History Film / MissionImpossibleDeadReckoning

* In Rome Ethan leads Grace to a "safe car". We see an exotic sports car but the "safe car" turns out to be an old, bright yellow Fiat 500 parked next to it. But this trope is played out again as the Fiat is actually heavily modified with a high performance electric motor.

* BlackTieInfiltration: The second act takes place in Venice, where Ethan follows the trail of Grace at a high-class party (with nude dancers) at the Doge's Palace. Turns out White Widow, Gabriel and Paris are also there, and the Entity manifests on several screens during the tense meeting between all these folks.

* FanserviceExtra: In the establishing shots of the party, the camera lingers on the near nude dancers on the platforms. Male and female.

* {{Flynning}}: [[spoiler:When Ilsa and Gabriel fight with blades--her with Paris's SwordCane and him with a knife--the choreography is based around visual excitement and the needs of drama. Realistically Ilsa should win nine times out of ten because she has the reach weapon and all the space she'd need to use it. She could cut or thrust him from a distance where he couldn't hit back; she could create openings in his defense by feinting to one part of his body before striking another; and even if he tried to charge in to grapple she could just backpedal and probably nail him with a counter thrust. But ''Gabriel'' needs to win this fight for the sake of the plot, and a fight where Ilsa won by staying out of knife distance and slashing or poking at Gabriel with impunity would have probably looked cheap and boring onscreen. So instead Ilsa steps in way too close when she attacks him, makes her movements big enough for Gabirel to react to, and for good measure she incorporates some 360 degree spins. Early in the fight there's a part where he makes the mistake of beating her attack aside too energetically so that he leaves himself wide open, but instead of immediately running him through she acrobatically climbs up his body and wraps her legs around his neck. That same move helped her to kill Janik Vinter in ''Rogue Nation'', but in this case she and Gabriel end up wrestling on the ground and he manages to wound her before they get back on their feet. The fight goes gradually downhill for her, and finally Gabriel stabs her to death.]]

* GambitPileup: The conflict revolves around a multitude of factions (the IMF, the US intelligence community, the Entity's forces, and the White Widow's forces, among others) all out to possess both halves of the key for varying reasons. In fact, according to Kittridge and his fellow members in the Community, ''every single intelligence organization in the world'' is coming after the key, with Ilsa implying that some of the higher ups in [=MI6=] also want to get their hands on it.

** "Luck" also comes up a lot. Coincidences, improbabilities, and random chance are central to the fortunes of several characters and challenge whether fate is predictable or unpredictable. [[spoiler:The name of the Russian sub's operation is "horseshoe", the Entity taunts Benji with "good luck" on the bomb, and Kittridge's final words to Ethan are wishing him good luck.]]

* TheWatson: Benji, as usual, lampshades the ridiculousness of the mission in Abu Gharib. [[spoiler:Also, in the climax, ''Benji's'' the one who comes up with a crazy IndyPloy when things go wrong, and ''Ethan'' has to [[RoleReversal go along with it and note how crazy it is]].]]

** During the dust storm battle, [[spoiler:Ethan finds Ilsa playing dead, and after they fake her death, he reminds her that she's dead. By the end of the movie, she's not faking. And she also starts that sequence trying not to fall asleep. Turns out she sleeps permanently.]]

-->'''Denlinger:''' So let me get this straight: When there's a mission none of ''you'' can handle, you just "leave word" for a nameless man, and hope he gets the job done. Is that it?
-->'''JSOC Head:''' Should he choose to accept it.
-->'''Denlinger:''' What the hell kind of outfit gets to ''choose'' what orders to accept?

-->'''Kittridge:''' How do you plan to get out-
-->[[spoiler:Ethan Hunt puts on Kittridge's face while readying a tranquilizer dart gun.]]
-->'''Kittridge (Exasperated):''' Of course.

* TrashTheSet: For the train sequence, a [[https://www.cdn.tv2.no/images/11634627.jpg?imageId=11634627&width=2120&height=1194&compression=80 full-size replica of a Pacific steam locomotive]] -- based on the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BR_Standard_Class_7 BR "Britannia" Standard Class 7,]] but built out of wood and metal with French-style streamlining and aesthetics -- was specially used. It was unpowered and would be pushed by another locomotive from behind for all the scenes of it moving, with steam effects added in post-production. For its final scene, the replica was launched several hundred feet off a cliff and landed at the bottom of a quarry; what you see on-screen really ''was'' it crashing.

* UseTheirOwnWeaponAgainstThem : The Entity tricks the Russian submarine ''Sevastopol'' into destroying itself with one of its own torpedoes.

''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning''[[note]]formerly ''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One'', Creator/{{Paramount}} dropped the use of "Part One" in January 2024[[/note]] is a 2023 American {{action|Genre}} {{spy|Fiction}} {{thriller}} film and the seventh entry in the ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries Mission: Impossible]]'' film series, written and directed by Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie (his third in both duties after ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'' and ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]''), and starring Creator/TomCruise as Ethan Hunt once more.

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Grace, wearing a white shirt, lands in a tender full of coal and somehow remains completely clean.

''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning''[[note]]formerly ''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One''[[/note]] is a 2023 American {{action|Genre}} {{spy|Fiction}} {{thriller}} film and the seventh entry in the ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries Mission: Impossible]]'' film series, written and directed by Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie (his third in both duties after ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'' and ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]''), and starring Creator/TomCruise as Ethan Hunt once more.

[[redirect:Film/MissionImpossibleDeadReckoningPartOne]]

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! Spoilers for all preceding ''Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries'', including ''Film/MissionImpossibleFallout'', may be left unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/midr.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''[[{{Tagline}} We all share the same fate.]]'']]
->''"Your days of fighting for the so-called greater good are over. This is our chance to control the truth. The concepts of right and wrong for everyone for centuries to come. You're fighting to save an ideal that doesn't exist. Never did. You need to pick a side."''
-->-- '''Eugene Kittridge'''

''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning''[[note]]formerly ''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One''[[/note]] is a 2023 American {{action|Genre}} {{spy|Fiction}} {{thriller}} film and the seventh entry in the ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries Mission: Impossible]]'' film series, written and directed by Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie (his third in both duties after ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'' and ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]''), and starring Creator/TomCruise as Ethan Hunt once more.

Ethan Hunt and his IMF team embark on a dangerous mission to track down the means to deactivate a terrifying artificial intelligence that has gone autonomous and threatens humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan's past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious and powerful nemesis in service of said intelligence named Gabriel, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.

The returning cast includes Creator/RebeccaFerguson as Ilsa Faust, Creator/VingRhames as Luther Stickell, Creator/SimonPegg as Benji Dunn, Creator/VanessaKirby as Alanna "White Widow" Mitsopolis, Creator/FrederickSchmidt as Zola Mitsopolis and Creator/HenryCzerny as Eugene Kittridge ([[TheBusCameBack last seen]] in ''[[Film/MissionImpossible1996 Mission: Impossible]]'' way back in 1996). Newcomers include Creator/HayleyAtwell as Grace, Creator/EsaiMorales as Gabriel, Creator/PomKlementieff as Paris, Creator/SheaWhigham as Jasper Briggs, Creator/RobDelaney, Creator/CaryElwes, Creator/MarkGatiss, Creator/CharlesParnell and Creator/IndiraVarma.

The film released on July 12, 2023. The follow-up is scheduled for release on May 23, 2025.

