Why So Long, Mr. Cruise of Mission Impossible!?

In light of the newest Mission: Impossible movie premiering this month, I decided to watch the 2023 release, Dead Reckoning Part One. And after finishing it, one question lingered in my mind: why was this movie so long?

Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands. — IMDb

Following Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) throughout his Mission: Impossible journey has always left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, the soft reboot of the series with fresh additions brought new energy to the franchise. But the longer it goes on, the more exhausted I feel.

To me, Dead Reckoning Part One is a perfect example of how a franchise can become redundant by doing the same thing over and over again. There’s a global threat that Hunt and his team must stop, Hunt ends up in dangerous situations, Cruise performs a terrifying stunt himself, and, of course, there’s always a woman Hunt feels compelled to protect.

This installment even brought back a character from the past, recycling a familiar storyline to evoke nostalgia and squeeze out some emotion. But it didn’t work for me. I felt numb when Rebecca Ferguson’s character died. It had no emotional impact because, by that point, I was already too drained.

At the end of the day, the film was simply too long, and I couldn’t wait for it to be over. The action sequences weren’t exciting enough to make the plot feel thrilling. I just needed less of Dead Reckoning Part One — less Hunt, less IMF team, less everything.

Another letdown was the lack of humor. There wasn’t nearly enough of it, and I felt Simon Pegg’s comedic timing was completely wasted. I remember earlier films being funnier, which helped balance out the tension and made the franchise more entertaining.

Still, even though I didn’t enjoy Dead Reckoning Part One and wasn’t impressed by its storyline, I’ll probably end up watching the newest addition. I’m too invested at this point — not just in the characters, but in the idea that maybe, just maybe, they’ll bring back the Mission: Impossible spark that was missing from this one.