Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt in the seventh installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, which opens in theaters on Wednesday, July 12.
The film, directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who also helmed the previous two entries in the series, promises to deliver more of the thrilling action, spectacular stunts and high-octane chases that fans have come to expect from the star and his team of agents.
In this chapter, Hunt faces a new threat: The Entity, a mysterious artificial intelligence that can hack into any digital network and cause chaos around the world. Hunt must stop The Entity before it unleashes a global catastrophe, while also dealing with a personal crisis that tests his loyalty and morality.
Cruise, who is known for performing his own stunts, has once again pushed himself to the limit for this film, which was shot in various locations across Europe and Asia amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The actor revealed that he broke his ankle during a rooftop jump in London, and also contracted the virus along with McQuarrie during the production.
“It was a very challenging film to produce, and then everything happened, and it was even more challenging,” Cruise told The Hollywood Reporter at the New York premiere on Monday night. “So to have this response…is very, very special.”
The film also stars Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, Esai Morales and Henry Czerny. It is the first part of a two-film story arc that will conclude with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, scheduled for release in June 2024.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is expected to set a new franchise record at the box office, with projections of over $250 million worldwide in its opening weekend, according to Deadline. The film has also received rave reviews from critics, earning a 98% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“In this franchise’s seventh entry, Tom Cruise’s mission includes increasingly improbable leaps, chases and stunts. Luckily for us, he chooses to accept it,” wrote The New York Times critic A.O. Scott.
