'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning': An Exhilarating, Heartfelt, and Satisfying Farewell

PHOTO: Paramount

For 29 years, the Mission: Impossible franchise has enthralled audiences and acted as a showcase for Tom Cruise’s penchant for death defying stunts. The series began as a mere film adaptation of the classic TV series of the same name, but has grown into one of the most beloved action franchises in cinema history. However, all good things must come to an end, which brings us to Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, the final entry in the series. This is honestly for the best, as the past few Mission: Impossible movies have been solid, setting up The Final Reckoning to end the franchise on a high note. Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise have proven themselves to be a great duo, so the odds are definitely in this film’s favor. What McQuarrie and company deliver may not be perfect and is rather bloated to boot, the film is a satisfying conclusion to the Mission: Impossible franchise, and features the thrills, intrigue, and amazing stunts that fans have come to expect from it. 

Picking up some time after the events of the previous film, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is trying to track down Gabriel (Esai Morales), an assassin who used to work for a mysterious artificial intelligence known as The Entity. Ethan’s plans are foiled when Gabriel captures him and informs him of a device located in a sunken Russian submarine that has The Entity’s source code on it. After Ethan escapes, he finds a way to communicate with The Entity, and sees a vision of a nuclear apocalypse. This sends him and his teammates from the Impossible Missions Force on their most dangerous mission yet, as they must stop The Entity and save the world from total destruction. 

Like any franchise, the Mission: Impossible films vary in quality. Some entries are excellent, some are pretty good, and some are mediocre at best. This is part of what has made each new installment so exciting, as it could land in just about any category. However, this variability has become lessened ever since Christopher McQuarrie took the reins of the franchise starting with the fifth film, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. Part of the fun of the early half of the series is due to each of them being directed by a different person. It allows each film to have its own personality, while still connecting in their own ways. McQuarrie’s involvement has been a net positive for the franchise, as the films he’s directed are all good, but it did take away that unpredictability factor. Furthermore, it leads to more of a sameyness among the back half of the franchise, and some of his shortcomings as a filmmaker become more prominent in this film and the last one. Nevertheless, with The Final Reckoning, McQuarrie brings everything full circle, forming connections with various details in the series, especially plot points from the first film, and gives us a movie that feels representative of the franchise as a whole. When it’s good, it’s downright excellent, but when it falters, it considerably takes the wind out of its sails.

A large part of the film’s struggles stem from its nearly three hour runtime. I can understand why this film would need to have a longer runtime in order to tie up its loose ends, so I can forgive it a little for this. And yet, I can’t help but feel that certain moments could have been tightened up or cut entirely. The film is also burdened with a ton of exposition, which didn’t bother me as much as it normally would, but I can see how some viewers might feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of info that is being dispensed. This is mainly limited to the first hour or so, as we are focused solely on the mission after a certain point. It does feel like it is doing a lot of table setting, but it largely feels worth it once everything gets going. Not to mention that there are some key plot points in the first section that are imperative to the film saying what it needs to say. I wouldn’t necessarily call the film messy, but it can come across as convoluted from time to time. It manages to come together fine by the end though, and mostly overcomes its stumbles. 

The film is largely about how all of our choices in life matter and greatly affect our future and the lives of others. These choices end up having lasting consequences that set the course for our lives in unexpected ways. The choices that Ethan made in the previous films ultimately lay the groundwork for this film. We see how his decisions and actions have affected the lives of his teammates and other tangentially associated characters. This is the heart of the whole film, and plays into its finality so well. Everything we have seen in previous films builds so well to this, and while it may not be perfect, it is a pretty good send-off for the series. There’s plenty of action and fun to be had, but there is a heartfelt nature to much of the film that gives it a little something extra. 

Of course, the reason that most people go to see a Mission: Impossible movie is the action, and this film has this in spades. The fight scenes are pretty solid, especially one that takes place on a submarine about halfway through the film. The major setpieces are great, allowing the audience to feel the immensity of the situations Ethan and his team find themselves in, as well as some suspense regarding their fates. Everything in this film feels massive, and it truly feels like McQuarrie and company are giving their all to top everything the franchise has done up to this point. While I wouldn’t say that it succeeds on every attempt to do so, it does hit some serious highs for the franchise, namely its final stunt. I won’t go into too much detail here, but the final action sequence is absolutely thrilling to watch, and had me wondering just how they even accomplished it. It had my heart pumping the entire time and is a great way to cap off the nearly thirty years of amazing stunts that the Mission: Impossible films have given us. 

The Mission: Impossible films have been a constant for Tom Cruise for much of his career. No matter how rough his career got, he’s always been able to go back to the franchise and find some level of success with them. At this point, Cruise is getting older and he has become the de facto King of Hollywood and a huge advocate for the moviegoing experience. It seems that Cruise is ready to close the book on this chapter of his career, and it shows in this performance. He has always been good when playing Ethan Hunt, and The Final Reckoning is no exception. It’s Cruise in classic action star mode, but he has moments where he really lets the gravity of what’s going on hit him, and he plays this beautifully. It acts as a great swan song for Cruise as Ethan Hunt, and allows him to say goodbye to one of his most defining roles on his own terms. 

While these films are great vehicles for Cruise, it’s the supporting cast that really shines in this one. I particularly liked Angela Bassett, Simon Pegg, and Pom Klementieff’s performances, as they are all perfectly locked into their roles. Tramell Tillman is quite good as well, giving off sheer presence from the moment he first shows up and is purely magnetic all throughout. Rolf Saxon is also great in this film, and was easily the most surprising aspect of it for me. It is a strong performance, and I love what the film does with his character. Of course, I was most excited to see Ving Rhames return as Luther, as he is my favorite character in the whole franchise. Rhames is excellent as always, and he gets two of the film’s best moments. His final moment, which I won’t spoil, is very touching, and is one of my favorite aspects of the entire film. The very last scene in the moment really puts into perspective how much of a team effort the entire franchise has been from the beginning, and further highlights the importance of the supporting players. They are all so invaluable to every installment of the series, and I am going to miss them just as much as I’m going to miss Ethan Hunt.

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning might be a bit overstuffed and drawn out, but it is also a fitting conclusion to the franchise as a whole. It is action-packed, intense, and builds to an exciting, surprisingly heartfelt conclusion. Those who love the series will likely be satisfied, even if it does pale in comparison to some of the other McQuarrie directed installments. Personally, I felt it could have been a little more succinct in places, but I can’t complain too much given how amazing the stunts and major setpieces are, and how well it handles some of the emotional aspects of the film. I can at least appreciate that the film is throwing everything it’s got here, as it gives the film a greater sense of finality, and it also leads to some of its most exciting moments. I’m a bit sad to see the series end, but I would much rather it end now as opposed to it being ran into the ground. The Final Reckoning is a great ending to the Mission: Impossible franchise, and is the type of action spectacle that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

Rating: 3.5/5