---
title: "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One"
year: 2023
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one"
fi1m_id: "mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one"
imdb_id: "tt9603212"
tmdb_id: 575264
wikidata_id: "Q61876370"
fi1m_score: 74
critics_score: 82
critics_reviews: 11
published: "2026-09-10"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:06.163229+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie · 2h 44m · MPA PG-13 · Action, Adventure, Thriller

## Identity

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one
- **IMDb ID:** tt9603212
- **TMDB ID:** 575264
- **Wikidata ID:** Q61876370
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9603212/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/575264, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q61876370

**Fi1m score: 74** · Critics 82 from 11 reviews

*In a sentence:* Two hours and forty-four minutes of Tom Cruise outrunning a villain who is, technically, a spreadsheet

> Christopher McQuarrie stages three of the best action sequences the series has produced and wraps them in an hour of people explaining an algorithm to each other. Worth your evening for the Rome chase alone; bring patience for the briefings.

## Synopsis

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team are sent after a key in two halves. Whoever holds both controls the Entity, an artificial intelligence that has slipped free of the people who built it, spread through every network on earth and begun predicting what its enemies will do next. Governments want it, and so does Gabriel (Esai Morales), a killer from Hunt’s past who now works for the machine. Grace (Hayley Atwell), who has half the key, keeps getting in the way. Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) are at Hunt’s side; Vanessa Kirby’s White Widow brokers deals; Henry Czerny’s Kittridge hunts the hunter.

## Review

Christopher McQuarrie has now directed three of these, after *Rogue Nation* and [*Fallout*](https://film.one/tv/fallout), and the series has reached the point where it talks about itself more than it needs to. *Dead Reckoning Part One* sends Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) after the two halves of a key that controls an artificial intelligence called the Entity, which has got into every network on earth and started predicting what people will do. Every government wants it. So does Gabriel (Esai Morales), a man from Hunt’s past who serves the machine. The film contains three of the best action sequences the series has produced and about an hour of people in rooms explaining the plot to one another. It is good, it is long, and it is not the series at its best.

The sequences first, because they are why anyone buys a ticket. In Rome, Hunt and Grace (Hayley Atwell), who has got hold of half the key, flee the police, and Fraser Taggart shoots it in flat daylight so every wing mirror and kerb is visible while Eddie Hamilton cuts so the geography never slips. We laughed out loud, which we had not expected from this series; the joke is that Cruise’s face never changes while the car does things a car should not. Then there is the motorcycle ride off a cliff, which the trailers have already shown and which still made us hold our breath, because Taggart holds the shot long enough for the bike to fall away and the man to keep going. The train in the last act we will not describe, except to say that it is the one stretch where the film stops explaining and simply moves.

Lorne Balfe’s score is drums, brass and the old theme stretched until it groans; it drives the action and leaves nothing behind. Gary Freeman’s production design is at its best in Rome, where the streets look like streets and not a set, and elsewhere settles for the grey rooms in which intelligence agencies have always been filmed. Jill Taylor dresses Vanessa Kirby’s White Widow in white, as ever, and Atwell in clothes that look borrowed, which is right.

Atwell is the reason to see it. Grace is out of her depth, knows it, and lies anyway, and Atwell plays her as a woman doing arithmetic behind her eyes in every scene. She and Cruise are funnier together than he has been with anyone since Rebecca Ferguson arrived two films ago. Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust is back and given less to do than she deserves. Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg do what they do. Henry Czerny returns as Kittridge, the man who called Hunt a traitor in the first film in 1996, and he is dry and slightly bored, which suits him. Shea Whigham and Greg Tarzan Davis spend the film one step behind Hunt, and Whigham finds a decent grudge to play.

The trouble is the villain. The Entity has no face, so Gabriel stands in for it, and Morales is given little but slow walks and lines about fate. Pom Klementieff, as his enforcer Paris, gets more done with a look than Morales manages with a speech. Worse are the explanations. McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen’s script stops, roughly every twenty minutes, for a room of officials or spies to say again what the key is and what the Entity wants. The first briefing is fine. By the third we were bored, and by the fourth we were working out how much of the 164 minutes remained, and resenting the film for making us.

