Tom Cruise is back in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, which ups the stakes like never before as Ethan Hunt and his team face The Entity, a villain they can neither see nor kill, which makes this the deadliest threat they've ever faced.
Making matters worse is the arrival of Gabriel (Esai Morales), who is hellbent on acquiring the key while simultaneously causing as much pain to Ethan as humanely possible. Throw in Paris (Pom Klementieff) and a myriad of other parties all interested in stopping Hunt from completing his mission and it looks like director Chris McQuarrie has cooked up quite the impossible predicament where survival is a lot easier said than done.
So, does everyone make it out alive?
Unfortunately, no.
In Hunt's introductory scene, he's tasked with tracking down Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), who has acquired one-half of the key that is believed to unlock The Entity but has since gone into hiding. Hunt is able to track her down, but is unable to save her from getting gunned down - or so we think. The pair plan a fake out and report her death, in an effort to allow her to truly go dark until Hunt can acquire the full key.
So, does that mean Ilsa's in the clear?
Also, no.
Later, in Venice, Ethan and Ilsa infiltrate the White Widow's (Vanessa Kirby) party, to retrieve the key while also saving Grace (Hayley Atwell), but when things go sideways, and Ethan is asked to choose who to save - Grace or Ilsa - they're all forced to flee in separate directions. Hunt decides to go after Grace, who has escaped with the key, but he is led down the wrong path by The Entity, who has hacked their comms, and finds himself cornered by two assassins. Meanwhile, Grace is in grave danger as she comes face-to-face with Gabriel.
She puts up a valiant effort but is really no match for him, and quickly gets herself knocked out. However, before he delivers the killing blow, Ilsa intervenes. The two engage in an epic sword fight, but the villain shockingly manages to get the best of Ilsa as well, fatally stabbing her in the heart, instantly killing her.
Ethan tragically arrives on the scene a few seconds too late and mourns her loss, with Grace watching on remorsefully. Ilsa is now the latest in a long line of losses for Ethan, and may arguably be the most devastating one of them all.
Looking back at the marketing campaign, there were certainly clues to indicate that Ilsa could meet her maker in this film, as Ferguson was curiously listed fifth in the credits, and the fact that she also filmed Dune: Part Two and Silo at around the same time frame, so her availability was likely limited, especially with the pandemic turning production on its head repeatedly. Regardless, we'll certainly miss Ilsa Faust missing forward, although it does look like the franchise has plenty of badass female faces onboard to carry on the torch in the next film and beyond.
Outside of Faust, there were no other major deaths, although Paris came very close. After heroically saving Ethan and Grace - and pointing Ethan toward Sevastopol - in the finale, it did look like she was about to succumb to her wounds, but fortunately, she was last seen being tended to by Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis), so it looks like she'll live to fight another day. Could we see Paris also join the IMF alongside Grace in Dead Reckoning Part Two? Only time will tell!
In our review, we said, "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is the undisputed blockbuster movie event of the summer! Tom Cruise delivers yet another action movie masterpiece, packed with jaw-dropping spectacle, pulse-pounding action, heartfelt emotion, awe-inspiring performances, and an exhilarating chemistry opposite new leading lady Hayley Atwell that’ll have you begging for more."
In addition to Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt), the cast features Hayley Atwell (Grace), Ving Rhames (Luther Stickell), Simon Pegg (Benji Dunn), Rebecca Ferguson (Ilsa Faust), Vanessa Kirby (Alanna Mitsopolis/White Widow), Esai Morales (Gabriel), Pom Klementieff (Paris), Mariela Garriga (Marie), Henry Czerny (Eugene Kittridge), Shea Whigham (Jasper Briggs), Greg Tarzan Davis (Degas), Charles Parnell, Frederick Schmidt (Zola Mitsopolis), Cary Elwes (Denlinger), Mark Gatiss, Indira Varma, and Rob Delaney.
In Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan's past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is now playing in theaters, and Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two is already slated to light the fuse in theaters next year on June 28, 2024.