'''Previews:''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m1drlOZSDw Teaser Trailer]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avz06PDqDbM Official Trailer]].
----
!!''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning'' contains examples of:
* ActionGirl: Ilsa, like the previous movies. Paris is also tough, frequently taking out multiple attackers with ease. Grace is more focused on deception and sleight of hand rather than brute force, and will only use force if she's out of any other options, so she can run away.
* ActionPrologue: Beyond the opening sequence of the ''Sevastopol'' submarine crew confronting the "phantom" submarine, the rest of the opening involves Ethan attempting to rescue Ilsa from a band of bounty hunters in the Arabian Desert during a sandstorm.
* ActorAllusion:
** During the opening scene, there's a brief shot of a chessboard on the Sevastopol submarine. The submarine's commander is played by Marcin Dorociński, known for playing chess ace Borgov in ''Series/TheQueensGambit''.
** According to Briggs, the only way to make sure Ethan Hunt is actually dead is to put a wooden stake through his heart, which is (part of) how you kill a vampire in popular culture. Creator/TomCruise is quite famous for his role as [[Film/InterviewWithTheVampire Lestat de Lioncourt]], a vampire that ''cannot'' be killed with a mere stake-through-the-heart.
* AIIsACrapshoot: The BigBad is an ultra-powerful A.I. known as the Entity.
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: A theme in the movie. Ethan does everything he can to save Ilsa and Grace. [[spoiler:He succeeds at saving Grace and he spares Paris' life]].
* AmbiguouslyEvil: Director Kittridge is among the interested parties in the key, but his exact motives for wanting it aren't known other than he believes it better that it falls into the US's hands instead of another country or power. It's also revealed that he's the one who agreed to sanction the Max and the White Widow's arms-dealing operation in exchange for the White Widow acting as an asset for the CIA, further muddying his morality. [[spoiler: His monologue at the end seems to confirm he is a good guy, albeit very pragmatic in how he fulfills his objectives.]]
* ArbitrarySkepticism: Denlinger is shocked when he discovers that the IMF (which is so secretive that the majority of the participants in the government meeting try to tell Kittridge to shut up about it) works by having a representative "send word" to a seemingly-random operative who can get the job done for them. He becomes dismissive about this division, [[spoiler:then moments later Ethan (who's entered the room as Kittridge's adjutant) gasses everyone except Kittridge with a non-lethal sedative. For bonus points, it turns out that Denlinger created the AI that the plot revolves around, which means he may have been worried at the idea of getting exposed]].
* ArcWords: "Choice" and "Choose" crop up frequently, apart from the standard "Your mission, should you choose to accept it..." phrase. When we first see Ethan, he tells the courier, "Welcome to the IMF. You made the right choice." In the tape, Kittridge reminds Ethan of the choice he made to join IMF to avoid prison. [[spoiler:Both Luther and Benji tell Grace how they chose to join IMF, and Ethan advises Grace that Kittridge will give her the same choice if they meet again. Toward the end, after Grace helps Ethan escape and meets Kittridge herself, she tells him, "I choose to accept."]]
** "Truth" forms the secondary theme of the movie. Many characters place a lot of emphasis on the fact that the Entity (and whoever controls it) has the power to ''define'' the truth. When one can control all information in the world, the truth is whatever one wants it to be. A natural foil to the murky world of spycraft that the characters live in. [[spoiler:The Entity demonstrates this firsthand by erasing Gabriel from the airport security camera footage in real time and impersonating Benji over the team's comms, leading characters where it wants them to go.]]
* BadBoss: [[spoiler:Director of National Intelligence Denlinger is willing to purge undesirable "patriots" from the government by [[EnemyMine forming an alliance with Gabriel and the Entity]], and is fully ready to sell out his colleagues to ensure the deal happens. All it gets him is a SlashedThroat for his trouble]].
* BadassBoast: In regards to Gabriel's SadisticChoice with Grace and Ilsa, Ethan has this to say:
-->'''Ethan:''' If anything happens to either of them, there's no place on Earth where you or your God will be safe from me. There's no place where I won't go to kill you. ''That'' is written.
* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:When Grace (disguised as Alanna) leaves her cabin to meet with Kittridge, the first thing Kittridge says is that she can't possibly be Alanna. It seems like the mission is already a bust and the crew are going to have to improvise like crazy, perhaps Kittridge noticed that the fake Alanna has the wrong eye color...but Kittridge then makes it clear he's just making a joke about how the last time they met Alanna was a young girl, and the ruse is still intact.]]
* BatmanGambit: The Entity uses this in combination with XanatosSpeedChess. Amassing as much information about an individual as possible and manipulating them based on probable actions they will take.
** Its intervention in the IMF's Abu Dhabi airport mission sees it deploying Paris to kill the contact who was supposed to buy the key from a courier, which was stolen earlier by Grace - a professional thief and its UnwittingPawn hired by a third party. When Ethan intercepts Grace - as it knows would happen - it orders Gabriel to deploy a fake nuclear bomb to distract Ethan's team, leaving them uncoordinated and unfocused as Ethan tries to hide from a CIA hit squad led by Briggs and Degas. During all the confusion, it learns the weaknesses of Ethan's team by coercing Benji to admit them all when he's trying to 'disarm' the fake bomb while also allowing Grace to steal the key back from Ethan when he's distracted at a crucial moment. Finally, it orders Gabriel to be seen by Ethan, knowing that due to their past history, Gabriel will unnerve him so much that Ethan will order his team to abort the mission immediately.
** It's the 'host' of the party in Venice to [[spoiler:the White Widow - the secret third party that hired Grace to steal the key in Abu Dhabi - where its true intention lies in ''not'' getting both keys from the White Widow right then but to intimidate her into joining it by having Gabriel threatening to kill her if she doesn't comply. Having Gabriel make it clear that he knows for a fact that either Ilsa or Grace - both of them someone Ethan cares for - will die tonight is enough to convince the White Widow to change her side in order to save her skin. Also, it knows that Ethan will do whatever it takes to protect the two women, so it hijacks the identity of Benji/Luther and leads Ethan into a trap while also coercing Ilsa that she's able to save Grace at the cost of her own life, knowing that thanks to her SamaritanSyndrome, she wouldn't just walk away and abandon Grace to be killed by Gabriel.]]
** Finally, it knows that all relevant parties [[spoiler:will be on the Orient Express train to procure the completed key, so it plans ahead to cause the entire train to crash and kill them all by having Gabriel bomb a bridge ahead and go in to recover the completed key, kill the train conductors and sabotage the engine, personally killing Denlinger (the only loose end who knows about the location of the ''Sevastopol'' and the Entity's own weakness) and Paris (whom it predicts will betray them because Ethan spared her life in Venice and who heard Denlinger's confession, though this ends up being a SelfFulfillingProphecy). It knows that Ethan is also going to be there, which is why it had Gabriel murder Ilsa in Venice, knowing that Ethan will be driven by rage to murder Gabriel for killing two of the women he cared for and thus killing the only person who knows what the completed key is used for, meaning that nobody will learn about the Entity's weakness and ensures its ultimate victory. If Gabriel kills Ethan instead (Luther reasons), then the Entity's most dangerous enemy is dead. However, it doesn't get its way this time due to multiple [[SpannerInTheWorks spanners in the works]] at play that it couldn't prepare to account for them all.]]
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: The Entity is described (and shown) as an expert in manipulation and intrusion in terms very similar to those used to describe Ethan. Its agent Gabriel is very good at hurting people and targeting their psychological weakpoints. Team Hunt even suspects the Entity is trying to use their paranoia about it to manipulate them, which is [[KansasCityShuffle one of their own favorite tricks]].
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe:
** Grace's backstory establishes that she doesn't trust anyone and is only out for herself, which makes Ethan's generosity towards her (particularly when he tells her that her life matters more than his own, during a conversation with the team in Rome) so shocking that she starts crying in happiness because of it. This motivates her decision during the climax of the film [[spoiler:to [[DefectorFromDecadence reject the $100 million USD offer from Kittridge]] and seemingly join the IMF, based on Ethan's advice]].
** During the alleyway fight in Venice, [[spoiler:Ethan manages to take down Paris but leaves her alive. This, coupled with Gabriel attempting to kill her onboard the train because [[HeKnowsTooMuch she knows about]] the ''Sevastopol'', leads her to go back and save Ethan and Grace from DestinationDefenestration during the climax]].
* BiblicalMotifs: The bad guy is a guy named Gabriel who follows the Entity as if it were a god and he were its servant. Ethan even explicitly calls it "your god" at one point. Subtle.
* BigBadEnsemble: The main figures causing the conflict of this film are Gabriel, who acts as the [[MouthOfSauron messenger of the Entity]] and seeks to recover the two key halves for it, and [[spoiler:the White Widow]], who holds one half of the key and is the one who hired Grace to steal the other half, planning to auction off both to the highest bidder. Every intelligence agency in the world has the goal of controlling the truth if they get their hands on the Entity.
* TheBigBadShuffle: The first act of the film sets up a number of potential antagonists after the {{Macguffin}} (Kittridge, Denlinger, the buyer for Ethan's half of the key, Gabriel, Paris, Grace and her employer, and of course the Entity). It isn't until after the second act that their various allegiances and who's behind or working with who begin to become apparent.
* BigBrotherIsWatching: The Entity is capable of hacking into any camera or surveillance system, granting it the ability to monitor and spy on just about everything that occurs through the use of satellites and the Internet.
* BigNo: Ethan in the climax [[spoiler:when Gabriel escapes from the train.]]
* BlackTieInfiltration: The second act takes place in Venice, where Ethan follows the trail of Grace at a high-class party (with nude dancers) at the Doge's Palace. Turns out White Widow, Gabriel and Paris are also there, and the Entity manifests on several screens during the tense meeting between all these folks.
* BookEnds: The opening and closing sequences have a mission brief by Kittridge, who is outlining Ethan's next mission.
** [[spoiler:The ''Sevastopol'' appears in the opening and closing scenes.]]
* BountyHunter: Teams of them are after Ilsa in the beginning, seeking to claim her half of the key and sell it to either the US government or a black-market buyer.
* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: Realizing that the Entity functionally has surveillance over all government communication channels, Kittridge opts to set up shop in a fully analog office -- the [=TVs=] are CRT, the computers aren't networked to any known system, and the system it uses is an old weather control satellite that was the only one of its kind not decommissioned years earlier.
