Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One is a 2023 action film and the seventh in the Tom Cruise-led franchise directed and written by Christopher McQuarrie.

First off, what a title. That’s a mouthful. Ever since they started doing those “subtitles” rather than going with 4, 5, 6, the series has been a jaw cracker. “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” was short and sweet enough. This one is more… cumbersome.

But second off, what a movie.

Seven entries in (and this is in it of itself a remake of a 1960s and 80s TV show), and this franchise has to find some way to make the movies original and fresh without just resorting to “it’s bigger and badder!” If “bigger and badder” was the only way this franchise operated, we’d have been dead a long time ago. Certainly, “bigger and badder” is a part of it (the ever-increasing string of crazy stunts is a part of that), but Dead Reckoning Part One has more tricks up its sleeve to keep the possible penultimate installment still engaging for audiences.

How did they do it? Because Mission: Impossible is about the big stunts, yes, but within those big stunts is a focus on the characters. Specifically, this movie shines through its introduction of Hayley Atwell as Grace. It’s the characters that make this franchise what it is and keeps it fresh. Mild spoilers ahead for the movie, but it’s not much if you’ve been following the marketing materials.

The Characters of Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible has often featured new team members in each movie. Some stay for a movie (such as Paula Patton’s Jane Carter, or Henry Cavill’s August Walker), or two (such as Jeremy Renner’s William Brandt). A few have been constants (such as Simon Pegg’s Benji Dunn, Ving Rhames’ Luther Stickell, or Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust). There have always been people crossing and leaving Ethan’s path, some leaving without an explanation (like Jeremy Renner, who had to leave to due scheduling conflicts with the Avengers films). Hayley Atwell is our newest addition to the team.

So, what makes Hayley stand out from all these additions? What makes her unique in this revolving door of characters, some of whom make a huge impact, some of whom aren’t really all that memorable?

Mission: Impossible under Christopher McQuarrie’s careful eye (he’s been the series’ head since rewriting Ghost Protocol, the fourth M:I movie, in 2011) has become all about the characters. More than in the first few entries, McQ, as fans and crew members call him, has tried to spice things up by introducing people into the franchise that have unique attributes, motives, and personalities. Then he throws them together and sees what happens.

This worked to great effect in Fallout. Two key characters returned: our femme fatale Ilsa Faust, and the main villain of Rogue Nation, Sean Harris as Solomon Lane. Solomon Lane was a joy to watch; the fear Ethan Hunt experiences in every scene he’s in is palpable. Especially since, if you hadn’t seen any trailers, you didn’t know he was returning until a third of the way into the movie. He now had history with Ethan; he was out for him personally. Ilsa Faust had a relationship with him, too, as a spy working in his evil Rogue Nation agency, and so that ratcheted up the drama as Ilsa and Ethan disagree about what to do with Solomon. Add Henry Cavill’s duplicitous August Walker, and you have characters all mixed around each other for fun, drama, tension, and craziness.

Yes, these movies can be hard to follow sometimes, with so many different factions all with their own interests and goals, and the amount of double-crossing that takes place can be dizzying. But when this double-crossing and drama is done by memorable characters, it makes it much easier to follow. The drama is driven by characters, and that’s what sets Mission: Impossible apart. The unique characters who all bring their own fun and drama to the story are what make Mission: Impossible stand out from most action franchises.

Hayley Atwell as Grace, and other characters

So, what does Hayley Atwell bring to the table? A character we haven’t had in Mission: Impossible. Characters like her are common in so many different action movies. They’re useful to explain what’s going on to the audience. Whether it’s Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in the first Terminator, Rudhraksh Jaiswal as Ovid in Extraction, or so many places in between, there’s the character who doesn’t know what’s going on. The average Joe or Jane, thrown in, who the burly or savvy hero has to protect from threats and instruct in the ways of the dangerous world they’re entering into.

