Cruise in control in Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One

he Mission: Impossible film series is one of those (very) rare franchises to have stumbled out of the gate before finding its footing. Despite being big box-o ce hits, Brian De Palma’s original Mission: Impossible (1996) features an impenetrable plot, and Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) is undoubtedly the worst American film directed by John Woo — which may be a reason he returned to Hong Kong. Since then, however, the films have grown appreciably better.

The latest, Mission: Impossible — Dead

TReckoning Part One isn’t one of the best, but it’s good enough. It’s the seventh overall and as the title implies, the first half of the franchise’s purported swan song. Producer/director Christopher McQuarrie, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Erik Jendresen, is back for his third installment. This also marks his 10th collaboration overall with producer/star Tom Cruise, who naturally reprises his role as the eponymous super-spy Ethan Hunt. The formula, established by Bruce Geller’s 1970s television series, remains unchanged, and although the specific particulars of the plot are relatively unimportant, Dead Reckoning Part One succeeds as globe-trotting, grand-scale movie fun, and e ectively sets up expectations for Dead Reckoning — Part Two. That film is scheduled to be released next June, although the ongoing WGA/ SAG-AFTRA strikes could conceivably be a hurdle. Not that it matters. As he displayed with Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise is willing to wait out such hurdles, be they labor-related or COVID-related. (Cruise waited until the pandemic had passed before allowing Maverick to fly into theaters, which proved a wise — and lucrative — decision.)

This time around, the IMF (Impossible Missions Force) is charged with tracking down a computer virus known as “The Entity.” This insidious brand of artificial intelligence has the capability of turning the technology the team is so dependent on against them. Were the power of “The Entity” fall into the wrong hands … well, you get the idea.

In addition to Cruise, who again gives a steely, no-nonsense as Hunt, the film brings other familiar characters back into the fold, including Simon Pegg as Benji and Ving Rhames as Luther. Pegg provides the requisite comic relief and Rhames the requisite gravitas. Rebecca Ferguson (from 2015’s Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation and 2018’s Mission: Impossible — Fallout) is back as Ilsa Faust, and Vanessa Kirby (from Fallout) returns as “The White Widow.” The filmmakers have even seen fit to bring back Henry Czerny as CIA director Eugene Kittridge, a role he originated in the very first Mission: Impossible film 27 years ago, and he’s always good at playing o cious (and possibly duplicitous) government types. The principal villain here is Gabriel (Esai Morales), and although the actor enjoys his biggest role in years, Gabriel does more sneering than snarling. He’s a little too low-key.

One of the nicer things about Dead Reckoning — Part One is that it a ords its female characters the opportunity to shine. In addition to Ferguson and Kirby, Pom Klementie (in a far cry from her Guardians of the Galaxy role) makes an impression as the punky assassin Paris, who does her fair share of damage in her pursuit of Hunt. The choicest role is that of Grace, an alluring and nimble-fingered thief played by Hayley Atwell, who provides an ideal foil for Hunt. (After almost every cli hanger, Ethan inquires “Are you alright?” — which becomes something of a running gag.)

Some of the action sequences are protracted, which seems the norm in contemporary cinema, but they’re entertaining. A wild and woolly car chase through the streets of Rome is alternately hair-raising and hilarious, as much for its sheer absurd energy as anything else. There’s also the slam-bang climax aboard the Orient Express in which the obligatory murder occurs, although the venerable train is going to require considerable repairs after what it endures here. !

“ABER BERGEN”: COMPLETE SERIES (MHz Choice/Kino Lorber): A self-explanatory DVD collection ($79.95 retail) of all 30 episodes from the entire 2016-’18 run of the popular, award-winning drama series focused on the titular Norwegian law firm, where its principal partners (Odd-Magnus Williamson and Ellen Dorrit Petersen) have recently divorced but are trying to maintain a professional relationship as they tackle the toughest cases yet can’t avoid their mutual attraction — and occasional antagonism. Line Verndal, Lykke Kristine Moen, Siv Toren Knudsen Petersen, and Torgny Gerhard Aanderaa round out the regular cast. In Norwegian with English subtitles.

“DALGLIESH”: SERIES ONE (Acorn): Bertie Carvel returns as the widowed, poetry-writing British police inspector Adam Dalgliesh in all six feature-length episodes from the 2023 season of the popular mystery series based on the best-selling mystery novels by P.D. James, which follows Dalgliesh’s career from the 1970s to the present day, with Carlyss Peer as his partner and guest appearances by Michael Culkin, Sorcha Cusack, Michael Maloney, David Bamber, Daisy Waterstone, and Richard Harrington, available on DVD ($49.99 retail).