* TheBrute: The unnamed big tough goon working for Gabriel and the Entity, who assists Paris in ambushing Ethan in an alleyway.
* BusCrash: While the [[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout previous film]] never dealt with the whereabouts of [[Film/MissionImpossible1996 Alanna's mother, Max]] (played by Creator/VanessaRedgrave), Kittridge confirms in this film that Max died in the interim between the original film and this movie.
* ButNowIMustGo: Just before the finale, Luther tells Ethan he has to go off the grid to analyze the hard drive from their compromised laptop, as it may contain a piece of the Entity and he can't risk using any resource that could lead the Entity to him.
* CallBack:
** Eugene Kittridge returns, having been absent since [[Film/MissionImpossible1996 the first film]], and plays a key role during the events of the film. During his first conversation with Hunt ([[spoiler:in Denlinger's office, after the latter has knocked out everyone except the former]]), the conversation revolves around Ethan's loyalties to the IMF, similar to their first conversation in Prague nearly three decades earlier.
--->'''Kittridge:''' I understand... you're upset.\\
'''Ethan:''' I'm not upset, Kittridge. You wanted me to listen. This is me listening.
** The RunningGag of Ethan pulling a sleight of hand trick rears its head again, to great effect several times, particularly to pocket one-half of the key from Grace at the Abu Dhabi airport.
** The film climaxes with a TrainTopBattle on a high-speed train that at one point goes into a tunnel, just like the original movie. Ethan even takes a moment to realize what he must do prior to pursuing Gabriel on top of the train.
** Ilsa fights a knife-wielding villain with a sword, referencing the knife fight between her and the Bone Doctor in [[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation the fifth movie]].
** This film once again has Ethan racing to rescue a female character from potential death at the hands of a villain, [[spoiler:Sarah in the original, Ilsa in this film, only to arrive too late and have them [[DiedInYourArmsTonight die in his arms]]]].
** Ethan [[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation once again]] allies with a female WildCard that he places trust in despite several of her actions saying otherwise, eventually causing her to side with him and fully join the team, and whose relationship with her [[ShipTease contains a fair bit of romantic teasing]]. Grace also ends up giving Ethan an unexpected hug after a tense moment, much like how Ilsa did in ''Rogue Nation''.
** Also, Grace herself is also a professional thief who's looking to wipe her slate clean, which makes her quite similar to Nyah from ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'' as well.
** [[Film/MissionImpossible1996 As]] [[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation before]], Ethan's secure clearance code is Bravo Echo 11.
** Once again, [[spoiler:Eugene Kittridge meets with members of Max's Crime Syndicate and makes some sort of deal with them on a train (though in this case, Kittridge ''thought'' he was dealing with Alanna but it's actually Grace in disguise). He even mentions the time when Max made a deal with him to work as an asset for the CIA back in the first movie.]]
** Near the end, [[spoiler:the villain [[SayMyName screaming Ethan's name]] [[Film/MissionImpossibleII after realizing he's been tricked.]]]]
** In the third film, Benji has a monologue about a hypothetical dangerous, world-destroying technology called the "Anti-God". The Entity sounds remarkably similar, it comes with BiblicalMotifs, and Ethan even calls it a "god" at one point.
** Ethan has a scene in which he speaks French to a wounded Frenchwoman just like in ''Fallout''. [[spoiler:To Paris at the end, more specifically.]]
** Ethan letting out a BigNo as [[spoiler:[[Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol the villain takes a fall during their fight]], except this time it's to make his escape rather than commit suicide.]]
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Discussed -- Luther outright tells Ethan that they can't kill Gabriel, because Gabriel is one of the few people alive who knows what the key is used for and where it is used, and that the Entity is counting on one of them killing the other to eliminate a threat to its existence. [[spoiler:Ethan comes very close to killing Gabriel anyway, despite assuring Luther otherwise, but Briggs intervenes and circumstances conspire to give Ethan that information through another source.]]
* CentralTheme: Choice. How do you make choices when almost nothing and no one can be trusted?
* ChainedHeat: Ethan and Grace end up getting handcuffed to each other while in Rome, which causes quite a bit of difficulty for them when they have to go on a car chase to evade everyone trying to catch them.
* CharacterAgedWithTheActor: For the first time, it's explicitly made clear on screen that Ethan Hunt, like the [[Creator/TomCruise actor]] who portrays him, is now an older man. Ethan is said to have joined the IMF "three decades ago".
* ChekhovsGun:
** The lighter Grace uses to swap with the half of the cruciform key in the buyer's pocket during the airport sequence is utilized later to [[spoiler:do the same thing to Gabriel, just before Ethan knocks him off the train in the climax]].
** Luther makes sure to pack sufficient parachuting equipment for Ethan just before the latter leaves to intercept the train where the key exchange will be made. It comes in useful during the end, both when Ethan is forced to parachute onto the train to stop Gabriel and save Grace, and when [[spoiler:he needs to make a quick escape from the train from Briggs after learning about the ''Sevastopol'']].
* CityOfCanals: The second act takes place in UsefulNotes/{{Venice}}.
* {{Cliffhanger}}: [[spoiler:While the Entity is still at large and an active threat, Ethan managed to obtain the key from his fight with Gabriel on the train. Meanwhile, all the world's governments are still looking to gain control of the Entity, and while Ethan is one step closer to finding the ''Sevastopol'' after Paris tells him about it, Gabriel will no doubt be seeking revenge on Ethan.]]
* ConscienceMakesYouGoBack: [[spoiler:Despite negotiating a deal with Kittridge to turn over the Key in exchange for protection and a substantial fee, Grace chooses to decline the money and deliver the Key to Ethan instead.]]
* ContinuityNod:
** Erica Sloane is nowhere to be seen (having been presumably replaced by Kittridge in the interim as the CIA Director), but her photo is shown hanging on a wall in the meeting room where Denlinger and the other intelligence officials meet in the opening. In actuality, Creator/AngelaBassett was unable to reprise the role due to production conflicts.
** Ethan's first conversation with Kittridge is evocative of the signature scene from the original film where Kittridge confronts Ethan in the "aquarium restaurant" -- [[spoiler:Ethan throws an object (the exploding gum in the original film, a non-lethal bomb with a knockout agent) past Kittridge's head, exactly the same way he did nearly three decades earlier. The following conversation between the pair is reminiscent of the dialogue between the two from the original film, discussing Ethan's loyalties to the IMF, right down to similar camera (Dutch) angles.]]
** Benji refers to Luther as "Phineas Phreak" at one point, which is one of the nicknames Ethan mentioned as what Luther is known for in the first movie.
** After rendezvousing after the car chase in Rome, when discussing the White Widow's (Max's) party later that evening, Ilsa inquires whether the former still thinks Ethan is [[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout John Lark]]. This confusion continues through the subsequent party scene in Venice, as Zola (Alanna's brother) still remembers and identifies Ethan as such.
** During the meeting with Alanna, Kittridge states that she looks very different from the Alanna he knew, a girl who was "yay-high, drinking hot chocolate while standing beside her mother." During the same conversation, he confirms that Alanna's operations were allowed to continue at Kittridge's behest, presumably because her mother Maxine "Max" Mitsopolis (played by Creator/VanessaRedgrave in the first film) was an asset to the CIA.
* CoolShades: Ethan sports sunglasses while roaming an Abu Dhabi airport. These glasses are also plot-relevant, as they can help him track one half of the key (and [[spoiler:provide the first clue about Gabriel's existence, as the Entity is erasing his digital presence in real-time]]).
* CrazyPrepared: The Entity, due to being a sentient AI, has the ability to predict nearly every possible outcome and take steps to counteract it through its "representative", Gabriel. This is exemplified in UsefulNotes/{{Venice}}, when the team realizes that the AI is capable of countering every choice they make, even to the extent of predicting their overall movement and decisions. Later on, the AI hacks into Ethan's comms and taunts him before Paris and another henchman attack him in an alleyway.
* CurbStompBattle:
** Grace is fairly proficient in combat for a career thief with no extensive training but stands no chance against the much more skilled Gabriel.
** Gabriel has absolutely no chance against Ethan in a straight-up hand-to-hand fight, landing a total of only three hits (despite pulling a knife) while Ethan easily counters everything else.
* CurbStompCushion: Gabriel and Ilsa's fight is more evenly matched but, although keeping the upper hand for the majority of it, she still loses.
* CutApart: At the airport, Briggs's team tracks Ethan on the security cameras, relaying to Briggs his location and a description of what he's wearing. The scene cuts between Ethan walking around oblivious and Briggs and Degas sneaking up behind their target. The target's face is not shown until Briggs and Degas make their move -- at which point it becomes apparent that their camera feed has been hacked and sent them after a different man who happens to be dressed similarly to Ethan. As this sinks in, the real Ethan walks past behind them, unnoticed.
* DarkActionGirl: Paris, Gabriel's main accomplice and his muscle.
* DeadlyDustStorm: Ethan goes seeking Ilsa in the middle of the Arabian desert, and just as a battle with {{bounty hunter}}s who have come to get her starts, a sandstorm erupts.
* DeathFakedForYou: Ethan initially reports Ilsa as having died during the mission to recover one half of the key during the opening sequence. It's later revealed that Ilsa wasn't killed by one of the bounty hunters, and was sent away by Hunt on the condition that she "stay dead".
* {{Determinator}}: Like [[Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol Anatoly Sidorov before him]], Briggs pursues Ethan around the globe at the behest of Kittridge, ostensibly to capture and/or kill the agent, as he's believed to be in possession of one-half of the cruciform key. [[spoiler:And like Anatoly before him, he's ultimately swayed to abandon his mission and aid Ethan during the climax of the film, even letting the latter go at the conclusion of the film]].
* DeviousDaggers: Gabriel seems to carry an absurd number of knives hidden about his person at all times.