But from the beginning, Mission: Impossible has thrown you in with the team from the start. You rarely ever deal with anyone who isn’t in on the whole spy-thing. Whether it’s the team that all dies in the beginning of the first Mission: Impossible, or the teams Tom Cruise has had at his side sense, rarely ever do we interact with anyone, in the team or otherwise, who isn’t clued in to what’s going on. Sure, there’s Benji Dunn in M:I 3, played by Simon Pegg, who’s just an IMF desk-worker that Ethan has to convince to help him. There’s his wife in that movie, too, who at the end has to grab a gun and play hero for a short time. But those are shorter, more limited interactions. They haven’t formed through-lines in a whole movie.

Enter Grace.

Significant portions of the movie are about Grace, unable to cope with and lacking the abilities to do what she’s asked, struggling. She can’t drift a care through Rome traffic, or fight off bad guys after the key she’s carrying. Yeah, she’s a pickpocket and thief, and so she isn’t powerless; but she’s in over her head. And Ethan Hunt has to keep her alive, working with her side by side through the whole movie.

How does this keep things fresh? Wouldn’t it be annoying to have a new character seven movies into a huge action franchise?

Far from it.

Instead, because McQ and Tom Cruise get characters, this new relationship brings out a totally different side of Ethan Hunt. We have to see him patiently talking Grace through how to drift a car. We have to see him convince her to stay on the team rather than running away in the face of danger. We have to have him explain to her what the Impossible Mission Force means to him, why he is still a part of it after all these years.

It also spices up action scenes. No, she isn’t terrified in the corner; she’s participating. But she needs help and guidance. When Ethan handcuffs himself to her so she doesn’t run away, and they start driving a car through Rome traffic with her driving, the action is new and dynamic. It’s a new situation. Yes, we’re getting bigger and badder; but we’re also seeing how these people deal with the bigger and badder, and it’s fun.

The process is fun to listen to. In multiple interviews, the actors discuss how McQ and Tom Cruise’s process is to find an actor they’re interested in working in, and then tailoring the character around the actor in a give-and-take creative process. They were interested in Hayley Atwell, and then created a character with her. That is a rewarding process that creates characters tailored to each actor, while building trust and a relationship with Tom Cruise and their director, while creating tons of opportunities for these fun interactions.

Mixing characters like this is part of what keeps Mission: Impossible interesting. This new character Grace, tailored and fit to Hayley Atwell, brings freshness to the franchise in a way we haven’t had before.

There’s not just Grace. The Entity, the twist villain, is an AI created by the US government that has gone haywire. It is unique among M:I villains; we’ve always had cold, calculating individuals like Solomon Lane who are always one step ahead of Ethan. But this villain is literally calculating every single possibility at every moment, and is everywhere at every moment, making technology that is internet-connected now worthless. He spices up the action and situations while providing a unique threat. It’s bigger and badder, yes; but it again, like Grace, it’s a unique character that changes situations in a way the previous villains didn’t. Once again, the characters makes Mission: Impossible.

There are CIA agents, there’s Paris, there’s Gabriel; there’s the returning characters like White Widow and Benji and Ilsa and Victor. The characters make this movie what it is.

No, I don’t think this is better than Fallout, which sets the bar high as one of the best action movies of all time. There are some clunky dialogue choices, bits of out-of-place humor, some hard-to-believe coincidences in our heroes’ favors, a few missed opportunities with the stunts and action (why are there so many cuts during the biggest stunt of the movie?), and it’s hard to pin it exactly but the movie’s just a little too long. I don’t know if it’s better than Ghost Protocol, either; I’d have to watch Rogue Nation again to decide how it compares to that entry. But those problems showcase what makes these movies stick with you for more than just the crazy stunts. The characters drive these movies, and this one is no exception.

Conclusion

While Mission: Impossible has always advertised itself on being bigger and badder than the previous movies, what really makes the movies shine is the characters. This movie keeps it fresh through Hayley Atwell’s Grace, and all the other unique and inventive characters and their interactions that drive the twists and thrills of Dead Reckoning: Part One.

Got thoughts on Mission: Impossible 7? How do you think it stacks up to the other movies? What’s your favorite Mission: Impossible film? Comment below!