Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (Part One)

I still can’t believe Tom Cruise is 61. Impossible! And how the hell is he doing another Mission Impossible movie? How does this series get more complex and dangerous over time? Strap in. It’s time for director Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (Part One)… what’s up with all this punctuation?

This installment, written by McQuarrie, Bruce Geller, and Erik Jendresen, opens up on a Russian submarine equipped with advanced artificial intelligence. This A.I. has infiltrated some of the most advanced computer systems worldwide, rendering the vessel virtually invisible to the entire world. However, it has gone rogue and tricked the sub into firing a torpedo at itself. An important bit of information here is that the A.I. can only be controlled by a key split into two pieces. Put the pieces together, and you control the world.

“…a key split into two pieces. Put the pieces together, and you control the world.”

This key is the McGuffin of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (Part One). The White Widow (Vanessa Kirby) has one piece and plans to sell the key to the highest bidder once she’s in possession of the other piece. Who has the other half? This is where Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) comes in. The other piece is traveling with a clandestine courier, and Ethan needs to put a tracker on the key and follow it to The White Widow. Once he has the fully assembled key, he can hand it over to the always good and righteous U.S. government featuring the return of Henry Czerny as Kittridge to make all things right again with the world.

In the IMF agent’s way is Grace (Haley Atwell), a highly-skilled thief and pick-pocket hired by an unknown client to steal the key without knowing its true nature. It’s up to Hunt’s team, Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames), and Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), to save the world. However, the A.I. has entrusted Ethan’s longtime nemesis, Gabriel (Esai Morales), and his henchperson, Paris (Pom Klementieff), to track down the key for a much bigger plan…

…did I mention Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (Part One) is a part one? The intriguing thing about this A.I. is that it can screw around with the world’s computer networks, thus rendering Gabriel invisible to the world and constantly throwing the IMF off his scent. Also, it is so intelligent it can anticipate every move Ethan and his team make, from following their actions to understanding Ethan’s thought process on finding the key.