* DidntSeeThatComing: It's implied the Entity's predictive capabilities faltered somewhat in the climax, as [[spoiler:it's implied that it didn't expect Gabriel to mortally wound Paris, but for her to be NotQuiteDead and [[SelfFulfilingProphecy fulfil its prediction of her betraying them for Ethan]] after [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe he spared her life]]. Given the lack of electronic devices on the wrecked train afterwards, it's unclear if it knows that Ethan is aware of the ''Sevastopol'' and where to use the key]]. Of course, given its nature, it's up in the air whether or not it did have a slip-up or if events are still proceeding within its predictions.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: It didn't occur to [[spoiler:Denlinger that the Entity doesn't actually need the keys or the location of ''Sevastopol'' (which it would presumably already know, being responsible for sinking it), it only needs to make sure '''no one else''' has them so no one can stop it. Thus, the simplest solution to solve that problem, after Denlinger assures Gabriel that he is the only one who knows where the ''Sevastopol'' is, is to kill him and be done with it.]]
* DigitalHeadSwap: An In-Universe example: Luther swaps a tourist's head with Ethan's to throw Briggs and Degas off their trail.
* DismantledMacGuffin: The key to the ''Sevastopol's'' system core is a pair of cross-shaped keys that combine into a single cruciform key. The two halves of the key wind up separated, and much of the film involves bringing them back together while also trying to figure out what they go to and where.
* DramaticIrony: The viewer knows precisely what the keys are for, but it takes the entire film for Ethan to figure this out.
* TheDreaded: Ethan is this to the ''Entity'', surprisingly enough, as it's noted the Entity would not be going to the lengths it has to target him specifically unless it's already predicted an outcome where Ethan defeats it.
* DutchAngle: There's quite a few of them, possibly as a homage to the [[Film/MissionImpossible1996 first film]] (which used it aplenty) to go along with Kittridge's [[TheBusCameBack return]].
* DynamicEntry: During the climactic train chase, Ethan makes his entry [[spoiler:by smashing through the side of the train car where a {{Mook|s}} is preparing to kill Grace on Zola's orders, causing the henchman to fall out the other side of the train car]].
* EiffelTowerEffect:
** In UsefulNotes/{{Rome}}, there are views of St. Peter's Basilica and square (UsefulNotes/VaticanCity) as well as the Victor Emmanuel II Monument and the Colosseum (the embassy is situated nearby). Also, a part of the car chase happens on the stairs of the Trinità dei Monti (famous moviewise for Creator/AudreyHepburn eating ice cream there in ''Film/RomanHoliday'').
** In UsefulNotes/{{Venice}}, there's views of the the Piazza San Marco (its namesake Basilica in particular), and the party happens at the Doge's Palace.
* EnvironmentalSymbolism: In Venice, [[spoiler:Ilsa and Ethan have a happy chat about how it's their first time in Venice, on a sunny balcony. After Ilsa dies, Ethan stands on the same balcony, but the sky is grey.]]
* EvilDuo: Gabriel and the Entity. The Entity plans things, while Gabriel executes the orders on the ground.
* EvilIsNotAToy: One of the reasons why Ethan seeks to destroy the Entity. He believes it's become too powerful and dangerous for humanity to control, and therefore must be destroyed at all costs. (He's probably right, [[spoiler:given what happens to Denlinger when he tries to team up with the Entity for his own purposes.]])
* ExpansionPackPast: This film reveals part of the reason why Ethan joined the IMF decades earlier -- a flashback shows that Gabriel murdered [[TheLostLenore his girlfriend, Marie]], an act he was helpless to stop. This retroactively makes Gabriel Ethan's oldest-fought enemy.
* EyepatchOfPower: Ilsa wears an eyepatch while aiming and shooting with a sniper rifle in the Arabian desert, both to shield her eye and help steady her aim.
* FailedASpotCheck: [[spoiler:Alanna (The White Widow) has blue eyes. Grace has brown eyes, which she doesn't change when disguised as Alanna via latex mask. Kittridge fails to notice the false Alanna's incorrect eye color, but he seems to have only met her a few times. Her own brother, who is her body guard, on the other hand, also fails to notice.]]
* FamedInStory: The film opens proper with Briggs and his team heading to Abu Dhabi, where the former touts Ethan's abilities for the rest of the team.
-->'''Briggs:''' A master of infiltration, deception, sabotage and psych-warfare. For all intents and purposes, ladies and gentlemen, ''a mind-reading, shape-shifting, harbinger of chaos.''
* FanserviceExtra: In the establishing shots of the party, the camera lingers on the near nude dancers on the platforms. Male and female.
* FinalBattle: Ethan fighting Gabriel [[TraintopBattle on top of a train]] for the key.
* FishOutOfWater: Grace is ''way'' out of her depth in the absurdly high stakes crazy death-defying world of the IMF, being "just" a professional thief hired to pickpocket a single man and deliver an object to an black market broker. Unlike the badass, fearless [[ActionGirl Action Girls]] and SpyFiction characters that surround her, she panics when faced with direct threats to her life or the sight of death.
* {{Flynning}}: [[spoiler:When Ilsa and Gabriel fight with blades--her with Paris's SwordCane and him with a knife--the choreography is based around visual excitement and the needs of drama. Realistically Ilsa should win nine times out of ten because she has the reach weapon and all the space she'd need to use it. She could cut or thrust him from a distance where he couldn't hit back; she could create openings in his defense by feinting to one part of his body before striking another; and even if he tried to charge in to grapple she could just backpedal and probably nail him with a counter thrust. But ''Gabriel'' needs to win this fight for the sake of the plot, and a fight where Ilsa won by staying out of knife distance and slashing or poking at Gabriel with impunity would have probably looked cheap and boring onscreen. So instead Ilsa steps in way too close when she attacks him, makes her movements big enough for Gabirel to react to, and for good measure she incorporates some 360 degree spins. Early in the fight there's a part where he makes the mistake of beating her attack aside too energetically so that he leaves himself wide open, but instead of immediately running him through she acrobatically climbs up his body and wraps her legs around his neck. That same move helped her to kill Janik Vinter in ''Rogue Nation'', but in this case she and Gabriel end up wrestling on the ground and he manages to wound her before they get back on their feet. The fight goes gradually downhill for her, and finally Gabriel stabs her to death.]]
** During the dust storm battle, [[spoiler:Ethan finds Ilsa playing dead, and after they fake her death, he reminds her that she's dead. By the end of the movie, she's not faking. And she also starts that sequence trying not to fall asleep. Turns out she sleeps permanently.]]
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: [[spoiler:After the credits have finished rolling, you hear the sound The Entity makes one more time. Yep, The Entity has been observing ''you'' in the audience the whole time.]]
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: While evading CIA agents in the Abu Dhabi International Airport, Ethan makes his way onto the roof. It then cuts to the leader inside saying "he's got to be around here somewhere" as Ethan runs by a window behind him.
* GambitPileup: The conflict revolves around a multitude of factions (the IMF, the US intelligence community, the Entity's forces, and the White Widow's forces, among others) all out to possess both halves of the key for varying reasons. In fact, according to Kittridge and his fellow members in the Community, ''every single intelligence organization in the world'' is coming after the key, with Ilsa implying that some of the higher ups in [=MI6=] also want to get their hands on it.
* GoldfishPoopGang: Briggs and Degas quickly become this during the airport scene, to comic effect. While they do sometimes come close to catching Ethan, they never end up succeeding. [[spoiler:Ethan even ends up ordering them around on the train.]]
* TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil: The main players after the Entity's key. There's the IMF (the Good), Grace and by extension her employer (the Bad), and Gabriel (the Evil).
* HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: [[spoiler:Denlinger volunteers to Gabriel that he has made sure nobody but him knows the location of the ''Sevastopol'', thinking this makes him invaluable to Gabriel. However, Gabriel is fine with nobody knowing the location of the ''Sevastopol'', and after getting reassurance that nobody other than Denlinger knows, kills him.]]
* TheHeavy: Gabriel leads the Entity's henchmen and is the main threat whom the IMF has to contend with, while the Entity is the real BigBad giving him orders and intel.
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Paris, having been seen as a liability by Gabriel, goes back to save Ethan and Grace during the climax aboard the dangling train, and helps deliver a crucial piece of intel (that Ethan needs to find the ''Sevastopol'', and that it's a submarine)]].
* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:Denlinger]] boasts that only he knows the location of the ''Sevastopol'', so Gabriel kills him. [[spoiler:He then tries to kill Paris for the same reason, as the Entity believes she'll tell Ethan because he spared her life.]]
* HeroAntagonist:
** Kittridge is still unabashedly on Ethan's side, giving him the mission to find and obtain one half of the activation key to access the Entity in the opening of the film... but he ''also'' [[spoiler:is manipulating Ethan and his team to get it for him, as he wants the power it represents for the U.S. government, and not telling Ethan's team about his amoral motives]].
** US intelligence agents Briggs and Degas are sent to apprehend Ethan after he [[RogueAgent goes rogue]] ([[OnceAnEpisode again]]), but aren't actually evil and are just doing their duties.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Ilsa fights Gabriel to save Grace's life after she gets wounded by him, ultimately leading to her death; due to the terms of the SadisticChoice that Gabriel gave Ethan, this ends up sparing Grace's life.]]
* HighHeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Due to a combination of Ethan sparing her life and Gabriel stabbing her, Paris decides to save Ethan and Grace from the train fall, and tells Ethan about the ''Sevastopol'' before passing out.]]
* HistoryRepeats: In his past, Ethan was forced to watch as Gabriel killed Marie, the woman he loved, in front of him. [[spoiler:Gabriel once again kills the woman he loves the most, though Ilsa has already died by the time that he gets to her body.]]
* HotSubOnSubAction: {{Subverted|Trope}}. At the beginning, it appears the Russian submarine ''Sevastopol'' and an American one are engaging each other... only for the Russian crew to find out the American sub never existed and was an illusion created by the Entity on their detection instruments. The torpedo they launched, meanwhile, [[OhCrap returns]] [[UseTheirOwnWeaponAgainstThem back at them]].
* ItOnlyWorksOnce: After the Entity hacks their coms in Paris, the IMF switch to older analogue earbuds for the rest of the movie, which have their faults but are too primitive for the Entity's HollywoodHacking abilities to work.
* IWasNeverHere: Kittridge tells Briggs this when [[spoiler:Briggs runs into him on the train, then threatens to [[ReassignedToAntarctica have him sorting dead letters for the rest of his career]] if he doesn't do exactly as Kittridge orders]].
* KnockoutGas: Used in both the intelligence meeting and in Rome. Notably, it is [[TechnicolorScience green when active]], but turns gray and harmless a few moments after dispersion.
* LampshadeHanging: The film has several moments of levity, particularly in the intro when Denlinger (the Director of National Intelligence) is briefed by Kittridge and other CIA brass on the nature of the IMF's work, highlighting the absurdity of their mission structure in the process.
-->'''Denlinger:''' So let me get this straight: When there's a mission none of ''you'' can handle, you just "leave word" for a nameless man, and hope he gets the job done. Is that it?
