Unlike Ethan Hunt, I am not racing the clock to prevent nuclear annihilation – so I have allowed myself a bit more time before posting my Final Reckoning thoughts. I left the film quite underwhelmed, though there are a couple of great sequences as always. It just felt as though the wheels had entirely come off the bus, as the “make it up as we go” philosophy of the McQuarrie era finally came to bite them in the ass. For a Tom Cruise film, Final Reckoning has a strange lack of confidence. It makes me wish the series had ended with Fallout, one of Tom’s greatest gifts to the human race.
Final Reckoning’s sins are many, but foremost is having a first hour that is entirely recap, with only the tiniest bursts of action. The climax of Dead Reckoning felt as though we’d have to hit the ground running for the big finale, but instead we’re treated to a host of character actors explaining Ethan’s exploits over the years in big monologues for no one. We don’t need all this, just get to the submarine! It felt as if they were still making the movie as it screened, trying to buy some time.
Ethan’s deep dive into a Russian submarine is nearly silent, just Cruise’s body contorting around sunken rooms trying to find the Entity’s core. No dialogue, just motion. All the more frustrating; the movie should have just started here, not giving anyone time to breathe. The film’s climax features Cruise’s most seemingly impossible feat yet, jumping between two biplanes somewhere above South Africa. I never want to see a behind the scenes sequence, because I still don’t really believe it’s real. But it is! He promised.
Unfortunately for us, the climax is really just a less interesting version of Fallout, and drags a bit more than you’d like for what is allegedly the final Mission: Impossible. But it never really FEELS final. It’s just another impossible mission, handled ably by Hunt and his team. We shouldn’t end things on a shrug, and yet here we are.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Dir. Christopher McQuarrie
2025
170 min
In theaters now!