“GANGS OF LONDON”: SEASON

2 (AMC+): Created by Gareth Evans (who also directed selected episodes) and Matt Flannery, this Emmy-nominated crime series, aired on AMC+, depicts the violence that transpires following the murder of a high-powered crime boss, as his surviving family and rivals jockey for position and power in contemporary London, in all eight episodes from the 2022 season, featuring an ensemble cast including Joe Cole, Sope Dirisu, Lucian Msamati, Michelle Fairley, Brian Vernel, Pippa Bennett-Warner, and Taye Matthew, available on DVD ($34.97 retail).

THE IRON PREFECT (Radiance Films/ MVD Entertainment Group): A limited-edition Blu-ray ($34.95 retail) of screenwriter/ director Pasquale Squitieri’s award-winning, fact-based crime drama (originally titled Il prefetto di ferro) based on screenwriter Arrigo Petacco’s non-fiction best-seller, starring Giuliano Gemma as Cesare Mori, the incorruptible and relentless police prefect who waged a one-man war against the Sicilian mafia in the 1920, featuring an Ennio Morricone score and a cast including Claudia Cardinale, Francisco Rabal, Stefano Satta Flores, Rik Battaglia, and Paul Muller caught in the crossfire. Bonus features include original Italian (with English sub-

BY MARK BURGER

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK: FIGHTING BACK (Arrow

Video/MVD Entertainment Group)

While Charles Bronson was toiling on Death Wish sequels for Golan/Globus at Cannon Films, original Death Wish producer Dino De Laurentiis (the man, the myth) revisited vigilante territory with this gritty 1982 melodrama filmed in South Philadelphia — which automatically makes it worthwhile. (This critic is allowed a “hometown discount” for his beloved birthplace.)

Tom Skerritt stars as John D’Angelo, a hard-working delicatessen owner fed up with crime in his neighborhood, especially after his wife (Patti LuPone) and elderly mother (Gina DeAngeles) are injured in separate incidents. He founds the People’s Neighborhood Patrol (PNP) and sets about punishing evildoers: Drug dealers, muggers, purse snatchers, and anyone who looks even remotely shady is fair game. The PNP generates headlines and grass-roots popularity, but isn’t so well-regarded by the police, local politicians, and particularly the criminal element. John’s not only fighting crime, he’s fighting the establishment — and darned if he isn’t winning on both fronts. But it comes at a cost. titles) and English-dubbed audio options, collectible booklet, original trailer, and more.

Under Lewis Teague’s e cient direction, Fighting Back flexes its knee-jerk muscles in predictable but e ective fashion, augmented by a solid cast, authentic locations, and just enough credibility to add extra texture to the proceedings. It’s even thoughtprovoking on occasion … until the action resumes, of course.

Skerritt’s Alien co-star Yaphet Kotto appears all-too-briefly as Ivanhoe Washington, a community activist who (not inaccurately) accuses the PNP of racial profiling, but it’s essentially a cameo. Faring better are Michael Sarrazin, Ted Ross, David Rasche, Frank Sivero, Earle Hyman, Jim Moody, Peter Brocco, and legendary comedian Pat Cooper (who died in June) as the neighborhood druggist. LuPone, in a rare feature lead, brings depth and strength to what easily could have been the weepy-wife role, but it’s the dynamic Skerritt who dominates as John, whose fiery temper and justifiable outrage are tempered by indecision and guilt over his actions. Everybody involved brings just a little bit extra.

The limited-edition Blu-ray ($39.95 retail) includes collectible booklet and poster, retrospective interviews, trailer and TV spot, and more. Rated R.

LOVE AGAIN (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment): James C. Strouse wrote and directed this PG-13 remake of the 2016 German film SMS fur dich (based on Sofie Cramer’s novel), starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas as a grief-stricken woman who calls her late fiancé’s cell phone and unexpectedly ends up embarking on a relationship with Sam Heughan, who now has the number, with Russell Tovey, Celia Imrie, Sofia Barclay, Lydia West, Jonas’s real-life husband Nick Jonas, and executive producer Celine Dion (playing herself) in support, available on DVD ($34.99 retail) and Blu-ray ($38.99 retail), each with bonus features.

McBAIN (Synapse Films/MVD Entertainment Group): James Glickenhaus wrote and directed this 1991 shoot-‘em-up starring Christopher Walken as the titular character, a Vietnam veteran-turned-mer- cenary who leads a covert mission to quash the Colombian drug cartels. A potentially topical plot, augmented by Glickenhaus’s propensity for explosive action sequences, is undermined by a standard-issue storyline. Walken, in a role that vaguely echoes his Oscar-winning role in The Deer Hunter (1978) and subsequent turn in The Dogs of War (1981), coasts through the predictable proceedings with a distinct air of indi erence, and a capable cast is wasted: Maria Conchita Alonso, Michael Ironside, Steve W. James, Jay Patterson, Chick Vennera, Thomas G. Waites, Luis Guzman, and Victor Argo, available on Blu-ray ($29.95 retail), replete with audio commentary and theatrical trailer. Rated R.

