There comes a point in time in every long-running franchise where the story just becomes stale, where the stakes aren’t as high, where the story has gotten dull, or where the cast or the lead actor has outlasted their welcome. Tom Cruise’s “Mission Impossible” franchise was ripe for such a fate, as we’ve seen Cruise’s Ethan Hunt carry out impossible tasks and make them pretty possible, over and over again. Of course, the operative word here is ‘should’
Despite eight movies in, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is still a nail-biting action thriller that had us gripped to our seats. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, the film rounds out the two-part story that started all the way back in 2023, and ties it all up in a neat little bow. However, does this movie deserve to be regarded as the iconic send-off for Cruise and the crew that we were all led to believe it is?
The film plunges us into a reflection of the modern world, two months after the events of “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”, and the world is in disarray. A sentient AI known only as The Entity has gone rogue and is dead set on resetting the human race and leading it to a new future. In order to do this, The Entity intends to hack all the nuclear-powered countries in the world and launch all their respective nuclear arsenals.
However, The Entity is not the only threat, as other world powers covet its ability to rewrite digital information and history and win wars before they happen. Much like in Part One, Hunt resolves to destroy rogue AI with a god complex for the betterment of the world at the risk of his life and the lives of his comrades.
Much like previous installments, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is a nerve-wracking thriller that explores the geopolitical conditions of the world. It’s like chess, except there are ten players, each piece is a bomb, and you are a rogue element that each country wants captured or killed. That’s how high the stakes are.
Though we don’t see eight of the nine, the film does an amazing job of maintaining this looming threat at the back of our minds, which is a nice way of advancing the plot without fatiguing the audience from the constant stress.
Of course, the main highlight of this franchise are the stunts, most of which are done by Cruise himself. From holding his breath for lengthy periods of time to clinging to the side of a biplane, he put his body on the line for these scenes, and they pay off in keeping the viewers strapped into the bumpy ride they’ve reigned us in on.
We say this, but as much as Hunt can’t do it all alone, the film would not have been possible if it weren’t for the incredible cast that we get to see on set. Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Greg Tarzan Davis, Rolf Saxon, and Shea Whigham are all a joy to watch as they each bring their own unique take as well as volatility and/or compassion to whatever scene they’re in.
It is this amazing cast of characters that nicely pushes the story forward without dragging out a single scene. This is an exceptional feat, especially with the film’s runtime of 2 hours and 49 minutes. We can attribute this to ever-increasing tension, the amazing set pieces, or the brilliant acting, but we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the film.
We especially loved it in the Aurum Theatre’s Screen X hall. The massive auditorium features two additional screens on the side which made some scenes more immersive. One instance would be in the film’s intro where The Entity is explaining the current state of the world. Because of the additional screens, it feels as though we are powerless to resist the future the AI has predicted for us. However, there were plenty of instances where the screens were unnecessary and even disorienting, as they would turn on at random times in our peripheral vision. Had the screens presented themselves at a slight bend, forming a trapezoid-like shape, we might have enjoyed the immersive experience much more. More on our review of Aurum Theatre’s Screen X hall tomorrow.
Not only was the theatre hall flawed; the same is true for the movie. One glaring glitch is related to the cast of characters. Due to the fact that there are so many of them, the script struggles to keep them all in a cohesive balance. If you pay close attention, you notice that some members of the ensemble keep appearing or disappearing at a moment’s notice for narrative convenience, which is jarring to an extent.
Another gripe we have is with The Entity. In the previous film, it takes on a more active role in tricking and threatening Hunt and his team, just as much as it threatens the rest of the world. But this baddie takes a back seat for a large portion of the movie. Sure, it’s hacking away at the world’s nuclear armaments, but its presence isn’t as felt in the second and third acts of this sequel. It almost feels like The Entity just ignores Hunt, the only man capable of stopping it, which we found a tad awkward.
Furthermore, it has been advertised that this was supposed to be the final entry to this decades-old franchise, but we have reason to believe that this isn’t the case. To avoid spoilers, it’s our personal opinion that the ending is left so wide open that we might see a continuation of the franchise in a few years’ time. Additionally, the end feels quite unsatisfactory to an extent. Whether this was intentional or not, we still believe that this could have been greatly improved upon, as it makes it look like the franchise ends with a soft whimper, neither triumphant nor pathetic; it simply concludes.
Though there are seven other movies in the franchise, including Part One, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” goes out of its way to info-dump us with all the events of the previous titles in the first 20 minutes of the movie. This alleviates the hassle of bingeing 30 years’ worth of movies, making it more welcoming to people who’ve never seen an entry, but it also feels like it strings along those who dedicated time to catch up with the franchise. Whether this is a negative aspect of the film or a positive one is something we’ll leave to your personal opinions.
Overall, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is an absolutely gripping thriller that slams its foot on the gas and doesn’t let go until the end. From its daring stunts to its loveable cast, there’s not an instance where the film slows or becomes boring. It’s the perfect place to end the legendary franchise, but we would not be surprised if this becomes the jumping-off point for a potential sequel down the line.
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is now in cinemas.
The Review
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Overall, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is an absolutely gripping thriller that slams its foot on the gas and doesn’t let go until the end. From its daring stunts to its loveable cast, there was not an instance where the film slowed or became boring. It is the perfect place to end the legendary franchise, but we would not be surprised if this became the jumping-off point for a potential sequel down the line.
Review Breakdown
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
