Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands.
Ethan Hunt and the IMF team must track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity if it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than the mission -- not even the lives of those he cares about most.
The film starts in the ocean, as a Russian submarine, the Sevastopol, is transporting a highly dangerous computer device underwater. The device is accessed using a special cross-like key that is split in two. The crew aboard the submarine notice what appears to be an enemy sub nearby launching a torpedo at them. They fire their own torpedo's, but soon are surprised to discover both the other sub and their torpedo's disappear, as if they were never there. The crew's own torpedo comes back toward them and destroys the sub, killing the whole crew on-board.
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is visited by a rookie IMF agent, who brings him his new mission log under the guise of being a food delivery worker. The mission comes directly from IMF director Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny), who informs Ethan of the key and that it is being used for something potentially catastrophic. Kittridge also mentions that Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) seems to have gone rogue and is in possession of one half of the key, and there is a bounty on her head for $50 million. He adds that the mission involves someone from Ethan's past, the person who is the reason he joined IMF.
Ethan goes to the desert in Namibia where Ilsa is hiding out. He alerts her to his presence before a group of mercenaries pursue Ethan on horseback in the middle of a sandstorm. The Merck follow Ethan to Ilsa's hideout, where the two fight them off with their guns, until it appears that Ilsa has been fatally shot.
Kittridge meets with a the heads of various intelligence agencies, known as The Community, led by Director Denlinger (Cary Elwes). They report on the computer device known as The Entity, which is rapidly self-learning and sentient, having been involved in several network infiltration, including the Russian sub. They say The Entity cannot be destroyed, so their best bet is to control it. Kittridge brings up IMF, just as Ethan, in disguise, uses knockout gas to incapacitate everyone except Kittridge, giving him his own mask. Ethan knows that Kittridge put the bounty on Ilsa, but a flashback shows that she is still alive and gave Ethan her half of the key before fleeing. Kittridge warns Ethan that whatever he is about to get himself into now is unlike anything he has faced. Ethan then uses a mask of Kittridge so he can leave the building, and he shoots Kittridge with a tranquilizer dart.
Ethan meets with Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) to discuss The Entity and a plan for catching whoever is responsible for it. They learn of a buyer going for the key at an airport in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, an agent with The Community named Jasper Briggs (Shea Whigham) and his partner Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis) are after Ethan.
The IMF trio arrive at the airport for their mission. With help from Benji and Luther, Ethan is able to trick Jasper into going after the wrong guys by tampering with their video surveillance. Ethan ends up following a woman named Grace (Hayley Atwell), who has pick pocketed the other key half. He catches up to her and forces her to stick by him after they find that the buyer is dead, killed by a mysterious assassin known as Paris (Pom Klementieff). They try to outrun Jasper and his guys while Benji notices a mysterious item going into the luggage department. Luther helps him track it down and find that it's a bomb, which activates and can only be disabled by solving riddles or answering personal questions, and it knows when Benji is lying. It even leaves a taunting message to Benji - "U R DUNN". When Benji is stuck on the last question, with seconds to go, he looks at the bottom and realizes the code is supposed to spell "GOOD LUCK", and then he finds that it was empty all along. Ethan then loses track of Grace after he spots a mysterious man known only as Gabriel (Esai Morales), who then appears to vanish into thin air. Jasper and Degas then find Ethan and chase him through the airport, but he manages to get away. After seeing Gabriel, Ethan tells Luther and Benji that they are terminating the mission.
Ethan tracks Grace to Rome, where she is apprehended by police with numerous fake passports and identities that are wanted all across the globe for numerous crimes of thievery. Ethan poses as her lawyer and learns that Grace was hired by an anonymous third party to acquire the key half. While Ethan tries to sneak out, Grace finds a way to get away from him. The two are then found by Paris, who pursues them along with the authorities. A chase ensues across Rome, forcing Ethan and Grace to find an IMF safe car, but Paris is able to track them anyway. After some extensive maneuvering, Grace flees from Ethan again.
