Rating: 3.5/5
Synopsis:
After thirty years, the “Mission: Impossible” franchise has (likely) come to a close. In his final test, Ethan Hunt must confront the rogue artificial intelligence known as the entity. It has infiltrated the world’s governments, hacking into their systems and creating mass chaos throughout the world. It is intent on pitting the world’s nuclear powers against each other, launching an all out war that would be catastrophic for humanity. With his new team, Ethan must work with his own government and explore all avenues to defeat the entity. What ensues is a pulse pounding, high stakes conclusion that proves to be Ethan’s greatest challenge yet. Can he stop the world from all out nuclear war before it’s too late?
Positives:
The “Mission: Impossible” series is one of my all time favorites. It has displayed the ability to stay relevant, crafting new and exciting missions for audiences to get invested in. It also has the unique ability of getting better with each entry. I believe this might be the greatest action franchise ever, where solid characters mixed with exciting globetrotting missions always deliver. “The Final Reckoning” is meant to conclude this long standing franchise. How does it do? For the most part, this is a successful and satisfying conclusion to Ethan Hunt’s journey. This is however the most difficult entry in the series to score due to the dense nature of the story. The film presents a premise that is truly a life or death circumstance, testing the team’s abilities to confront a foe that operates through technology. It uses the story from “Dead Reckoning” and elevates the entity’s presence throughout the world. I enjoyed how the story felt bigger, solidifying the idea that this is indeed the final chapter. No mission has felt as dire as this one. Because of the greater stakes, the film carries a more serious tone. Everyone involved seems laser focused on the job at hand. A nice attention to detail was that each character seemed to be constantly stressed, where sweat builds up on their face the closer the clock gets to doomsday. If this is truly the end, this mission feels appropriate to conclude the series.
Tom Cruise and his cast all do a good job. While they are separated for most of the film, their actions are contingent on each person executing their part of the mission. It’s evident how passionate Cruise has been in executing such an immersive franchise. His performance here really highlights Ethan’s humanity. We see how deeply each of his team members care for one another, adding to Ethan’s fear of losing one of them. The film balances some nice emotional moments that feel like a culmination of everything that’s happened before. There is a surprising appearance by a character from the first film that has an integral role throughout the story. I enjoyed seeing him return and assist Ethan in defeating the entity. The cinematography and camera work really make the film feel like a big screen experience. Whether it be an immersive underwater sequence or the tense battle in the air, the film doesn’t miss a beat. But the final hour is really where the film shines. It provides two of the craziest, most exciting set pieces of the entire franchise.
The submarine sequence is nearly twenty minutes of dialogue free claustrophobia, where Ethan has to navigate a sunken submarine to find a piece to defeat the entity. He also has a time contrasting, adding to the anxiety audiences will feel. It’s visually striking and incredibly tense, so credit to McQuarrie and Cruise for crafting such a great sequence. But the biplane finale has to be one of the craziest, most impressive action scenes I have ever seen. I cannot fathom how Crusie managed to do this stunt himself, let alone film it this well. This scene is a fully fledged, white knuckle finale that will have viewers gripping the edge of their seat. By the time the film concludes, audiences will need a paper towel to dry off their sweaty palms. This is the definition of a film that needs to be experienced in IMAX!
Negatives:
While the film is undeniably exciting, it has some bumps along the way that hinder it from being one of the better entries in the franchise. This is the longest film in the series, being just short of three hours long. This combined with being the least action centric plot may be tedious for certain viewers. The film is extremely exposition heavy, where some exchanges are entirely explanations of the plan that is going to happen. While I don’t normally mind exposition due to the complex nature of these plans, this felt overdone. There are also long, somber exchanges meant to feel personal that come across as slow during an extremely important mission. Again, I don’t typically mind a more serious tone but the “Mission: Impossible” franchise has always done a good job at balancing the humorous exchanges within the serious mission. That’s lacking here, as the playful banter between Ethan and his team is largely absent.
I’ve always appreciated the pacing of these films throughout the years. They always move at a brisk pace, balancing the action, drama, and spy sequences with ease. “The Final Reckoning” feels the most imbalanced of the newer films. For that, it also feels like one of the least rewatchable. The middle segment of the movie budges at a slower pace that could have been tightened up. Instead of two exchanges between different segments of the Navy, they could have combined these two and added another action scene. This would have improved the flow of the story, helping it feel consistent with the rest of the franchise. The plot has a lot of characters too. Unfortunately the wonderful cast rarely gets enough time to shine. But one of the most disappointing aspects of the film is the utilization of Gabriel. He’s been billed as Ethan’s greatest adversary yet lacks much depth outside of being a conduit for the entity. This time around he’s playing God and trying to control the entity, attempting to create a new world order. Instead of being given more backstory, he largely becomes a mustache twirling villain who doesn’t seem worthy of being Ethan’s final test.
Conclusion:
As one of cinema’s greatest action franchises comes to a close, it’s surreal to believe that this is (likely) the final mission. This is an incredibly difficult film to score because the highs are VERY high but the lows really drag it down. It doesn’t reach the highs of “Fallout” or “Rogue Nation” but doesn’t flounder enough to be one of the worst entries. The story is the most exposition heavy entry with the least amount of action. This shows in the pacing as the middle segment of the film may have audiences checking their watch. But the final hour of the film is some of the most impressive work in the franchise, showcasing Cruise’s commitment to entertain us. The two major set pieces are absolutely thrilling from start to finish, ending the film on a very satisfying note. Those two scenes are worth the price of an IMAX ticket alone. If this is truly the end of the franchise (and yes, the ending isn’t entirely conclusive)..then mission accomplished, Mr.Cruise!
