DannyGReviews’s review published on Letterboxd:
Dutch angles are BACK, baby!
The Christopher McQuarrie "Mission Impossible" films are literally all I could ever want in cinema, and I refuse to believe that this installment is 2 hours and 43 minutes long! Eddie Hamilton is one of the GOAT editors in the biz and even though "Fallout" is a better film, "Dead Reckoning" might be his crowning achievement. I've been fatigued by bloated movies recently, as it seems like every film is now 3 hours long, but I never once felt the runtime here. The film seamlessly flows from one scene to another, an elegance seemingly lost in today's age of exhausting, overstuffed blockbusters. Very rarely do I want to see more of a film after it crosses the 2.5 hour mark, but I could have watched that train climax go on for 30 minutes longer.
I love how all three McQuarrie M:I films have a scene or two where our characters meet up in a space and discuss how the villain has anticipated Ethan Hunt's every move, using this knowledge to their advantage to essentially trick (or knowingly use) the IMF to do their bidding. Their destinies have been preordained, so Hunt realizes that the only way forward is to do exactly what the villain wants them to do, much to the chagrin of the other team members. Of course, as Ethan is the "living manifestation of destiny," he always has one trick up his sleeve, one thing that the villain (and the audience) could NEVER anticipate, leading to a barnburner of a finale that is as much an intellectual exercise as it is an exercise in silly, wackadoodle mayhem (a paradox).
McQuarrie does a stellar job of being self-aware of the goofiness of the franchise while also not disparaging it. The new additions to the cast are all great, especially Pom Klementieff. I didn’t know that I needed a crazy French lady to antagonize Tom Cruise for the whole movie, but I’m sure glad the writers did! And I'm so happy to see my boy Esai Morales featured in a blockbuster film like this. I've been singing his praises ever since season 1 of "Ozark," and his time has finally come. And let's not forget about the return of the slimiest slimeball of 'em all, Kittridge, played by Henry Czerny, who is ham-balling it up to 11. I love ALL the connections to the first movie, come to think of it! Kittridge, the White Widow's mom, the third act train climax, and of course, those friggen Dutch angles! When Dutch angles are done right, there's nothing better!
