Posted in: Movies, Paramount Pictures | Tagged: Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, tom cruise

Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning Provides Closure {Review}

Although it is way too long, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is a tense and entertaining entry in the franchise.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, despite some shortcomings in living up to its title, is a thrilling adventure that brings the Ethan Hunt story to a somewhat satisfying conclusion. Like the previous film, the run time is too long, and the villains left over from Dead Reckoning leave a lot to be desired. But Tom Cruise and his supporting cast find a way through the muck and deliver some serious thrills. Will this be the last one? Probably not, but they should listen to that little voice in the back of their heads telling them it should be.

Mission: Impossible Is Always Grand In Scale

Picking up the strands from 2023's Dead Reckoning, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his IMF team have four days to figure out a way to stop The Entity, an AI program that is set to take over the world's supply of nuclear arms and launch them, effectively wiping out humanity as we know it. Standing in Ethan's way are the US government, rogue agents, a bad guy from his past who is hellbent on controlling The Entity himself (Esai Morales), and the limits of what we think a human being can achieve.

Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning feels like the end of the line from the word go. In the first five minutes, we are treated to a montage of moments set to one of what feels like an endless number of speeches throughout the film, focusing on death, rebirth, the meaning of making the ultimate sacrifice, and why the world needs and has needed Ethan Hunt. We see scenes from all seven previous films, showcasing the insane things Cruise has put himself through in the role, and every few minutes, Hunt is begging someone to trust him just one last time. They lay on the theme of conclusion at every turn, so when it doesn't feel like Ethan is walking away for good at the end, it feels like a lie. At no point does Ethan face anything final. He doesn't put himself in any danger we haven't seen before, and as goes without saying, he saves the day, and then disappears into a crowd like at the end of all his adventures, seemingly until we need him again. Ethan Hunt will always be there if we need him, and since we always will, there can be no finality to the series. That choice of title was an error on their part.

That is not to say that this Mission: Impossible does not feature some intense scenes where the film makes us forget that Ethan cannot die. There is an action set piece in the middle of the film, set in a submarine, that is being overlooked by the marketing team, yet it was fifteen of the most intense minutes in a theater in a long time. Fingers will likely hurt from grabbing the seat handles for most of the runtime. The series has never failed to thrill, and in this latest one, it feels like they emptied the cupboard as far as where else they can go and put Cruise through hell. Space would be the final frontier in that regard. As for the people surrounding Ethan, all turn in some of the best work in the franchise. Hayley Atwell is much better than in Dead Reckoning and much more confident in the role. Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, in particular, deliver outstanding supporting performances. After so many films, it's great to see that they never feel the need to phone it in; they always rise to whatever is needed to match Cruise. The weak spots are Morales and Henry Czerny, both overdoing it and leaving us without a compelling human villain.

There is a sense of accomplishment when the credits roll on this Mission: Impossible and you finally let go of the armrests and stretch your fingers out. It FEELS like an ending, even if the film fails to provide any definitive finality for Ethan Hunt. Tom Cruise, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is not to accept any more missions, and let this be your final one. It is time to pass the baton to the next generation. Perhaps Ethan will become the head of the IMF. But his days in the field and as the focal point of the Mission: Impossible franchise should be at an end. Any more films past this one would be pushing it. This was a blast to see on the big screen, even if it is way too long. We still want to see you, Tom, but you don't have to almost die to get us into the theater.

Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning

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Review by Jeremy Konrad

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7/10

Even though it is way too long, Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning is a tense and entertaining entry in the franchise that should be the swan song for Ethan Hunt.

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