After a five-year absence, “Impossible Mission Force” (IMF) agent Ethan Hunt returns via 2023’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Due to Hollywood strikes, however, it remains up for grabs when Ethan will complete this particular escapade.

Various intelligence organizations learn of the existence of an AI device called “The Entity”. Inevitably, this creates a hot chase by a multitude of groups to find the gadget.

Of course, every government wants the Entity for itself, but IMF Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) wants to remove it from the control of any particular organization. With one half of a key that manipulates the Entity in his possession, Ethan races to find the other part before others get there first.

After the massive success of another Tom Cruise sequel – 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick - expectations that Reckoning would deliver another major hit abounded. Instead, the seventh Impossible found itself only a moderate success.

With a worldwide gross of $567 million, no one could call Reckoning a flop. However, given its insane $291 million budget, those involved clearly expected more.

At the very least, they anticipated a take similar to the $791 million of 2018’s Fallout. However, Reckoning couldn’t even muster the high $600 million receipts of the franchise’s 2011 and 2015 entries.

Heck, Reckoning barely outdid the earnings of Impossible II 23 years earlier! What led to such disappointing ticket sales?

Some blame the confluence of the Barbie/Oppenheimer “Barbenheimer” phenomenon. Those two major hits made it to theaters the week after Reckoning debuted and possibly amputated whatever legs Reckoming might’ve had.

That might act deliver a factor, as might simple franchise fatigue since it seems like a lot to expect fervor for a series’ seventh chapter. Also, post-COVID audiences appear to be more selective about what they flock to multiplexes to see.

Oh, and don’t forget the “Part One” element. Films based on novels seem to do okay with the “half a movie” concept, but crowds might’ve balked at the notion here.

And then there’s the running time. After the first three movies ran around two hours or under, the fourth and fifth pushed a little past the 130-minute mark, and then Fallout jumped to 147 minutes.

At 163 minutes, Reckoning might not seem that much more extended than Fallout, but the latter already went awfully long for an action flick. This nudge closer to three hours probably seemed like even more of an endurance test, especially given that the movie requires the viewer to come back for another chapter eventually.

Boy, that sure presents a laundry list of rationalizations for the film’s less than stellar box office, almost like I’m putting off a formal discussion of the film itself! Which might be the case, as I don’t find a lot of interest to comment upon in regard to Reckoning.

Seven movies into the franchise and viewers know what to expect. This becomes especially true because entries five, six and seven all feature the same director.

Across the first four Impossible flicks, fans got a new filmmaker every time. They went from Brian De Palma to John Woo to JJ Abrams to Brad Bird, and this allowed each release to enjoy its own flavor.

Originally famous as the author of 1995’s Usual Suspects, Christopher McQuarrie first worked with Cruise as writer of 2008’s Valkyrie and then McQuarrie directed Cruise via 2012’s Jack Reacher. McQuarrie took the director’s chair for 2015’s Rogue Nation and kept it for both Fallout and Reckoning.

McQuarrie certainly boasts talent, but I don’t see him as a great filmmaker, and at this point, he and Cruise may simply feel too comfortable with each other. I don’t know why Cruise feels so devoted to McQuarrie, but the franchise could stand to go back to the original situation in which each new film brought fresh blood.

None of this means Reckoning brings a bad movie, though it really does suffer from its long running time as well as a confusing overall narrative. Although my synopsis implies a simple tale, the film muddies the waters with a slew of characters – old and new – who tend to ensure the end product seems less than coherent.

Reckoning throws enough action our way that we don’t really mind the plot issues terribly. Nonetheless, they exist and they turn what should become a tight thriller into a semi-messy experience.

Really, the “been there, done that” factor becomes the biggest drawback here. Reckoning fails to find anything fresh to do with the franchise, and even with more Cruise’s death-defying stunts, it can’t hide its inherently derivative feel.

Again, I think Reckoning brings a reasonably enjoyable ride, and it never threatens to lose the viewer. Still, the Impossible movies can offer more than “a reasonably enjoyable ride”, so I find that this one turns into a moderate disappointment.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect a terrific presentation.

Sharpness worked well. Virtually no issues with softness materialized, so the movie boasted positive accuracy and delineation.

The image lacked jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes remained absent. Print flaws also remained absent.

Unsurprisingly, the film’s palette favored a definite orange and teal vibe. The disc replicated the colors as intended.

Blacks seemed dark and dense, while shadows appeared smooth and clear. This wound up as an excellent image.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the Dolby Atmos audio added great dimensionality to the effort. With many action scenes, the mix used the various channels to create a lively, vivid soundscape.

This meant various vehicles zipped around the room in a smooth, convincing manner, while other aspects of gunfire, explosions and mayhem brought out well-placed material that blended together in a nicely integrated way. The soundfield meshed together to deliver a well-rounded impression.

Audio quality also impressed, with speech that seemed natural and concise. Music appeared vivid and full, with dynamic tones.

Effects fared best of all, as those elements seemed accurate and tight, with crisp highs and deep lows. As I expect from a movie of this sort, the soundtrack excelled.

As we head to extras, we find an audio commentary from writer/director Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific discussion of story/characters, cast and performances, editing, sets and locations, stunts/action, effects, music and audio, and connected domains.

Even with more than a little happy talk along the way, this becomes a pretty strong commentary. McQuarrie and Hamilton keep the proceedings fast-paced and informative, so we learn a ton about the production along the way.

We also get an isolated score track. Presented via Dolby 5.1 audio, it becomes a nice addition, though it seems too bad the music didn’t receive lossless treatment.

On a separate Blu-ray Disc, we find six featurettes. These encompass “Abu Dhabi” (3:55), “Rome” (4:12), “Venice” (4:12), “Freefall” (9:05), “Speed Flying” (4:17) and “Train” (5:32). A whopping 31 minutes, 13 seconds of programs is all they could find for an entire bonus disc?

Across the programs, we hear from writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, production manager Ben Piltz, production designer Gary Freeman, SFX supervisor Neil Corbould, 2nd unit director/stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood, base jump instructor Miles Daisher, skydive/base/speed flying coordinator Jon Devore, aerial DP Phil Arntz, and actors Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Greg Tarzan Davis, Hayley Atwell and Rebecca Ferguson.

The featurettes cover sets and locations, stunts, training and action, camerawork, vehicles and other technical elements.

Behind the scenes materials for Cruise movies tend to lean superficial and glossy, and that becomes the case here. We find the inevitable praise for Cruise and just a generally self-laudatory vibe for the entire production. Some useful information arrives but it comes bogged down in the happy talk.

As the seventh entry in a movie series that will reach its 30th birthday soon, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One can feel a bit long in the tooth. While the film keeps us mostly engaged, it lacks the spark and punch it needs to really thrive. The Blu-ray boasts excellent picture and audio along with a mix of bonus materials. Maybe the next chapter in the franchise will allow it to bounce back, but this one doesn’t quite zing.