MY MAN GODFREY (Kino Lorber Studio Classics): The Blu-ray bow ($24.95 retail) of director Henry Koster’s bubbly 1957 remake of the classic 1936 screwball comedy (based on Eric Hatch’s novel) stars June Allyson as a scatter-brained heiress who impetuously hires itinerant hobo David Niven to be her butler, which causes chaos in the household when she takes a shine to him and his true identity comes to light. This typically glossy Ross Hunter production offers great chemistry between the two leads, with Jessie Royce Landis, Jay Robinson, Martha Hyer, Robert Keith, and Eva Gabor lending sturdy support. Bonus features include audio commentary and theatrical trailer.

ON THE EDGE (Kino Lorber): Writer/director Giordano Gederlini’s thriller (originally titled Entre la vie et la mort) stars Antonio de la Torre as an ex-cop-turned-subway operator in Brussels who witnesses his estranged son’s tragic death on a subway platform, discovers that he was involved with a murderous band of thieves, and embarks on a one-man mission to track down the culprits while avoiding the police. In French and Spanish with English subtitles, available on Blu-ray ($29.95 retail).

ONLY IN THEATERS (Kino Lorber): Executive producer Raphael Sbarge directed this feature documentary chronicling the Hollywood history of the Laemmle family, which has thrived over the years thanks to the Laemmle Theaters in Southern California, one of the premier venues for independent and arthouse cinema in Southern California, and how it has weathered financial hardships and, more recently, the COVID pandemic, featuring interviews with filmmakers (including Cameron Crowe, Ava DuVernay, James Ivory, Rebecca Grossman, Nicole Holofcener, and Allison Anders) and such noted film critics as Leonard Maltin, Kenneth Turan, and my friend and mentor Kevin Thomas (only briefly). Undeniably affectionate and respectful, but often repetitious — and Sbarge’s spoken observations are unnecessary. The DVD ($19.95 retail) includes audio commentary, additional interviews, and more.

PAINT (IFC Films): Executive producer Owen Wilson headlines the PG-13-rated debut feature of writer/director Brit McAdams, as a mellow, smooth-talking public-television artist (obviously modeled on the late Bob Ross) whose status is threatened when the station hires younger, more talented artist Ciara Renée (in her feature debut), with Michaela Watkins, Wendi McLendonCovey, Lucy Freyer, Stephen Root, and McAdams himself on hand, available on DVD ($27.97 retail) and Blu-ray ($28.96 retail), each replete with bonus features including audio commentary, behind-the-scenes gallery, deleted scenes, and more. !

COPYRIGHT 2023, Mark Burger

THE EDITORS AT ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

The Aristocrats

Wow! Things went literally and physically south on July 11 at a press dinner on New York’s Upper East Side in support of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign. According to Page Six, as Kennedy answered questions, someone posed one about climate change, but before Kennedy could answer, Doug Dechert, the event host, screamed, “The climate hoax!” Which brought a scold from art critic Anthony Haden-Guest, who called him a “miserable blob.” The two continued their exchange, with Kennedy calmly looking on, until Dechert loudly released a “prolonged fart” while yelling, helpfully, “I’m farting!” After attempts to change the subject and more verbal antics, the evening wound down. The next day, Dechert told Page Six, “I apologize for using my flatulence as a medium of public commentary in your presence.” How do I get on this guest list?

AWESOME!

Australian sailor Tim Shaddock, 51, of Sydney and his dog, Bella, became stranded in the Pacific Ocean after they set out from Mexico for French Polynesia, a 3,700-mile trip, in April. The boat became damaged in storms, the BBC reported, and Shaddock drifted until midJuly, when a helicopter spotted him. A tuna trawler picked up the pair, who were in surprisingly good health. Shaddock said they ate raw fish and collected rainwater, and he sheltered from the sun beneath the boat’s canopy. “I have been through a very di cult ordeal at sea,” he said. “I’m just needing rest and good food.”

BUH-BYE

In Glastonbury, Connecticut, 11 boats took o from the Seaboard Marina on July 12 — make that with the marina. WTNH-TV reported that a 200-foot section of dock with 11 boats attached broke o and started floating down the Connecticut River, later passing through Cromwell, Portland, Middletown and Haddam. One part of the errant dock was still floating downstream the next day; o cials said it was likely that flooding in Vermont had caused the high waters that set the structure free. Teddy Charton of Middletown said he “got a call that my boat was floating down the river ... It ended up all the way down in Chester.” Eventually all but one of the boats was recovered.

