SPOILERS AHEAD 

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One packs a punch, has plenty of action and if you’re up for it, offers something to think about.

The latest Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie collaboration will surely delight filmgoers when it hits cinemas on Saturday, July 8.

There’s death-defying stunts, a bit of mystique, a few laughs and many times you’ll find yourself holding your breath.

From the get-go one thing is clear – no one is safe and anyone could die.

But that’s what makes this film so interesting – Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is forced to realise that this mission is even more important than those he cares about most. For the sake of humanity, of course.

Cruise, who turned 61 on the day of the Sydney premiere, loves doing his own stunts and seems to be up for just about anything in this, the seventh Mission: Impossible film.

Speaking to The New Daily on the red carpet of the premiere, he said the Mission: Impossible movies have a special place in his heart because the very first in the franchise, back in 1996, was the first movie he produced.

“I get to keep pushing the cinematic kind of language in a very unique way,” Cruise said.

“And I always feel like there’s more things that I want to do and places that I want to see and celebrate, so that’s what always brings me back to it.”

The opening moments of the film draw you in, setting up the unsettling plot and we are introduced to a key, well, two keys that become one.

Whoever possesses the key in full has control of a terrifying weapon, that frankly, if you’re worried about ChatGPT, this film might leave you absolutely shaking in the cinema.

Actor Simon Pegg (Benji Dunn) described the film best when he spoke to The New Daily before the premiere, calling it “relentless”, as the film is so fast paced and full of excitement from start to finish. 

With 60 in the rear-view mirror, Tom Cruise is not slowing down. Photo: TND

You could easily leave your brain at the door and just come along for the ride, or you could leave pondering whether the real world is walking blindly into a dark future. How you enjoy the movie is up to you.

Tweet from @MissionFilm

Dynamic female roles

It would be downright intimidating acting alongside a legend like Tom Cruise, but Hayley Atwell held her own and is probably the stand-out in the film.

Playing pickpocket Grace, who is also very good at putting things back in pockets if need be, she leaves the audience questioning where her allegiances lie.

Not only did Atwell do her own stunts, sequences and slippery hand tricks, but she brought warmth and humour to the screen.

Tweet from @HayleyAtwell_CN

It’s clear a lot of care went into the character of Grace – she is probably the most interesting character in the movie, which is a testament to the writers and of course, Atwell who brought her to life.

“There were versions where I was more calculating, reckless, vulnerable, self-assured, rabbit in headlights ingenue,” she told The New Daily.

“I love the idea actually, that I could do lots of different takes and get a different range of emotion. They could dial it up or dial it down in the edit to create a character.

“And so what they’ve created is something that’s consistently inconsistent and that’s why probably she ends up feeling dynamic.”

Pom Klementieff plays an assassin, Paris, who is equal parts mysterious and terrifying.

Klementieff admitted it was fun stepping into a role that is a big departure from her sweet and kind demeanour.

Hold on tight for that Cruise stunt

If there’s one thing that is going to draw crowds into the cinemas to see Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, it is probably that stunt Cruise did.

Last year, a behind-the-scenes video of Cruise performing a death-defying stunt, where he rides off a cliff on a motorbike, was released.

McQuarrie will be the first to tell you that stunt was Cruise’s idea.

Before that scene, which was filmed in Norway in front of the cast waiting anxiously to see if Cruise would survive it, there’s plenty of fights and car chases to keep you entertained.

If you can’t stomach the action scenes, just enjoy the scenery.

Norway, Italy and the United Arab Emirates were among the places “celebrated” in the movie.

The weapon that evolved into a character

Obviously, the movie is one big story told in two parts and, as Cruise told TND, it is a big story to tell.

The film finishes on a cliffhanger, but it should leave you satisfied enough until part two comes out.

Director Christopher McQuarrie isn’t here to tell the audience what to think about AI, or the possibilities that come with it, but he does provide something to think about.

“Going all the way back to 2018-19, even before then, we had talked about information and information technology as a potential weapon – in a big spy movie,” he said.

“It was always an intellectual idea. It was always an abstract concept.

“It’s not something people felt in their daily lives and right around the time we started making this movie, I said, ‘I think people are beginning to understand this in a way that affects them personally, and it’s something they’ll feel rather than have to be made to understand’.

“It’s only grown as we were making the movie.”