Against the series’ own standards it sits below *Fallout*, which had a villain with a face and a plot that closed, and about level with *Rogue Nation*. Most critics have been warmer, and we see why: taken as set pieces alone, this is as good as the series has been. We could not take it as set pieces alone. It ends where a Part One must, with the story unfinished, and does not pretend otherwise.

See it on the largest screen you can find, with the sound up. When a man at a table begins to explain what the Entity wants, that is the moment to fetch a drink. He will still be explaining when you come back.

*Fi1m score 74, published 10 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like it, and the spread is narrow: the great majority land somewhere between admiring and delighted, with the reservations mostly about the same thing. The praise clusters around the set pieces, particularly the Rome car chase, the motorcycle cliff jump and the closing train sequence, and around Christopher McQuarrie’s staging of practical action with Tom Cruise at the centre of it. Several reviews also single out Hayley Atwell as a strong addition, and the chemistry between her and Cruise as the thing that makes the quieter stretches work.

The complaints are about the plot rather than the action: too much exposition about the AI villain, too many mechanics, a story that several critics find more convoluted than earlier entries, and a repeated verdict that it does not quite reach the level of Fallout. Two dissenters stand apart. Little White Lies finds it oddly flat despite the spectacle, and The Times calls it an incoherent mess in which the stunts are undone by the film around them.

## Straight answers

**Is Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One worth watching?**

*Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One* is worth watching for the action alone, and we scored it 74. Christopher McQuarrie stages three of the best sequences the series has produced, the Rome car chase chief among them, and Hayley Atwell is a real addition. Bring patience: the film stops roughly every twenty minutes for someone to explain the plot again.

**How long is Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, and what is it rated?**

*Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One* runs 2h 44m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is an action and adventure film.

**Where can I watch Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One in the US?**

*Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One* is streaming on Paramount+, The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, and is it suitable for children?**

*Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One* is a 12A in the UK, so it is action violence without lingering on injury, and older children who have enjoyed the earlier films will be fine. The set pieces are built for tension rather than fright: a car chase, a motorcycle ride off a cliff, a train. The 164-minute runtime is the harder ask for younger viewers.

**How does Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One compare to Mission: Impossible - Fallout?**

[*Mission: Impossible - Fallout*](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-fallout) is the better film, and *Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One* sits a clear step below it. The earlier film had a villain with a face and a plot that closed; this one has a faceless artificial intelligence, a stand-in villain given little to do, and a story left unfinished. Taken as set pieces alone, though, the newer film is as good as the series has been.

**Do you need to have seen the other Mission: Impossible films before Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One?**

*Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One* can be followed without the earlier films, because the script explains the key and the Entity several times over, whether you need it or not. Returning characters such as Ilsa Faust and Kittridge, back from the 1996 original, mean more if you know them. It is not a place to start, and it ends with the story unfinished.

**What should I watch after Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One?**

After *Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One*, try [*Mission: Impossible - Fallout*](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-fallout) (2018, Fi1m 87): The previous entry, with a villain you can see and a plot that finishes. Then [*Ronin*](https://film.one/film/ronin) (1998, Fi1m 80): Frankenheimer’s Paris car chases, shot so you always know where every car is; and [*Mad Max: Fury Road*](https://film.one/film/mad-max-fury-road) (2015, Fi1m 88): Two hours of chase with almost no briefings; the exposition is the driving.

