The 8th installment of the spy action thriller Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 hit theaters over the weekend. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie (Mission Impossible: Fallout and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation) brings another gut-wrenching story that deals with the dangers of modern-day technology.

 

Once again, we find Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) accepting a mission that could either get him or his team killed. Hunt will need to team up with a thief, Grace (Haley Atwell), who is connected to a key that has access to an ultimate power. Every world power is in pursuit of this key, but the biggest threat for Ethan is that a person from his past, Gabriel (Esai Morales), is back to attain the same key. Gabriel receives help from hired assassin, Paris (Pom Klementieff), to take out the competition. Ethan will need to rely on his team, Luther Stickell (Vingh Rhames), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), and Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) to prevent a catastrophic technological takeover. How much will Ethan risk obtaining this key?

 

With so many previous installments of a franchise you start to think, “Will this get old for audiences?” I can say that no it does not get old. This film builds upon what came before it and makes it even better than some of the older entries. I really enjoyed the story this time around because it’s a lot darker and it feels like every action and reaction can have severe consequences. It keeps you on the edge of your seat while biting your fingernails. The action in this was well done from the high-speed car chases to the hand-to-hand combat sequences. Tom Cruise steals the show once again with his acting and stunt work throughout the film. He just continues to get better and better in these action films. It truly is amazing that he can still do insane stunts being over 60 years old. The rest of the cast were great, and their roles were equally important. Each person served a purpose throughout the film. The only problem I had was with some of the green screen work and CGI. You could tell they were on a sound stage and not on site. It wasn’t a big issue, but it was noticeable throughout some of the action sequences.

 

My final verdict on this film is that I like the story, action, and stunt work. I still believe Mission Impossible: Fallout is better by a smidge, which isn’t bad at all. Fallout is probably the best film out of the whole franchise. So, should you head to the theaters to see this? YES! You are crazy if don’t see this in theaters. Do yourself a favor and go see this with your family or friends. Of course, that’s if you choose to accept this mission.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5