There’s a definitive moment in the original Mission Impossible (1996) where Tom Cruise transforms from a drama-oriented actor who demands the truth in courtrooms to a full-fledged action star that is capable of saving the world from corrupt secret agents and charismatic weapon smugglers .

Sitting across from actor Henry Czerny, framed tightly within a Brian De Palma canted angle close up, Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt snarls “Kittridge, you haven’t seen me very upset.” From there, the scene heightens with Cruise performing a massive on-camera stunt where a piece of explosive chewing gum shatters the aquarium facade of a restaurant, which leads him to run out of the building as glass crumbles and water cascades into the cobblestone streets of Prague.

It’s in this singular cinematic moment with De Palma’s style in full effect, that actor and first-time producer Cruise makes the muscular-Reagan era action hero obsolete and marks his arrival as a true action star. Now, nearly 27 years later, he and his alter-ego Ethan Hunt have become Hollywood’s last action hero.

As Cruise continues to prove himself both as an actor obsessed with on-camera action extravagance and as an award winning producer capable of creating impeccably crafted productions, his Mission Impossible series has become more relevant than ever. With the threat of AI villainy and a looming”technological arm race,” amongst nations and operatives who are seeking to weaponize “The Entity,”, Ethan Hunt’s latest mission is a complex web that certainly leads to reckoning for him and his IMF family.

Although, the franchise has shifted away from its unique flavour of having each new instalment directed by a distinctly different filmmaker, the Christopher McQuarrie era of Mission Impossible has breathed new life into the series. With McQuarrie and his 1995 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in hand for The Usual Suspects (1995), the tone of the series has shifted from pulpy heist film to high octane globe trotting action spectacle. Importantly, with this shift, the human stakes that have always motivated super agent Ethan Hunt have remained the same and give the latest instalment the emotional weight needed to make all the mind-blowing action truly matter.

Equally, Cruise never truly receives the credit he rightfully deserves. As he’s done masterfully in dramatic films such as The Colour of Money (1986),  A Few Good Men (1992), The Firm (1993) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999) his ability to shed emotion in small and big moments is incomparable. This is evident throughout the original Mission Impossible where De Palma’s lens is helplessly in love with Cruise in close up. As De Palma readily knew, “The Cruise Close Up,” can radiate a wide spectrum of emotions. Love him or hate him, the longevity of his career and success of his films suggest this to be true. There’s a connection made to character, story and audience that makes for true cinematic moments.

A scene that best exemplifies this in the Mission franchise is Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015). After coming back from the dead, Ethan stumbles while attempting to slide over the hood of a car. Benji (Simon Pegg) looks on in shock as Ethan is clearly out of sorts. Perfectly played by Cruise and crafted behind the camera by McQuarrie, this quiet moment speaks to his versatility that has injected the most recent chapters of Mission Impossible with a perfect balance of lightness and self-awareness that is missing from contemporary action franchises such as The Fast Saga. 

In fact, the screw-ball antics that have been gloriously blossoming between Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and Pegg’s Benji Dunn since Mission Impossible 3 (2006) reaches new old-Hollywood heights with the inclusion of Hayley Atwell’s Grace in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One. Their spirited interactions give the latest installation a whimsicality that is often missing from Hollywood blockbusters. 

Seemingly, with Ethan’s IMF story potentially coming to a close as Tom Cruise approaches the age of social security, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One is an action opus that is near perfection and shows no signs of Cruise or M:I crew letting up. At nearly a three-hour running time (that doesn’t feel its length at all), McQuarrie brings Ethan full circle with a new sense of emotional urgency that makes all the action feel so real and not just because Cruise puts himself in extreme danger for audience pleasure.

With the return of Henry Czerny as Kittridge and the AI villain called “The Entity,” the some-times silliness of the script (“The Entity” is said quite often and exposition runs long), never lessens the high stakes that prompts Ethan and team to once again travel the globe in order to save it. As Ethan and team mask up, plot and run (there’s plenty of Cruise running) to save the world, the most compelling aspect of Dead Reckoning, is the introduction of Ethan’s past and what brought him to the IMF. Similar to James Bond entry Skyfall (2012), the spy universe is expanded with a glimpse of backstory that will certainly broaden with Dead Reckoning Part Two next summer.

Without treading into spoiler territory, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One is a masterfully made summer spectacle with Cruise fully in control and delivering on the action. Like with last summer’s Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise saves Hollywood and the summer movie season, once again. 

Now playing, see Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One on the biggest screen possible.

Accept the mission!