One of my favorite line readings in the entire Mission: Impossible film series comes from one of its more derided entries, 2000’s Mission: Impossible 2. When Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt dares to question the challenge of his upcoming task, Anthony Hopkins’ Mission Commander Swanbeck replies, “Well, this is not mission difficult, Mr. Hunt, it’s mission impossible.” It would be a silly line were it not delivered with such skill, but it was also spoken about something relatively straightforward. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the eighth entry in this franchise, and the notion of just how impossible these missions can get has grown so exponentially that the film’s only justification for such high stakes is by blaming Hunt for his choice of gambling billions of lives to accomplish things his way. As a result, this (possibly final) entry in the blockbuster series aims to be as emotional as it is thrilling, with an addition of past reflection in the form of numerous callbacks to the other entries in the series. That last point may rub some the wrong way, given the extra lengthiness of this installment becoming a result of said blasts from the past, however, being such an earnest series, it made little difference to my overall enjoyment, especially with director Christopher McQuarrie and star/producer/daredevil Cruise going above and beyond for some bravura set pieces, including one wild and incredibly tense finale.
While dropping the “Part 2” from its original title, The Final Reckoning is still the second half of one large story. This film picks up a couple months after Dead Reckoning ends, with Ethan Hunt still in the wind, in possession of a key that can unlock a section of a sunken submarine that holds the answers to how to destroy an advanced AI known as “the Entity,” which is quickly taking control of every nations’ military defense systems. Of course, nothing is ever so simple, as Hunt and his team still must deal with the Entity’s fanatical liaison, Gabriel (Esai Morales), avoid interference from other government officials looking to lock Hunt up, and handle any other complications that arise during this globetrotting adventure.
See Also: ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Review: Tom Cruise Soars High Above The Hard Deck
At nearly three hours and currently being declared as one of the most expensive movies ever, it’s clear that the intent was to deliver the biggest Mission yet, especially if this truly is the final send-off for the Cruise-led version of this series. Regardless of how well it stacks up against the rest of the series (I have it at 5th currently), this movie does put everything it can on screen. During the film’s runtime, you will see fist fights, knife fights, gun fights, explosions, high plunges into the ocean, deep sea diving, car chases, submarine chases, airplane chases, free-falling under duress, and lots of Cruise running great distances at high speeds. Even as the film backloads itself with most of the action, it all looks and sounds fantastic. It shows a real understanding by all involved that they wanted to not only go bigger than the last time, but make it all work as well as possible.
Without delving into the context of the action taking place, some of these huge action sequences really do impress in breathtaking and awe-inspiring ways. An extended submarine-based sequence features a high mixture of complicated sets placed on a gimbal, underwater filmmaking, visual effects, and a healthy dose of “how’d they do that.” The airplane stunts featured all over the posters and ads for this film are even more impressive, knowing that Cruise is just strapping himself on these biplanes and going for it. And none of this is even accounting for the impressively intense challenges the rest of Ethan’s team is going through, as they deal with disarming bombs, taking on henchmen, and other complications that would make for an editing nightmare in the hands of lesser talents. Fortunately, editor Eddie Hamilton and cinematographer Fraser Taggart do a splendid job of capturing all this madness and having scenes roll into each other with maximum effectiveness.
As noted, Cruise, 62, is still more than up to the task of risking his life to entertain audiences. That said, as a performer, with less time devoted to treating him like a comedic ragdoll getting tossed around, while the physical feats he puts himself through remain impressive, the movie star really aims to get a lot done with his acting talents here (this includes convincing people to switch sides using just his eyebrows). Now, Ethan Hunt, has rarely been all that deep of a character, but with his character traits amounting to “the only guy who would inevitably solve the trolley problem one day,” watching him go through a full range of emotions while contending with various forces and doing all he can to protect his friends (and, y’know, the world) is enough to show why Cruise has managed to lead this series for nearly 30 years.
