Friday One Sheet: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING PART ONE

In spite of its incredibly clunky title, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One, the seventh film in Tom Cruise's M:I franchise has its first piece of key art, and it is lean and minimal.

This teaser poster, from Concept Arts, emphasizes a major stunt the film, one that has already pushed hard into public awareness by the film studio's promotional machine, bolstered by Cruise's 2022 mega success from the Top Gun sequel. The franchise text forms an imposing vertical column in the poster, which is otherwise sky and mountains. Tom Cruise's name rests on the top of the column of text, whereas the entry title, release date, and various production outfits (from Skydance to IMAX) and studio logos form the base.

And then there is Cruise himself soaring through the clouds (at 60!), letting his motorcycle gently fall away. There are precious few major Hollywood series, from superheroes to horror chapters, that can articulate the value proposition of their films as clearly, or cleanly, as the Mission: Impossible films.