Dead Reckoning part 1 is the newest outing in the MI franchise. I have to say I did enjoy most parts of it and found it entertaining, but generally it is not the best in the series, in fact, it could be the least interesting out of all the films.
I think the direction of the film is what makes it slightly weak. It lacked subtlety, it felt like it is divided into segments. The opening sequence when we follow the Russian submarine was ok, despite poorly acted dramatic scenes as we are introduced to the threat. The AbuDhabi desert sequence was interesting but brief, after which we are taken to one of the lamest scenes ever where the director of the American intelligence is having a debriefing with the rest of his staff, the entire staff start explaining the situation in a very funny and unrealistic way as each one of them gives a two to three phrases of speech and the rest of the sentence is completed by the next staff and they keep completing each other sentences in a very boring, unrealistic and repeated way. This never happens in real life meetings, i think the director was trying to please as much secondary actors as possible by giving them speaking roles just for the sake of it.
The AbuDhabi airport scene was also ok, nothing super and not a lot of action, just for the sake of introducing Grace, the latest of characters in the franchise.
The car chase scene in Rome is one of the highlights of the film, and is very thrilling and well executed. This is followed by another slow and unrealistic segment in Venice, when all characters meet in a party and start pointing fingers at each other and Ethan Hunt begs the Russian lady to take his side before they make their escape and a very boring fight/chase takes place in the streets of Venice just for the sake of sacrificing one of the good guys.
The Villain i may i add is two dimensional and uninteresting, probably one of the weakest of all films.
The final train segment is the most interesting and is probably what saves this movie from failure despite teeth cringing moments ( like when Hunt is chasing the train and finds himself on a mountain cliff, he snaps at Binji who just rambles about how he is stressed out right now and Ethan should give him a break ! ) does this type of dialogue actually happen in real life ?!
And yet another over long film, what's with films these days exceeding 2 hours 30 mints run time!! This one being 2 hours 45 minutes by the end of the film im so frustrated I just want to get it over with. Hey! If you can't make and conclude a film in 2 hours max, why are you in the movie making business??
Less is more !! Film makers need to keep viewers asking for more not less,, an ideal run time would be 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 10 minutes max ,, otherwise its just way too long and i'd rather stick to TV in this case.
The funny thing is, despite the over stretched run time, both the characters of Grace and the Villain Gabriel are poorly developed.
So yeah, the film still delivers interesting and action filled sequences, but lacks in subtlety and has poorly written dialogue at times. Stunts are not as mouth watering as the previous films but i really liked the Car chase and train fight stunts.
I think what's happening with the MI films is that they accomplished everything before and it's extremely difficult to outperform themselves anymore, i still admire their efforts in keeping to make more films out of the franchise.
I think the direction of the film is what makes it slightly weak. It lacked subtlety, it felt like it is divided into segments. The opening sequence when we follow the Russian submarine was ok, despite poorly acted dramatic scenes as we are introduced to the threat. The AbuDhabi desert sequence was interesting but brief, after which we are taken to one of the lamest scenes ever where the director of the American intelligence is having a debriefing with the rest of his staff, the entire staff start explaining the situation in a very funny and unrealistic way as each one of them gives a two to three phrases of speech and the rest of the sentence is completed by the next staff and they keep completing each other sentences in a very boring, unrealistic and repeated way. This never happens in real life meetings, i think the director was trying to please as much secondary actors as possible by giving them speaking roles just for the sake of it.
The AbuDhabi airport scene was also ok, nothing super and not a lot of action, just for the sake of introducing Grace, the latest of characters in the franchise.
The car chase scene in Rome is one of the highlights of the film, and is very thrilling and well executed. This is followed by another slow and unrealistic segment in Venice, when all characters meet in a party and start pointing fingers at each other and Ethan Hunt begs the Russian lady to take his side before they make their escape and a very boring fight/chase takes place in the streets of Venice just for the sake of sacrificing one of the good guys.
The Villain i may i add is two dimensional and uninteresting, probably one of the weakest of all films.
The final train segment is the most interesting and is probably what saves this movie from failure despite teeth cringing moments ( like when Hunt is chasing the train and finds himself on a mountain cliff, he snaps at Binji who just rambles about how he is stressed out right now and Ethan should give him a break ! ) does this type of dialogue actually happen in real life ?!
And yet another over long film, what's with films these days exceeding 2 hours 30 mints run time!! This one being 2 hours 45 minutes by the end of the film im so frustrated I just want to get it over with. Hey! If you can't make and conclude a film in 2 hours max, why are you in the movie making business??
Less is more !! Film makers need to keep viewers asking for more not less,, an ideal run time would be 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 10 minutes max ,, otherwise its just way too long and i'd rather stick to TV in this case.
The funny thing is, despite the over stretched run time, both the characters of Grace and the Villain Gabriel are poorly developed.
So yeah, the film still delivers interesting and action filled sequences, but lacks in subtlety and has poorly written dialogue at times. Stunts are not as mouth watering as the previous films but i really liked the Car chase and train fight stunts.
I think what's happening with the MI films is that they accomplished everything before and it's extremely difficult to outperform themselves anymore, i still admire their efforts in keeping to make more films out of the franchise.