Mission: Impossible actor says Dead Reckoning is the biggest action movie of all time

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning actor Cary Elwes has high praise for the latest instalment in the long-running action franchise.

"It’s not just probably the biggest action movie of all time, I think it’s also one of the most emotional action movies we’ve ever seen," Elwes, who plays Denlinger in Dead Reckoning, tells GamesRadar+ and Total Film.

"That was what blew me away. I was fully just expecting amazing stunts and cool locations, but the emotional journey the audience is going on is, for me, what sends it into a whole other stratosphere."

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Simon Pegg, who plays Benji in the series, agrees that Mission: Impossible’s scope and scale keeps getting bigger and bigger.

"It did feel different," Pegg says. "Not just because we were making it when we made it, but you know Tom [Cruise] and [director Christopher McQuarrie] are never going to rest on what they’ve done before. They’re going to push it forward. Every film, when it ends, we get asked 'What’s next?' and we think, 'Well, what could we possibly do?'"

Despite the "enormity" of the movie, Elwes – who has appeared in everything from The Princess Bride to Stranger Things – was struck by how nonplussed director Christopher McQuarrie was by the globetrotting production.

"There was never a bead of sweat on his head, not once," Elwes reveals. "We had to deal with all kinds of things then – COVID, all kinds of logistical things – that a huge production of this nature entails. The guy never broke a sweat. He was totally, totally chill the whole time. So he set the tone on-set and so everyone felt [like] this is great, this is just a fun day at work."

For more from Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, check out our coverage on:

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.