**What order should I watch the Mission: Impossible films in?**

Release order is the safe choice for Mission: Impossible, and it is the order [our collection page](https://film.one/collections/mission-impossible) lists them in. *Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One* is number 7 of the 8 Mission: Impossible titles on Fi1m; before it comes [*Mission: Impossible - Fallout*](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-fallout) and after it [*Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning*](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-the-final-reckoning). [The full order.](https://film.one/collections/mission-impossible.md)

### Reviews we read (20)

- **Financial Times** (★★★★★): Christopher McQuarrie crafts a delirious thrill-ride with intricate action, villainous AI and thoughtful reinvention; Tom Cruise scales new heights of movie heroism. The reviewer singles out the mad, semi-abstract car chase in Rome and the film's imaginative discipline and call-backs to silent cinema for particular praise. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/a4735323-ff3b-497d-9cc3-2ca893e86972)
- **Radio Times**, Patrick Cremona (85/100, inferred): There are more than enough high-octane stunts and anxiety-inducing moments to set pulses racing, and the film offers a satisfying narrative arc while teeing up its successor. The set pieces are thrilling and Cruise’s death-defying exploits breathtaking, making it the epitome of popcorn cinema despite minor narrative lulls. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-1-review/)
- **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (B+): The review highlights how the film escalates the franchise's practical action spectacle and commentary on algorithms while reaffirming its unique place among blockbusters, even if it doesn't quite top Fallout. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one-review-1234881243/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (80/100, inferred): The film is ludicrously entertaining and a gleaming advertisement for Hollywood itself, with fluid, satisfying action sequences that build to a triumphantly visceral runaway-train climax. McQuarrie’s writing compensates for any lack of sheer visual verve while Cruise once again shoulders the weight of the movies. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-07-05/mission-impossible-7-review-tom-cruise-dead-reckoning-part-one)
- **Total Film**, Jamie Graham (4/5): While the film occasionally feels lumbering or unwieldy next to the franchise's high standards, it still delivers spectacular set-pieces and a satisfying narrative pause before the conclusion. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one-review/)
- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (80/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a familiar magic trick executed to perfection, praising its astonishing action sequences and spectacle while noting some overdone exposition about the AI villain. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/film-review-in-mission-impossible-7-tom-cruise-fights-ai.html)
- **Slant Magazine**, Jake Cole (3/4): The review criticizes the deadening setup and overabundance of plot mechanics but singles out the killer action set pieces and caper comedy for soaring entertainment value. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one-review-tom-cruise/)
- **Little White Lies**, Adam Woodward (4/3/3): It is formulaic fun but a strangely flat experience with diminishing returns amid ambitious action; the plot carries little emotional weight and feels overly contrived. The chemistry between Cruise, Ferguson and Atwell makes it click, and there are staggering set-pieces like the Rome car chase. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one)
- **Empire**, Alex Godfrey: The critic praises the deep creative partnership between Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie, highlighting the film's tactile, propulsive action sequences and the way it keeps the long-running saga thrilling and entertaining. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one/)
- **Screen Daily**: Brimming with confidence and swaggering showmanship, it further cements the series as a consistently dazzling action franchise with gripping thriller elements, spectacular set pieces and nuanced emotional shading. Atwell and Morales make strong additions, and Cruise’s Ethan shows subtle vulnerability. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one-review/5183496.article)
- **Sight and Sound**: The film demonstrates Tom Cruise’s determination to defy the ravages of time with a slick, stylised instalment that reliably puts its money on the screen. It favours cool-tempered kineticism and baroque set pieces while finding new ways to up the ante in the franchise. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one-thrilling-blockbuster-that-continually-ups-ante)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw: This is the Tom Cruisiest Mission: Impossible film yet, with Cruise's incredible stunts and the franchise's stamina and brio keeping it fresh seven films in. The reviewer singles out the legendary motorcycle cliff jump and other tremendous set pieces for praise while noting the silly-serious tone and ongoing vitality of the series. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jul/05/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one-review-tom-cruise)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney: The critic praises the film's breathless, high-octane stunt sequences and action set pieces but notes that the convoluted story takes a backseat and feels overly complicated compared to earlier entries. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one-review-tom-cruise-1235527819/)
- **The Times**: The film is a spirit-crushing mess assembled from half-completed rushes, with a poor script, slipshod story and action scenes that suffer from structural problems and feel random or context-free. The reviewer complains about the overall incoherence despite glimpses of what the stunts might have achieved in a better film. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one-review-tom-cruise-s-blockbuster-is-a-spirit-crushing-mess-twlzrtbfg)
- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (Critic's Pick): The critic finds the film a strong, timely entry that pairs breaking-news AI intrigue with increasingly elaborate practical action set pieces. McQuarrie delivers hall-of-fame stunts while tying storylines back into the franchise mythology, even if it does not quite top Fallout. [Read](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one-review-tom-cruise-1235661556/)
- **Den of Geek**, Don Kaye (4.5/5): The critic calls the film a masterful, twisting, often breathtaking action thriller that never lets up, with genuine character moments and practical stunts adding to its entertainment value. They single out the insanely choreographed action sequences and the strong chemistry between Cruise and Hayley Atwell for particular praise. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one-review-tom-cruise-new-heights/)
- **/Film**, Josh Spiegel (90/100, inferred): The critic hails the film as a masterpiece of action filmmaking and an unassailable high point in the franchise. They single out the precise, careful handling of emotional stakes around loss and choice alongside the breathtaking stunt sequences. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1332002/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one-spoiler-review/)
- **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (B+): The film is plenty of fun and one of the best action movies of the summer, but feels like a bit of a disappointment after Fallout and the series' high bar. The critic singles out the consistently exhilarating action sequences for praise while noting franchise bloat, over-explanation, and an underwhelming villain. [Read](https://collider.com/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-1-review/)
- **Deadline**, Todd McCarthy: The critic calls the film exceptional and a top-tier action picture that ramps up excitement and impressiveness to new levels. The creative team tops previous entries with inventive spectacle and strong performances led by Cruise. [Read](https://deadline.com/2023/07/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one-review-tom-cruise-1235429989/)
- **The Wrap**, Tomris Laffly: The critic praises the breathtaking stunts and set pieces as highlights of a top-shelf Tom Cruise sequel. McQuarrie’s direction keeps the film light on its feet while delivering crowd-pleasing action elevated by strong sound design. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one-review/)

