Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Whether you're attracted to the film's old-school stylistic presentation, the hair-raising stunts practically designed and executed, the magnificent intense sequences that only get more and more adrenaline-pumping as the seconds fly by, or maybe just that Tom Cruise now represents a kind of messiah for the traditional cinema experience - well, Mission: Impossible has become something special.

Since Ghost Protocol, the series has not only managed to mould a rock-solid and interesting narrative framework, it also manages to put its breathless action sequences into wonderfully practical relief. Like the John Wick films, and Top Gun: Maverick, it's analogue blockbuster entertainment in a digital age. Not only that, the films have consistently got better and better with each chapter.

So it was with a worried look on my face that I sat in the darkness of the cinema for the first 20 minutes of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, because while opening sequences are usually meant to act as a powerful tone-setting beat, it's a slightly messy affair that tries to put different stylistic elements together on slightly shaky ground without the punch you'd expect.

But that concern was quickly put to rest, as here comes one of the most intense, well-crafted, epic and memorable blockbuster experiences... well, since Fallout. It's basically three or four long sequences in places like Abu Dhabi and Venice, four sequences that continually build up intensity and presence through one magnificent set piece after another, and one twist after another.

Dead Reckoning is almost Mad Max-like in the sense that it puts the metaphorical vehicle into top gear relatively quickly, stopping only momentarily to give the viewer a moment to catch their breath. Almost three hours disappear like dew from a summer sun, and you never, as in never, get bored.

Cruise is, as always, in good spirits. He has a gravitas, a dedication and a love for the Ethan Hunt character that is matched by few in the blockbuster sphere, and while some will no doubt be slightly turned off by the whole pulp identity, it's all so incredibly self-consciously constructed that you're constantly smiling.

He's surrounded by performances that are fantastic to say the least, and Hayley Atwell in particular does a brilliant job as the new character Grace, who has instantly become a permanent fixture in the memorable cast of characters. The villain Esai Morales is a bit of a different story, and while he has the clenched, enigmatic persona of a good action villain, this is more Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre than Javier Bardem's Raoul Silva.

Combined with a fantastic score from composer Lorne Balfe, amazing stunts across the board and Cruise in top form, Dead Reckoning is perfect summer entertainment, held back only by a slightly slow start before the film really kicks into gear.

Like Fallout, Rogue Nation and Ghost Procotol, Mission: Impossible is the most consistent film series on the market today, and there's no reason to believe that Cruise and company won't be ready to impress next year when Dead Reckoning Part Two concludes the series as we know it.