“Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” was well-reviewed in the aggregates: 81 on Metacritic and 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Its IMDB user rating is also an impressive 8/10.
With that being said, there has been some pushback from moviegoers, unwilling to buy a ticket for this one. As it stands, ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ has only made $140 million domestically. Its overseas grosses seem to be saving it, especially in China where the film has been a major hit.
Paul Schrader has weighed in on ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ and he absolutely hated it:
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — DEAD RECKONING. Such tiresome claptrap. There’s no reason that AI, given the correct prompts, could not have written this script.
No, ‘Dead Reckoning’ was not as good as ‘Rogue Nation’ or ‘Fallout,’ but what Schrader doesn’t get is that you don’t watch these movies for the script.
As I wrote in my review, just check your brain at the door and enjoy the ride. There’s really nothing more to it. However, I do feel like this franchise is starting to feel stretched out with this seventh instalment.
Some of ‘Dead Reckoning — Part Two’ has already been shot, before the actors strike halted production, but Tom Cruise has said he wants to continue making these films. If a ninth one does get greenlit, he’d be close to 65 years old by the time production begins. That’s stretching it.
I’d probably start fearing for Cruise’s life given that I don’t see him stopping his desire for elaborately dangerous stunts, even in his mid-60s. He’s an adrenaline junkie — once you get hooked, it’s very hard to stop.