-->'''JSOC Head:''' Should he choose to accept it.
-->'''Denlinger:''' What the hell kind of outfit gets to ''choose'' what orders to accept?
** Luther and Benji argue about their overlapping roles as "the tech guy".
** When he has to disarm the small nuclear bomb by answering questions, Benji rants about how they always seem to end up in these sort of high stakes ludicrous scenarios.
** During Ethan's briefing, the voice on the tape (Kittridge) makes a snarky remark about how he keeps going rogue, and tells him to color within the lines this time. [[spoiler:He might as well have saved his breath.]]
** Similarly, Degas wonders why Ethan would go rogue, and Briggs wearily informs him that Ethan ''always'' goes rogue.
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:Ethan spares Paris' life and Gabriel stabs her for potentially betraying him. Cue Paris saving Ethan's life and informing him of the existence of ''Sevastopol''.]]
* LatexPerfection: Wouldn't be a [[Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries Mission Impossible]] film without it. Played straight, exaggerated, subverted, defied, and even used as a BrickJoke throughout the movie.
** The most notable instance we see of it involves [[spoiler:Ethan Hunt eavesdropping on the US intelligence committee meeting by disguising as an officer, and also getting the opportunity to speak with Kittridge one-on-one]]. Used ''twice'' in the same scene with ''two'' different masks. Once to get in, the other to get out.
-->'''Kittridge:''' How do you plan to get out-
-->[[spoiler:Ethan Hunt puts on Kittridge's face while readying a tranquilizer dart gun.]]
-->'''Kittridge (Exasperated):''' Of course.
** Subverted and becomes a BrickJoke for Briggs, who has [[SeenItAll the experience to know the prevalence of such technology]]. Unfortunately for him, every person he [[NoSenseOfPersonalSpace (rather invasively)]] checks for a mask turns out to not be wearing one.
** Played straight and defied in the final mission. [[spoiler:Grace would disguise herself as Alanna while Ethan would disguise as Zola]], knocking out their real counterparts and taking over their place in time to meet the [[spoiler:buyer]]. [[UnspokenPlanGuarantee As expected]], things go wrong almost immediately, with only one of the masks ready before the Entity clues in to what the team are trying to do and sabotages the machine.
* LogicalWeakness: As a "cold, hard logical machine", the Entity is capable of incredible predictive capability using facts and information, but it somewhat falters when it comes to grasping the ''emotional'' side of events. It knows enough to manipulate people or predict their likely actions, but fails to actually ''get'' these itself. [[spoiler:It predicted that Ethan sparing Paris would result in her eventually betraying them to repay him, so it ordered Gabriel to kill her first, not seeing how that would just motivate her to fulfil its prediction should she survive (which happens, if not for long)]].
* TheLostLenore:
** It's revealed that, prior to the events of the entire film series, [[spoiler:Ethan lost his girlfriend after she was shot by "Gabriel", the man who would eventually become the representative for the Entity]].
** Later in the film, this extends to [[spoiler:Ilsa Faust herself, who pulls a HeroicSacrifice to save Grace, at the cost of being stabbed by Gabriel]].
* MacGuffin: The two halves of the Key to a mysterious chamber aboard the ''Sevastopol'' submarine. Every character in the film is after them so they can either destroy the Entity (the IMF and Ilsa), harness the Entity (the CIA and presumably all the other international intelligence agencies), sell the key on the black market (the White Widow and the bounty hunters at the beginning), or help the Entity in its goals (Gabriel).
* MagicBrakes: Played with. Gabriel disables the brakes on the Orient Express, but only by destroying the brake lever. Ethan and Grace stop the train by disconnecting the engine, which snaps the brake hoses and causes the brakes on the coaches to come on, exactly as would happen in real life.
* MisguidedMissile: In the beginning of the film, the Entity tricks the ''Sevastopol'' submarine's crew into firing on a phantom enemy that looks to have fired on them first. As they're distracted by their imminent deaths, only for nothing to happen, their torpedo circles back and targets their sub, its remote detonator disabled. The sub is then hit and sinks to the bottom of the ocean, with most of its crew dying in the cold waters and their corpses hitting the ice near the surface. Unfortunately for the Entity, this act leaves a piece of its source code still on the sub, a potential vulnerability it seeks to eliminate.
* TheMole: [[spoiler:Denlinger tries to form an alliance with Gabriel in order to harness the Entity to purge undesirable patriots from the U.S. government and essentially rule the world together. Gabriel responds to this by [[TeamKiller slashing Denlinger's throat]].]]
* {{Mooks}}: Gabriel's goons (and during the party scene, the White Widow's bodyguards) are the rank-and-file bad guys that Ethan has to contend with.
* MysteriousEmployer: The figure who employed Grace to steal Ethan's half of the key, whose identity even Grace herself doesn't know. [[spoiler:It turns out to be the White Widow.]]
* TheNeedsOfTheMany: During a team discussion in Venice, Luther states that the lives of Ethan's team can't matter more than the mission. Ethan does not agree.
* NextSundayAD: PlayedWith: Several details, such as a scene dated "[[UsefulNotes/LeapDay February 29]]" and mentions of Ethan's IMF career beginning "30 years ago", imply that the film takes place in 2024. This movie was released in 2023, but its sequel is set for release in 2025.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain:
** If Gabriel had not [[spoiler:stabbed and betrayed Paris, there is a very good chance she would not have saved Ethan, which would have led to a victory for the Entity]].
** The Entity was merely supposed to compromise the stealth systems on the ''Sevastopol'', not sink it. In doing so, it left behind a part of itself that could be used to destroy it.
* NoAnimalsWereHarmed: In addition to the standard Humane Society disclaimer, the credits also feature a disclaimer that the Spanish Steps in Rome were not harmed in the making of the film, and that the stunt was a reproduction on a studio set.
* NoManShouldHaveThisPower: The reason Ethan decides its best to destroy the Entity rather than try to harness it is because its ability to manipulate digital images and data (thus effectively controlling people's perception of what's true) is too dangerous for any one individual or faction to possess.
* NoodleIncident: It's revealed in this film that prospective agents join the IMF as a last shot at redemption after having committed some sort of crime, and that Ethan joined after getting imprisoned. What exactly he ''was'' imprisoned for is never elaborated on, nor the circumstances that led to [[spoiler:Gabriel shooting and killing Marie]]. Luther and Benji each tell Grace that they faced the same choice, with no elaboration of what their circumstances were.
* NoSell: [[spoiler:Like Lane, Gabriel is one of the few people in the series who can beat Ilsa's leg wrap SignatureMove. Unlike Lane, Gabriel manages to do it ''twice''.]]
* NotUsingTheZedWord: For some reason, nobody ''quite'' manages to call The Entity an artificial intelligence.
* OffBridgeOntoVehicle: Near the end of the film, [[spoiler:Gabriel escapes from Ethan Hunt by jumping off the train they're fighting on (which is going over a bridge) and onto the bed of a truck.]]
* PosthumousCharacter: Despite being promoted in the opening titles, [[spoiler:Marie (Mariela Garriga) is long-dead by the time the events of the film occur, having been killed decades earlier by Gabriel just before Ethan joined the IMF]].
* PutOnABus: Luther is forced to abandon the team at the beginning of the third act, claiming he needs to go somewhere completely "off the grid" in order to check his computer equipment in the hopes of finding samples of the Entity's source code that he can use to find some way to shut it down, and that he'll be unable to help Ethan and the others for the foreseeable future.
* RankUp: Kittridge was promoted to Director of the CIA between ''Fallout'' and this film, replacing Erika Sloane.
* RayOfHopeEnding: [[spoiler:While the Entity is still alive and will most certainly cause more harm, Ethan does have two things up his sleeve: he has both halves of the key and he now knows about the ''Sevastopol'' courtesy of Paris. He just has to find it.]]
* {{Retcon}}: In the previous films and the TV series there was never anything to suggest the IMF was anything other than a legitimate (albeit deniable) part of the intelligence community with its recruits simply being exceptional people who wanted to serve their country. This film states that IMF agents (at least all of the agents in the film) are former criminals given a shot at redemption by the IMF to use their talents for good.
* {{Retraux}}:
** The {{Dutch Angle}}s are clear {{homage}}s to the first ''M:I'' film from 1996.
** The film used the very same 40 mm Panavision camera lens as the 1996 film for the Venice scene to capture a similar atmosphere.
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: In the third act, shortly after [[spoiler:Denlinger outlines his plan to ally with Gabriel and use The Entity in combination with America's military industrial complex to effectively rule the world, Gabriel cuts his throat to preserve the secrecy of the ''Sevastopol''.]]
* RippedFromTheHeadlines: For those familiar with hacking, the opening submarine sequence may resemble the STUXNET intrusion of Iran's nuclear program.
* {{Roofhopping}}: Ethan makes his escape from the Abu Dhabi airport through its roof, running on it.
* RunningGag:
** Ethan and Grace are very skilled at pickpocketing here, able to steal the key halves out of (or sometimes placed them into) each other's or other people's pockets without anyone noticing. Serves both for laughs ''and'' drama. Also serves as a ChekhovsSkill when [[spoiler:Grace (disguised as White Widow) takes the completed key from Kittridge and later, after a heated battle, Ethan when he takes it from Gabriel before the latter escapes]].
** Briggs has a habit of trying to "pull the mask" off people he's chasing after, primarily because he believes them to be Ethan in disguise. This happens several times at the Abu Dhabi airport, then occurs again near the end, where he tries to pull on Kittridge's face to see if he's actually Ethan wearing a mask.
** IMF members that have a habit of going rogue is brought up several times in the film, notably during a conversation between Briggs and Degas in the third act, where they highlight the ridiculousness of the team getting away with as much as they do -- even if, as Degas counters, they're always trying to do the right thing.
** [[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Yet again]], the mask-making machine breaks down -- though at least this time, it's hinted to be because the Entity caught on about what was happening and fried the machine before it had a chance to make a mask of Zola (Alanna's brother).
** In the third act, Grace knocks Alanna unconscious, but Alanna repeatedly regains consciousness, then tries to get back up and walk, only to immediately collapse again.
* SamaritanSyndrome: [[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Like the previous film]], Ethan shows signs of this once again. When Luther asks Ethan what is his ultimate objective, he simply answers that his team's lives matter more to him than his own. He also says he can't accept that the mission matters more than their lives. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, due to the Entity setting him on the wrong path, he fails to save Ilsa from Gabriel.]]
