Bring home ‘Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One’

Category: Blu-ray's and DVD's

Tom Cruise brings viewers another high-impact Mission: Impossible film with Dead Reckoning Part One. Yes, viewers will have to wait until next year for Part Two, but in the meantime this action film will fulfill the desire for an exciting and adventurous story. 

The story revolves around a special Russian submarine with an advanced AI that has turned into a sentient entity, hereby known as the “Entity.” On board the sub is a key but this Entity has managed to destroy the sub along with its secrets. Now Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is sent around the world to find one part of the two-part key. Whichever country or whomever has the entire key will have access to the greatest power in the world.

This is truly a high-impact film as Hunt is joined by Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Luther Stickwell (Ving Rhames), and at first unwittingly Grace (Hayley Atwell), along with several others as they are all on their missions to locate the missing key. That’s the premise of the story, so once the two-part key is located the next phase of the story is locating the sub that holds the information of the Entity, and that will happen when part two comes out to audiences next year.

In the meantime, watching this high-impact film on 4K-Ultra HD (+ Digital Code) is the best way to experience all the drama and technical stunts involved in making this movie. Included in this pack is a Blu-ray disc filled with bonus features that show viewers how the locations were selected and how the super intriguing and dangerous scenes were filmed. Christopher McQuarrie (director and a writer on the film) discusses how they wanted to make this a global movie.

Abu Dhabi was selected in part because of the modern airport, which is described as the “biggest set” they have ever worked on. It is an amazing building and the cast and crew took up almost every inch of that place, along with hundreds of extras. They also shot in the sand dunes of the desert where they built a fake town for one of the scenes. The United States military cooperated in the making of the film and supplied special aircraft for the shoot.

Rome was the location for a spectacular chase scene, which is described as “challenging” to shoot due to the cobblestone streets that wind around. Nevertheless, viewers get a sense of the Eternal City.

Next they went to Venice and the night scene was brightly lit with colorful lights and images, creating a magical canvas.

Norway was the location where Cruise (and filmmakers) undertook the spectacular motorcycle jump off a cliff. This jump turned into a base jump for Hunt and this dangerous stunt was well prepared. The U.K. served as the location for another dangerous stunt. This was for the “speed flying” scene where Cruise (and filmmakers) were wafting through the air, around trees, etc. 

Finally, because they had to completely destroy a beautiful train, they had to build it themselves. After all, who would want a movie to destroy a glamorous train and have it fall off a cliff? So, yes, they built a working train for this film and ultimately destroyed it. 

As viewers watch the bonuses they will see how intricate every scene was to complete and how much effort went into this movie. Stay tuned. Part two is just around the corner.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is available October 31, 2023 on 4K- Ultra HD + Digital Code, Blu-ray, and DVD. It is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some language and suggestive material.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 30 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Television Critics Association and is accredited by the MPAA. Follow her on Twitter.