Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

8.7/10 stinky bananas

Tom Cruise rocks. This guy knows how to make a blockbuster, and that's exactly what this movie is - an action-packed blockbuster.

The action is non-stop. From the opening submarine scene to the train scene at the end, my eyes were glued to the screen trying to soak every last bit of it in. In the midst of all of that, there is the infamous cliff jumping scene, and boy did it live up to the hype. I don't think I took a single breath from the time he revved up his motorbike to the moment he crash landed on the train. Obviously I knew Tom didn't die doing the stunt, but I was still in awe that he fucking launched himself off a cliff for maybe 45 seconds of a movie. What a lunatic.

Comedy was definitely a bigger priority in this Mission Impossible than in any of the previous installments. And it worked out! I couldn't get enough of that cop guy pulling at everybody's face to make sure it wasn't a mask, it got a big laugh out of me every time.

Compared to Fallout and Rogue Nation, the espionage aspect of the movie is relatively weak. When I watch a spy thriller, I don't want to be able to predict what direction the movie is going. Dead Reckoning Part One is too damn predictable. There is a bad AI out there and you need a key to control it, that's it, that's the gist of the story. Not good enough for my lofty Mission Impossible standards.

The villain stinks. I don't give a rats ass about this AI thingamabob. The guy that represents the AI isn't any good either. I really hope they got something better cooking for Part Two.

This may be a stupid complaint, but why the hell did Hayley Atwell spend most of the movie sprinting away from Tom Cruise, the one guy attempting to help her. It was pretty damn annoying to watch. Tom Cruise would save her ass and then he would turn around and she is sprinting down the hallway and getting herself in more trouble that Tom Cruise would then have to save her from. Not very smart.

Go watch this movie in theatres if you have the chance, it's worth it.