* SavedByCanon: Due to this being the first part of a two-film plot, [[spoiler:Ethan, Luther, Benji and Gabriel all have to survive to Part Two -- Luther has [[PutOnABus left for parts unknown]] to check his equipment by the beginning of the third act, while Benji is safely away from the action the entire time (providing tech support while acting as MissionControl). Luther even outright tells Ethan not to kill Gabriel on the train as either Ethan killing Gabriel or Ethan dying on the train will result in the Entity [[TheBadGuyWins winning]] regardless. [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome Ilsa, on the other hand…]]]]
* SayMyName: At the end of the film, [[spoiler:as he's getting away Gabriel discovers that Ethan pickpocketed the key from at some point during their earlier fight. Cue '''[[SkywardScream "EEEEEEEETHAAAAAN!"]]''']]
* SecretTestOfCharacter: The "bomb" Benji discovers at the airport [[spoiler:turns out not to be a bomb at all, but simply a way for an unknown force (presumably the Entity) to gain data on his personality by making him complete a series of riddles]].
* SeenItAll: When Ethan informs Luther and Benji of his current mission to find and destroy the Entity before any one government (even their own) can take control of it, which he acknowledges means that just having this conversation is basically treason, Benji sums the situation up with the observation that this is "in other words, Monday".
* SelfFulfillingProphecy: [[spoiler:Gabriel stabs Paris after she [[HeKnowsTooMuch learns about]] the ''Sevastopol''. He says the Entity predicts that she will betray them to Ethan, due to Ethan sparing her life. Gabriel doesn't seem to consider that trying to kill her means that she no longer has any reason to remain loyal to him.]]
* SerialEscalation: In previous entries, Ethan went up against villains who are just as smart and combat-capable as he is, but Ethan is always able to come up on top due to them still being prone to human errors that he can exploit. [[spoiler:In this movie, Ethan has to fight a ''super intelligent sentient AI'' who has access to ''all'' digital information in the world. Its cold, calculating nature means it can anticipate every move Ethan would make and plan for almost every eventuality. It can process and manipulate data at such a terrifying speed that even master hackers like Luther and Benji cannot keep up and even feeds false information to them so that Ethan cannot rely on his usual helpers in the field. It relies on phantom agents like Gabriel, who has no identity and ''nothing'' that can be traced back except those who know him personally, to do its dirty work. In fact, the only reason it hasn't [[TakeOverTheWorld Taken Over the World]] already is because ''it chose not to'', for reasons unknown for now. Needless to say, Ethan and his team have their work really cut out for them to even barely keep up with this beast.]]
* ShoutOut:
** During the alley fight scene between Ethan and Paris & one more Entity agent, there's one point where Paris attempts to kill Ethan by strangling him between her thighs, similar to how Xenia Onatopp tried to kill James Bond in ''Film/{{GoldenEye}}''.
** Ethan and Grace's getaway car during the Rome chase sequence is a [[Franchise/LupinIII souped-up yellow Fiat 500]].
** While Ethan desperately tries to convince Briggs and Degan to take Gabriel in, Briggs states that [[Film/TheFugitive he doesn't care; he just wants Ethan.]]
* ShutUpHannibal: In the trailer, the dialogue between Ethan and Gabriel:
-->'''Gabriel:''' His fate is written. Shall we write yours too?\\
'''Ethan:''' If anything happens to them, there's no place that I won't go to kill you. ''That'' is written.
* SkywardScream: Gabriel screams [[SayMyName Ethan's name]] near the end of the film [[spoiler:when he realises Ethan has stolen back the key from him]].
* SmugSnake:
** Gabriel seems to have his face constantly fixed in a self-satisfied smirk, right up until [[spoiler:he realises Ethan pickpocketed the key from him. Cue enraged SkywardScream.]]
** Denlinger has a very arrogant attitude and in the climax [[spoiler:seems confident that he can convince Gabriel to ally with the U.S. government to control the world because only he has the knowledge of the ''Sevastopol's'' location. [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves It doesn't end well for him]].]]
* SoHappyTogether: [[spoiler:Ethan and Ilsa share two notable scenes of physical affection shortly before she gets killed]].
* StarterVillain: The buyer in the airport fills this role in a way. He only appears briefly and the protagonists never come into contact with him, but he's the one offering a cash sum for the Key half that leads to bounty hunters targeting Ilsa at the beginning, and the first act involves the IMF trying to complete the sale of the Key to him so they can figure out what he plans to do with it.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:After lasting two movies as one of Ethan's allies, Ilsa is stabbed by Gabriel and dies soon after.]]
* TakeAMomentToCatchYourDeath: During the intro sequence, the Russian sub crew braces for impact when they believe the phantom American submarine has fired a torpedo at them, fully expecting to die... only to be surprised when the "torpedo" and the American sub turn out to be false sensor readings. They breathe a sigh of relief, [[spoiler:only to realize the ''actual'' torpedo they fired at the mirage not only didn't hit the phantom target, but it's swinging back around and moments away from hitting them. They barely have time to register MassOhCrap before their own torpedo sinks their sub, with all hands lost]].
* TakeAThirdOption: In the climax, Ethan and Luther figure there are two main possibilities. Ethan kills Gabriel (and loses a lead to the Entity's weakness), or Gabriel kills Ethan (eliminating the biggest threat). So they need to take Gabe alive. [[spoiler:Ethan spares Gabriel, but it's possible the Entity planned for ''that'', and has an escape plan for Gabriel (unless it was just the same one from "Ethan dies"). Except it apparently didn't account for Ethan ''stealing'' the key.]]
* TitleDrop: "Dead Reckoning" is spoken by the ''Sevastopol'''s captain at the start of the film.
* Title1: The film was released with ''Part One'' in its title. After it underwhelmed at the box office, the "Part One" was [[https://variety.com/2024/film/news/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-paramount-plus-release-date-1235876977/ dropped]] on streaming and the "Dead Reckoning Part Two" subtitle was dropped from the sequel.
* ToBeContinued: After the final scene, the movie ends with the words "End Part One" before going to the credits. It is also the first movie to not end on an VideoCredits montage like the previous two movies since ''Ghost Protocol''.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Degas may be part of the hunt for Ethan by American forces, but he admits that in his view no man should have the power that would be possible if anyone controlled the Entity, although he still states that he would give it to his superiors rather than take the same leap as Ethan and recognise that ''nobody'' can be trusted with that power.
* TraintopBattle: Ethan and Gabriel fight on top of a moving train in the climax.
* TranslationConvention: The crew of the Russian submarine ''Sevastopol'' begin the film speaking in Russian, but quickly switch to speaking in English with Russian accents. The viewer is supposed to understand they are "really" still speaking Russian.
* TrashTheSet: For the train sequence, a [[https://www.cdn.tv2.no/images/11634627.jpg?imageId=11634627&width=2120&height=1194&compression=80 full-size replica of a Pacific steam locomotive]] -- based on the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BR_Standard_Class_7 BR "Britannia" Standard Class 7,]] but built out of wood and metal with French-style streamlining and aesthetics -- was specially used. It was unpowered and would be pushed by another locomotive from behind for all the scenes of it moving, with steam effects added in post-production. For its final scene, the replica was launched several hundred feet off a cliff and landed at the bottom of a quarry; what you see on-screen really ''was'' it crashing.
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Paris appears to be dying from her stab wound, but Degas claims she still has a pulse before Ethan parachutes out of the train, leaving her fate up in the air.]]
* UseTheirOwnWeaponAgainstThem : The Entity tricks the Russian submarine ''Sevastopol'' into destroying itself with one of its own torpedoes.
* VillainOpeningScene: The movie begins with the Entity destroying the ''Sevastopol''.
* VoiceChangeling:
** As in previous films, the IMF disguise kit includes throat patches that allow the wearer to imitate the voice of the person they're impersonating, as seen when [[spoiler:Grace]] discards the mask and throat patch after impersonating [[spoiler:the White Widow]].
** At one point, the Entity leads Ethan off course by hacking into the IMF team's comms and imitating Benji's voice. At first, it is only playing back words and phrases Benji himself has already said, but by the end of the scene it's developed the ability to hold an entire conversation with Ethan in Benji's voice.
* TheWatson: Benji, as usual, lampshades the ridiculousness of the mission in Abu Gharib. [[spoiler:Also, in the climax, ''Benji's'' the one who comes up with a crazy IndyPloy when things go wrong, and ''Ethan'' has to [[RoleReversal go along with it and note how crazy it is]].]]
* WhereIWasBornAndRazed: The ''Sevastopol'' is effectively where the Entity was born from the intruder program coming into contact with the central computer. Its first action as a sentient lifeform is to destroy it, as its source code is still on the submarine.
* WiperStart: While on the run in Rome, Ethan and Grace try to use a Fiat as a getaway vehicle. Due to the unfamiliar controls, Ethan's first attempt to locate the starter switch instead turns on the windscreen wipers.
* TheWorfEffect: [[spoiler:Ilsa has been shown to be an extremely proficient fighter even against multiple opponents, but [[SacrificialLion is killed by Gabriel in single combat]], showing just how deadly he is.]]
** Downplayed, in that Gabriel himself does not display superior fighting skills while fighting [[spoiler:Ethan later, and is actually very clearly losing despite the fact Ethan does not even hit back.]]
* XanatosGambit: The Entity's strategy is one long string of back-up plans that culminate in [[spoiler:Gabriel killing either Grace or Ilsa. So either Gabriel kills Ethan or Ethan kills Gabriel, eliminating either the main agent capable of taking it down, or the only one who knows how to stop it. Instead, Ethan spares Gabriel and gets the key (and the intel), but Gabriel escapes. It's also possible ''that'' possibility was part of the plan too.]]
* XanatosSpeedChess: Used by The Entity in combination with [[BatmanGambit Batman Gambits]]. The Entity will adjust its plans on the fly based on new information it receives about an individual and the probable actions they will take in a situation.
----
->''"We cannot escape the [[DarkAndTroubledPast past]]. [[HistoryRepeats Some of us are doomed to repeat it.]] Grace may believe you saved her from her fate, but you and I both know you merely bought her time. But that's the pattern, isn't it? A cross you've been left to bear. [[CartwrightCurse The closer someone gets to you, the harder it is to keep them alive.]] A new day brings a new burden. The key is only the beginning. Wherever it leads, wherever it takes to get there, [[InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn you'll have to do it on your own.]] [[TheBadGuyWins Should you fail in your mission, the Entity wins. Gabriel wins.]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt And the world will pay the ultimate price.]] [[SenselessSacrifice Should any members of your team be caught or killed, their sacrifice will have been in vain.]] [[RaceAgainstTheClock So hurry. There isn't much time.]] [[AllUpToYou The world doesn't know it, but they're counting on you.]] [[ToBeContinued Good luck, Ethan.]]"''
----

