'Mission: Impossible-' 1 long intermission

Concerning this just seventh episode since 1996, when Cruise was only 34, there's nothing wrong with it except for the what's always wrong with movies like this — the science. Well, that and the fact that it's 2 hours and 43 minutes long, making me long for the days of the intermission, like for "Titanic." Also, perhaps they should have held the movie's release date due to the submarine explosion in the first scene.

With all that out of the way, the plot of "Dead Reckoning" plays into a lot of current fears, when a government constructed artificial intelligence becomes sentient and goes rogue. The two-part key necessary to turn it off or control it is missing and there is a worldwide race to obtain it. The AI doesn't want it to be found of course, so everyone has to go analog (think tape recorders, typewriters, retired 60s satellites) to avoid its algorithms and ghosts in the machine deceptions.

As usual, Ethan and his friends don't know who to trust or who is real, but this time with AI. They find the typical reasons to go to beautiful locales like Abu Dhabi and Venice and even their in a pivotal action sequence on the Orient Express.

There are the expected number of creative fight scenes and car chases, including one involving cramped spaces and Ethan being handcuffed to Hailey Atwell (41), looking more and more like Kate Beckinsale these days. Too bad women in this series are treated more like Bond girls and fleeting love interests at this point, not full-blown cast members. The bad guys all take themselves too seriously again, but casting known funny guys like Shea Whigham ("The Righteous Gemstones"), Cary Elwes ("Princess Bride") and stand-up comedian Rob Delaney in those roles may have been on purpose.

Perhaps the most confounding plot point comes in the form of Esai Morales (age 60), supposedly returning as the man responsible for killing Ethan's then-girlfriend and setting him on the path to join the IMF. This out-of-the-blue piece of information to the faithful audience is complete with made-up flashbacks showing a woman we've never seen or heard of before (looking confusingly like Michelle Monaghan in a similar role from MI III) being about while Ethan watches helplessly.

"Part One" has a lot of action, but resolves almost none of the aforementioned issues, so perhaps the next year is our intermission until "Part Two" is released. I think Peter Graves, who starred in the original TV series the "Mission Impossible" movies are based on and finally hung up his own fake faces in his early 60s too, would approve.