Looking at the rest of this cast, there’s a tremendous load of talent here. The series’ stalwart computer tech, Ving Rhames, gets his chance to shine once again as Luther, the heart of these films, as well as Hunt’s biggest cheerleader, which works far better than it has any right to. Simon Pegg still shines in his added comic value, but even he is tasked with handling more weight in his efforts to support the team. And Hayley Atwell returns here from the previous film as the former thief-turned IMF agent. While I still think the series is far too confused about what Atwell’s Grace means to Ethan (seriously, is it paternal, or siblings…kissin’ cousins maybe?), the utilization of her skills is put to good use here.
Also returning from the previous film, we have Pom Klementieff’s mostly silent French assassin, who now leans into mining humor from her position as a person who kills people but has become an ally. Shea Whigham’s dogged US agent is also back, still determined to bring Hunt in, no matter what (and no matter how high his hair must stand in the process). On top of that, would-be foil, and former IMF director Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny), is also back, hoping to find some way to control Hunt.
Rooms full of important government officials led by Angela Bassett’s President Erika Sloane also manage to show just how effective this film is at delivering “people talking in rooms” scenes, as well as making it clear which administration The Final Reckoning was banking on being in power when this movie originally began production. That’s not just a statement made in jest, as key scenes revolving around the decisions to rely on hope and goodwill ultimately speak to so much of what his movie is about. Plus, it doesn’t hurt the film to have a variety of notable character actors in play to get across some of these ideas quicker.
With that in mind, while elements can be criticized about The Final Reckoning, I’m hard-pressed to say any of these aspects of the film registered as more than minor disturbances in a film that offers so much movie to enjoy. The first hour of this film makes it clear that this installment will have less moment-to-moment excitement compared to most of the entries in this series. There are also reveals that threaten to make the series’ universe feel smaller were it not for the convenient excuse of a weaponized rogue AI being behind most of the treachery. But, again, how much of this really weighs down what I’m getting out of a film designed to feel like the culmination of years’ worth of storytelling anchored down by numerous crazy action setpieces?
Suffice it to say, applying a scalpel to some of this stuff, including the metatext regarding Cruise’s status as a movie star and that relationship to this series may mean being overly critical on a movie franchise that has earned so much goodwill from at least the days of 2011’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. That being said, this movie really managed to get me into an effective emotional state just by how well it stacks the deck against our heroes. And that’s the case, even as we fully realize Ethan will save the world no matter what, yet we still find ourselves utterly engrossed by what’s in front of our eyes. So, I’m not against embracing those feelings over the insistence of deep analysis. That’s not me suggesting this film is critic-proof, but more noting that whatever could be deemed a flaw wasn’t registering detrimentally.
Instead, I was far more willing to throw myself into this movie’s choice to deliver on some of its own lore. That includes the presence of another character not seen since the first film’s signature heist sequence, who gets an arc far stronger than one may expect. There are also the new characters played by the likes of Hannah Waddingham, Katy O’Brian, Lucy Tulugarjuk, and Tramell Tillman (who is wonderful here), among others, and each making small but important scenes with Cruise work. Does my willingness to go along with it all also speak to the final showdown between Hunt and Morales’ Gabriel? Mostly yes. Hard to argue against the subversive choice of having an accomplished character actor serve as a series’ big bad, but he only has so much to do, despite the menace he most assuredly provides.
The fact is, there’s a lot of movie here. Inevitably, a series where the later films have been assembled by constructing the action sequences first, and building a story around them, can only go so far. The Final Reckoning, which leans into being a bit too repetitive at times, given the reliance on explaining the plans quite a bit, does seem to be working very hard to make the build-up towards impossible sequences worth the wait. Fortunately, Cruise and McQuarrie are here to deliver unbelievable, IMAX-worthy spectacle and accomplish as much with aplomb. Is this the best representation of a world under threat of annihilation, even in this series alone? That’s ultimately not really a question that matters. It’s a bigger deal that this film is a whole lot of fun, even with stakes this extreme. It’s a full meal of a movie to say the least, but it’s tremendously entertaining. Whether or not this was our one last ride, I’m happy I’ve chosen to accept this mission.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning opens in theaters and IMAX on May 23, 2025.