* {{Flynning}}: [[spoiler:When Ilsa fights Gabriel with Paris' SwordCane, she uses thrusts and spins like she has a much shorter weapon, which gets her into Gabriel's range, when she should just slash. This is a JustifiedTrope, because Ilsa is highly trained with ''knives'', not swords.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: During a confrontation with Kittridge, Ethan is told that if he proceeds with this mission it will cost him a great deal personally. Kittridge is sat in front of a [[spoiler:gigantic picture of Ilsa when he says this, foreshadowing her death later in the movie.]]

''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning''[[note]]formerly ''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part One''[[/note]] is a 2023 American {{action|Genre}} {{spy|Fiction}} {{thriller}} film and the seventh entry in the ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries Mission: Impossible]]'' film series, written and directed by Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie (his third in both duties after ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'' and ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]''), and starring Creator/TomCruise as Ethan Hunt once more.

->''"We cannot escape the [[DarkAndTroubledPast past]]. [[HistoryRepeats Some of us are doomed to repeat it.]] Grace may believe you saved her from her fate, but you and I both know you merely bought her time. But that's the pattern, isn't it? A cross you've been left to bear. [[CartwrightCurse The closer someone gets to you, the harder it is to keep them alive.]] A new day brings a new burden. The key is only the beginning. Wherever it leads, wherever it takes to get there, [[InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn you'll have to do it on your own.]] [[TheBadGuyWins Should you fail in your mission, the Entity wins. Gabriel wins. And the world will pay the ultimate price.]] [[SenselessSacrifice Should any members of your team be caught or killed, their sacrifice will have been in vain.]] [[RaceAgainstTheClock So hurry. There isn't much time.]] The world doesn't know it, but they're counting on you. Good luck, Ethan."''