## Details

- **Director:** Christopher McQuarrie
- **Director:** Christopher McQuarrie
- **Writer:** Christopher McQuarrie, Erik Jendresen
- **Cinematography:** Fraser Taggart
- **Editor:** Eddie Hamilton
- **Music:** Lorne Balfe
- **Production design:** Gary Freeman
- **Costume design:** Jill Taylor
- **Producer:** Christopher McQuarrie, Tom Cruise
- **Cast:** Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt; Hayley Atwell as Grace; Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell; Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn; Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust; Vanessa Kirby as The White Widow; Esai Morales as Gabriel; Pom Klementieff as Paris
- **Runtime:** 2h 44m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13
- **Release (the US):** 12 July 2023
- **Genres:** Action, Adventure, Thriller
- **Part of:** [Mission: Impossible](https://film.one/collections/mission-impossible.md) · 7 of 8
- **Budget:** $220 million
- **Box office:** $571 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HurjfO_TDlQ

## Where to watch in the US

- Paramount+: streaming
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $16.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, ES, FI, FR, GB, HR, HU, ID, IE, IN, IS, IT, JP, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, TH, TR, UA, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Mission: Impossible - Fallout* (2018), Fi1m 87: The previous entry, with a villain you can see and a plot that finishes. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-fallout.md)
- *Police Story* (1985): Jackie Chan does the real thing through real glass, and the bruises show.
- *Ronin* (1998), Fi1m 80: Frankenheimer’s Paris car chases, shot so you always know where every car is. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ronin.md)
- *Mad Max: Fury Road* (2015), Fi1m 88: Two hours of chase with almost no briefings; the exposition is the driving. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mad-max-fury-road.md)
- *The Wages of Fear* (1953), Fi1m 90: Two lorries, a mountain road and more dread than any algorithm has managed. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-wages-of-fear.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one