‘Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One’ is funny, action-packed movie with an enemy you’ll recognise, AI

Traversing the Arabian Desert and Venice and even boarding the Orient Express, Hunt and his team are in search of the key needed to destroy an artificial intelligence, called “the Entity”.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is full of thrilling absurdity

The program was originally designed to gather intelligence, but somehow, it became a “self-aware, self-learning, truth-eating digital parasite”, Dunn says in the film. It can imitate people, break into intelligence agencies, and hack into enemy weapons – making it one of Hunt’s most challenging foes.

Gabriel (Esai Morales) is the Entity’s mysterious liaison, carrying out the machine’s orders in the real world. If Hunt is to shut down the Entity and prevent anyone from controlling it, he must get to the key before Gabriel does.

The principal antagonist being an AI “parasite” is relevant as it reflects the real-world debate about privacy, social media algorithms and generative AI. In one scene, Dunn must solve some cryptic riddles, but every answer allows the Entity to profile him, learning his strengths and weaknesses.

This is a more nefarious version of real-world social media algorithms, which use our activities to suggest more content, push us to buy things and keep us hooked on their platforms. The film portrays how we should be careful about the information and power that we give to machines, which have no sense of morality.

Another key element of Dead Reckoning is how it recalls elements from past films in the series. It contains flashbacks to Hunt’s life before joining IMF, from the death of a mysterious woman to encounters with Gabriel.

The movie is going back to how it all began – even in the stunts and gadgets it uses.

In one scene, Hunt assumes the face of a high-ranking official, before tranquillising them and escaping – this move is part of the Mission: Impossible textbook at this point. Even the official remarks “of course” before fainting.

But, as always these masks are not foolproof, and when it fails, the team’s plan changes at the last minute, leading to Hunt’s signature death-defying stunts – in this case, free-falling off a cliff.

Blending fast-paced action with witty one-liners and comedic moments, the film is sure to leave viewers laughing. One stand-out scene sees Hunt and his team having trouble navigating a winding road in a comically small yellow car. The scene is both humorous and thrilling, with their struggles behind the wheel causing the audience in the cinema to erupt in laughter.

The film’s heartwarming moments feature a strong bromance between Hunt and Dunn. Even as Dunn continues to set high expectations on his colleague, their friendship and loyalty shine through.

Amid the exciting action sequences and funny moments, the plot gets a bit lost. As the team tries to locate the Entity, the scenes jump back and forth between different locations and characters, making it difficult to keep track of the team’s progress and the stakes involved.

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The plot also introduces several new characters without developing their motivations or backgrounds, making it difficult to relate to these characters or understand their actions. The film remains vague on the exact connection between Gabriel and Hunt, which could be revealed in part two.

Overall, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One successfully delivers on its promise of being an action-packed spy fiction while blending in nostalgia, humour and social commentary on AI. Although the story in the film’s second half could have been better developed, the action-packed sequences keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

Despite its flaws, this is a movie that will appeal to fans of the franchise, as well as newcomers looking for a thrilling experience.