IT’S COME TO THIS

When a backyard bunny breeder bundled their belongings and said bye-bye to Jenada Isles, a community in Wilton Manors, Florida, they left behind between 60 and 100 lionhead rabbits, who have now infiltrated the neighborhood and are driving residents bonkers. Click Orlando reported that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has declined to intercede, so resident Alicia Griggs is heading up an e ort to raise the money needed to capture, neuter, vaccinate and rehome the rabbits — to the tune of $20,000 to $40,000. “People don’t realize they’re exotic pets and they’re complicated,” Griggs said. “They have to eat a special diet. You can’t just throw any table scraps at them.” Residents complain that the bunnies dig holes, chew wiring and leave droppings on sidewalks and driveways. Others think the rabbits are cute, but experts say their heavy coats and finicky digestive systems aren’t conducive to living wild in Florida. “They are not equipped to thrive on their own,” said Eric Stewart, executive director of the American Rabbit Breeders Association.

Bright Idea

Michael Raduga, 40, founder of the Phase Research Center in Russia, but — critically — NOT a doctor or neurosurgeon, nearly lost his life in June when he tried to implant a chip in his brain on his own, in his living room in Kazakhstan. The Daily Mail reported that Raduga lost more than a liter of blood in his quest to control his dreams. He said he practiced on five sheep’s brains and watched hours of neurosurgery on YouTube before starting on his own head. “During the first 30 minutes I was ready to give up many times because ... I was afraid I could just lose consciousness,” Raduga said. “I finished the surgery, I took a shower and I worked for 10 hours straight. People didn’t know.” But neurosurgeon Alex Green of the University of Oxford wasn’t having it. “This is an extremely dangerous thing to do,” he said. “We are probably decades away from being able to synthesize new experiences.” !

©2023 Andrews McMeel Universal

ACROSS

1 Crux

9 Denver gridders

16 Butte relative

20 “Later!”

21 1990s Oldsmobile

22 “Downhill” star Novello

23 Going just the way one begged for it to go? [Curry]

25 Medieval peon

26 Scrawny

27 Former Common Market abbr.

28 35mm camera abbr.

29 Uruguay’s — del Este

30 Tarzan actor Ron

31 Palme — (prize at Cannes)

33 “You could hear — drop”

37 Property appraiser

39 Rabbit action

40 Reputation as a great pilot? [Salonga]

42 “You’re on!”

46 Be a snitch

47 Fleeceable females

48 Late-night host Jimmy’s collection of TVs? [Zadora]

50 Kissing target 52 Martini liquor 55 Tire trouble

Leafy recess

Proscribe

Hot-air bath

Tokyo cash

Family guy 62 “Happy Days” actor Scott 64 Luggage-screening official, for short 67 Headline after a Harley stalls? [Meyers]

71 Waits on hand and foot

73 Not yet final, legally

74 Family guy

75 Lincoln-to-Topeka dir.

78 Surrounded by

79 ‘16 Olympics site

81 Group of sub-sub-athletes

83 Retort to “You weren’t!”

84 Tear

85 Bit of change

87 Comparably dense to the one here? [Arden]

89 Bamboozle

91 “Later!”

93 Guaranteed-to-succeed

94 Weep while excavating fossil fuel? [Ortiz]

99 Ballplayer Ripken

100 It’s turned to go in and out

101 Designer Saarinen

102 Buddhist sect

103 Rep.’s rival

106 Tools with teeth

107 “Angie” actor Stephen

109 “No more seats” abbr.

111 Mrs., in Madrid

112 Take — view of (frown on)

113 Cook another egg after cooking a dozen? [Tarbell]

119 French film theater

120 Demigods

121 Traditional Chinese drink

122 Saloon casks

123 Not too soft, as pasta

124 2014 Ben Affleck thriller that would make a good alternate title for this puzzle

Down

1 Cabinet wood

2 Ear-relevant

3 Twisted wit

4 Nape’s place

5 “— found it!”

6 Female rabbit

7 Marine duck

8 R&B singer India.—

9 Valise, e.g.

10 Rival of LG

11 “Ex’s & —” (Elle King hit)

12 Light bites

13 Bottom level

14 Exceed, as a proper limit

15 Bummed out

16 Treats badly

17 Nevertheless

18 In a sense

19 Kennel noise

24 Raleigh loc.

29 Certain toy dog, for short

31 Knucklehead

32 Sign of total acceptance

34 Longtime New Yorker cartoonist 35 March day to “beware” 36 Packers’ org.

Katei Cranford Contributor