Film Preview: Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning - Part One (2023)

Film Poster

Page Revisions:

(May 29, 2022) Original
(May 21, 2023) New Trailer (#2) — New Posters (#1-#2)
(July 9, 2023) New Posters (#3-#24)
(July 16, 2023) New Trailer (#3)

Release Date:

July 14, 2023

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Seventh entry in the long-running Mission: Impossible series.”

Poster Rating: C / B- / D+ (13) / C / C+ (2) / C / C+ / C / C / C+ / C+

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Review: (#1) Not a common poster design for an action film, which makes it intriguing, but it’s really just a scene from the film with a title arranged vertically at the center. (#2) The diagonal motif is strong, but the affectations such as cinders and block motion trails don’t add measurably to the effort while the figures are arranged a bit too systematically.

(#3-#15) This series of character posters are about as cheap as you can get with still headshots and a unique but uninspired title rising vertically. (#16-#21) Oftentimes with these format-specific designs, the uniqueness is universally similar, but with this batch, there are a few that are more notably interesting than the duller others. The Screen-X and Dolby efforts are interesting in their oblique angles and simple design aesthetics while the D-Box has a more traditional stacked figure design with a few interesting details standing out in the margins, with the black-and-white aesthetic a neat twist on the formula. The others are uninspired. (#22) This limited action shot establishes setting and events, but doesn’t impress. (#23) It might be deceptively simple, but the missile cut-out is a compelling detail even if the black-white-red coloration is overused. (#24) It’s not common for movie posters to create non-boxy layouts, so it’s worth noting, but the backgrounds of each segment aren’t all that interesting.

Trailer Rating: C+ / B / C

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Review: (#1) With a surprising number of scenes from the film over a year out, the most noteworthy issue with it is the utter lack of sound effects. The film is clearly still in the making and that gives the viewer pause on whether or not they should be excited about the film, especially after how long its been in production.

(#2) What sells this franchise is the death-defying stunts that Tom Cruise engages in without concern for his own life. The narrative comes into slightly sharper focus, but perhaps not by enough to genuinely impress the viewer. Still, it’s exciting enough that it will probably deliver audiences to theaters as expected.

(#3) A pre-release trailer that highlights lots of action, applauds its performance with critics, and tries to make the film seem like a must-see event, but in the process loses all of the excitement of the prior efforts, even the mediocre one.