Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is finally here, and it’s every bit as worthy of being a part of this illustrious franchise as its predecessor. With nail-biting stunt work, intriguing tension by way of the team’s all-powerful cyber-enemy, and the beloved usual suspects surrounded by players old and new, the first half serves up some of the better Mission: Impossible shenanigans out there.
Tom Cruise steals the show as deftly as ever, of course, but it wouldn’t be a Mission: Impossible film if a whirlwind of a newcomer didn’t threaten to swipe it from him every chance they got. This time around, that honor went to Hayley Atwell, who took up the mantle of a thief named Grace that throws a wrench into the team’s original plan only to join up with them later on.
A Marvel Cinematic Universe veteran thanks to her time as Peggy Carter, it was never going to be long before Atwell got asked to compare the two franchises, with the MCU seemingly always under scrutiny with regards to its place in the world of cinema, but, that’s not a ballgame Atwell is interested in.
In a recent interview with Variety, the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness star argued that the only comparison one could make between the MCU and Mission: Impossible is that they’re both heavy hitters when it comes to pop culture.
“They’re just so distinctively themselves — a different group of filmmakers, different tastes, different character, different worlds. They just happen to be things that have become global phenomena.”
She would further note that, in spite of this, she never felt restricted by the expectations of either genre.
“What I tried to do with Peggy — and I think it’s the reason I got the part in Mission — I didn’t play her like I was in a superhero film. And with Grace, I’m not playing her like I’m in an action film. Peggy taught me that I can be distinctively grounded in a character that’s going to stand out, rather than get consumed by the machine of something.”
Whatever Atwell’s approach is, we’re certainly here for it, and we can’t wait to see how Grace continues to contest with Dead Reckoning Part Two‘s uncharted waters and pulse-pounding stakes.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is now playing in theaters.