the stock market and financial algorithms of every financial institution. 

While the AI, titled The Entity, is yet to show what it is truly capable of (this is probably saved for Part 2), it plays mind games and teases Hunt and his team, as they look for both parts of a key–an aesthetically designed tool to find the AI’s source code. 

The Entity has engaged Gabriel (Isai Morales), an antagonist from Hunt’s past before he joined the Impossible Mission Force, in an attempt to make this episode personal. He, in turn, has Paris (Pom Klementieff) by his side, to chase Hunt and Grace, as they race through Rome’s cramped alleyways in a funny Fiat car, sending an entire city’s police force and CIA super agents on a frenzied multi-vehicle chase. 

The plot comes together when Hunt’s loyalty to his team–comprising Gabriel, Benji, Luther and Grace–is put to the test and the women face threats to their lives. 

International arms dealer The White Widow (Vanessa Kirby) returns to pull off a deal with the AI. However, the storyline skirts clarity on who is manipulating whom during the course of this mission. 

As a plot, ‘saving the planet from total destruction’ has its limits. However, despite the limitations, writers Bruce Geller, Erik Jendresen and Macquarrie have managed to create a timely threat of epic proportions, drawing from international headlines–an AI entity that can go rogue and threaten global security and technology that can control human minds. 

Throughout the movie, amidst the risky situations, the banter of the lead characters infuses a dose of humour to lighten the otherwise serious scenario. 

The Entity has intelligence that can beat human thinking and ocean-deep knowledge of the behaviour and past actions of everyone involved. The only way to beat it is to depend on unpredictable human responses. 

Hunt’s emotional response–which places protecting his team above fulfilling the mission, might not seem entirely logical–but it lends itself neatly to the plot. 

Like with all movies in the franchise, the storyline builds up to extravagant and incredibly high-risk action and stunt scenes. And Hunt, along with his team, surmounts these challenges unscathed.

Everything comes into play–be it a classic sword-and-knife fight or crazy technological moments. And Cruise’s ability to pull off physically punishing stunts in his sixties is definitely applause worthy. 

The movie is visually rewarding–be it the scenes shot in gorgeous locations such as Rome and Venice or the train ride through Europe’s mountains. While sometimes the choices of the characters don’t add up, the sheer visual splendour of the film keeps one riveted. 

The success of the MI franchise is a testament to the magic of big-screen experiences, which is facing an existential crisis worldwide. Hopefully, movies like this will bring the crowds back to the halls.  

Dead Reckoning Part One closes with a heart-in-your-mouth train explosion, followed by a challenging rescue scene involving the protagonist–providing a perfect climax to a spectacular visual voyage.  

Watch the movie for more such jaw-dropping thrills!

Rating: 4.5/5