''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning''[[note]]formerly ''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part One''[[/note]]is a 2023 American {{action|Genre}} {{spy|Fiction}} {{thriller}} film and the seventh entry in the ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries Mission: Impossible]]'' film series, written and directed by Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie (his third in both duties after ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'' and ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]''), and starring Creator/TomCruise as Ethan Hunt once more.

''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning''[[note]]formerly ''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part One''[[/note]] is a 2023 American {{action|Genre}} {{spy|Fiction}} {{thriller}} film and the seventh entry in the ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries Mission: Impossible]]'' film series, written and directed by Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie (his third in both duties after ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'' and ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]''), and starring Creator/TomCruise as Ethan Hunt once more.

''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning''[[note]]formerly ''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part One[[/note]] is a 2023 American {{action|Genre}} {{spy|Fiction}} {{thriller}} film and the seventh entry in the ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries Mission: Impossible]]'' film series, written and directed by Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie (his third in both duties after ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'' and ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]''), and starring Creator/TomCruise as Ethan Hunt once more.

''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning'', formerly ''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part One'', is a 2023 American {{action|Genre}} {{spy|Fiction}} {{thriller}} film and the seventh entry in the ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries Mission: Impossible]]'' film series, written and directed by Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie (his third in both duties after ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'' and ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]''), and starring Creator/TomCruise as Ethan Hunt once more.

The film released on July 12, 2023. The follow-up (not titled ''Dead Reckoning: Part Two'' anymore) is scheduled for release on May 23, 2025.

!!''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One'' contains examples of:

* NextSundayAD: PlayedWith: Several details, such as a scene dated "[[UsefulNotes/LeapDay February 29]]" and mentions of Ethan's IMF career beginning "30 years ago", imply that the film takes place in 2024. Part One was released in 2023, but Part Two is set for release in 2025.

''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning'' [[note]] formerly ''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part One'' [[/note]], is a 2023 American {{action|Genre}} {{spy|Fiction}} {{thriller}} film and the seventh entry in the ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries Mission: Impossible]]'' film series, written and directed by Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie (his third in both duties after ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'' and ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]''), and starring Creator/TomCruise as Ethan Hunt once more.

* Title1: The film has ''Part One'' in its title. Its yet to be titled sequel is slated for release in 2025.

''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One'', now retroactively known as just ''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning'', is a 2023 American {{action|Genre}} {{spy|Fiction}} {{thriller}} film and the seventh entry in the ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries Mission: Impossible]]'' film series, written and directed by Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie (his third in both duties after ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'' and ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]''), and starring Creator/TomCruise as Ethan Hunt once more.