Once again the world as we know it is under attack. A sentient AI known as the “Entity” has infiltrated the world’s digital databases and is poised to spark a great world war. Its abilities far outweigh the firepower of any army on the planet, making it the most powerful computer on Earth. Any world power that gains control of it will have the ability to control every country in the known world. Ethan Hunt and his crew are tasked with finding the “Entity’s” physical location before anyone else and bringing it home to the U.S. government. Though the motives for retrieving the entity seem pure, can anyone be entrusted with so much power? Is it safe in the hands of the American government or will it be used to impose their will on the rest of the world?
This is the seventh installment in the Mission Impossible franchise and the most mysterious. The mystery has caused an intense swell of excitement for these next two chapters. First, production was halted due to COVID, causing a delay in the release, then it resumed, and an eighth installment was announced. The plot, the entire cast, and in some instances even the name were withheld from the public until the final trailer dropped. Along with the trailer the studio released a teaser video featuring Tom Cruise riding a motorcycle off a cliff and free-falling into the canyon below, sending shockwaves through the fandom fueling an already raging inferno of anticipation. Thankfully satisfaction is on the horizon, as the film is released to audiences this week. The action-packed seventh installment is full of surprises, tongue-in-cheek references, and plenty of the death-defying stunts this franchise is famous for. Cruise went all out for this film performing some of the wildest tricks to date, surpassing the previous films and cementing his legacy as The number one action hero.
Dead Reckoning is the seventh film of the franchise, creating a new chapter with a surprising new threat unlike any other. The sixth film (Mission Impossible: Fallout) was released in 2018 and its plot revolved around the capture of Soloman Lane leader of the Syndicate which led to the creation of the Apostles, a wild anarchist organization terrorizing the world powers. It is unclear if the Apostles’ plans have fully disbanded but for this film, they aren’t a threat at all. Dead Reckoning takes place sometime after the Apostles’ plans to destroy the current world order were derailed by Ethan Hunt and his rogue team of experts. For Dead Reckoning the threat hits much closer to home, providing an eery undertone of realism. Just as social media is buzzing with different applications of AI from art to recipes, this new film shows the danger of AI and its all-consuming power. In the film, AI becomes sentient and learns how to manipulate radars and satellites to do its bidding. Technology even stretches the boundaries of reality, faking facial recognition and even mimicking voices. Terrifying to say the least, this is a power that must be stopped at all cost. This threat shouldn’t be studied, or replicated but stopped, immediately, before it lands in the wrong hands. It is up to Ethan Hunt and his team to get to the Entity before anyone else. In between its action-packed fight sequences and death-defying stunts, Dead Reckoning reaches for emotional depth, diving deeper into Hunt’s motives and exposing his vulnerability. Having lost so much and so many good people Hunt is forced to come to terms with the fact that these losses were necessary for the greater good a fact he finds hard to accept as his remaining crew member face unknown dangers readily under his command. Their loyalty pushes Hunt to fight harder even as he fears for their safety. Adding to his emotional angst is the return of a villain he thought was long gone. Hunt is in the fight of his life battling a global menace that threatens the present whilst also chasing a ghost from his past, leaving his future on an uncertain path that could lead to redemption or destruction.
In theaters nationwide on July 12th.