Ethan reunited with Benji, Luther, and Ilsa, as they discuss The Entity and Gabriel. Before Ethan joined IMF, Gabriel had killed a woman close to Ethan named Marie (Mariela Garriga). They make arrangements to go to a party in Venice where Gabriel will attend.
At the party, Gabriel finds Grace and brings her to Alanna Mitsopolis/White Widow (Vanessa Kirby). Ethan and Ilsa find them as well, learning that Alanna has the other key half and was the one who hired Grace to find the other half. Gabriel talks up The Entity and how Alanna also knows why they must bring the key to it. The Entity is seemingly omniscient and knows several outcomes of events. Gabriel states that either Grace or Ilsa will die before the key is delivered. Despite Ethan trying to convince her not to work with the villain, Alanna remains firm in her decision.
The team scatters as Grace runs through the streets, only to be caught up to by Gabriel by the canal. Ethan tries to run toward her, but The Entity poses as Benji to send him in the wrong direction. He is found by Paris, who fights him and is defeated, but Ethan chooses to spare her life. Ilsa finds the two and fights Gabriel, ultimately ending with him fatally stabbing Ilsa. Ethan is too late as Ilsa is gone.
Grace joins Ethan, Benji, and Luther as she feels remorse for Ilsa's death, but Luther assures her that she is not to blame. Ethan makes a promise to protect Grace while Luther heads to an off-grid location to break down traces of The Entity on his hard drive. He also tells Ethan not to kill Gabriel because he's the only one who knows what The Entity needs the key for. The new plan is to tail Alanna as she is set to meet with a buyer for the key on the Orient Express. Benji makes a mask for Grace to pose as Alanna, but when he tries to make a mask for Ethan to pose as her brother, the mask machine malfunctions, forcing Ethan to come up with a new plan to board the train.
On the train, Gabriel and Paris board and kill the conductor, causing the train to go at its maximum speed. Ethan rides a motorcycle and tries to find a good position to jump on. Grace incapacitates Alanna and poses as her. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Paris encounter Denlinger, who hopes to align himself with The Entity. He talks about the Sevastopol, which was testing its stealth capabilities using The Entity's network, but instead took control and tricked the sub into blowing itself up. When Denlinger says he knows where the sub is located, Gabriel slashes his throat and then prepares to kill Paris, saying that she will betray him. He stabs her and flees.
Ethan misses his opportunity to ride onto the train via motorcycle, so he has to parachute off a cliff and time his landing precisely. Grace then meets the key's buyer, who turns out to be Kittridge. She considers taking the money as payment but feels like she is selling her soul and rejects the payment. She pickpockets the key, but her disguise is soon compromised when the real Alanna wakes up. Gabriel's goons try to go after Grace, but Ethan crashes through the window in time.
Ethan goes after Gabriel, while Jasper and Degas are also on the train and go after him. Grace heads to the front to try and stop the train from going further. After a long fight, Jasper and Degas corner Ethan before he can kill Gabriel, allowing him to jump off the train. Gabriel then sets a timer for bombs to blow up the incoming bridge. Ethan and Grace unhook the front car while the agents try to get everyone on-board to safety. The bridge blows up, and Ethan and Grace have to climb through multiple falling cars. Just before they fall, they are saved by Paris. Just before she loses consciousness, she mentions the Sevastopol and wishes Ethan good luck. Ethan then escapes on a parachute before Jasper and Degas can arrest him. Grace then finds Kittridge and says she wants to join IMF.
Gabriel appears content in his victory until he realizes Ethan switched the key he took from Grace with a lighter, causing him to scream Ethan's name in rage. Ethan reunites with Benji, now in possession of the key. Kittridge's voice is then heard addressing Ethan, as his next mission now involves finding the Sevastopol and saving the world. He also wishes Ethan good luck.
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