It’s time to say goodbye. For now.
Billed as the final entrant in the near-three-decade long Mission: Impossible series (which would ironically indicate these missions are, in fact, possible), Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning goes out with the expected balance of spectacle and emotion that the majority of these films have adhered to – especially under the guidance of director Christopher McQuarrie.
Having helmed the three previous Mission films – 2015’s Rogue Nation, 2018’s Fallout and 2023’s Dead Reckoning – McQuarrie has elevated what’s possible within the action genre. And it’s because he executed those films with such masterful finesse, it does almost serve as a detriment to The Final Reckoning, which is, of course, quite a stellar actioner on its own accord, but it’s a little more disjointed than what we’ve come to expect.
It’s surprisingly front loaded with flashbacks from the earlier films (it almost serves as its own greatest hits, in a way) and McQuarrie and co. are very much catering to the long devoted fans, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that when this thing is good, it’s undeniably great, with a slew of genuinely awe-inspiring action sequences that, once again, flex the dedication to the craft that Tom Cruise hones, with his Ethan Hunt promising the powerful higher-ups (in this case, Angela Bassett as a fabulous, ice-gazed President) that he needs to be trusted “one last time” to put an end to the literal end of the world threat this film centers itself around.
For an actor like Cruise, who barracks for the theatrical experience over streaming convenience, having said threat be an AI antagonist (here dubbed “The Entity”) is suitably fitting. He’s all about what’s physical and what’s real, and he puts his money where his mouth is (and his body on the line) as he throws himself wholeheartedly into the action requirements of the film, with him hanging off a plane and submerging himself in an underwater submarine standing as The Final Reckoning‘s signature nerve-wracking set-pieces.
The Entity seeks to take over the world, manipulating global electricity and eventually its nuclear weapons, which would essentially reset the world’s advancements as we know it. As metaphysical as The Entity is, it finds its vessel in Gabriel (Esai Morales), a shadowy figure from Ethan’s past – he first made his presence known in Dead Reckoning – who’s ultimate goal is to take ownership of The Entity after it has guided him to the necessary points of extraction.
The film is a little more convoluted and less seamless in its flow than its predecessors, but its behemoth 169 minute running time is alarmingly never felt, and when everyone on screen cares as much as this ensemble does, a little messiness is acceptable in the grand scheme of The Final Reckoning‘s intentions. The long running series players Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg continue to drive much of the film’s emotional core forward, Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff, both introduced in Dead Reckoning, shoulder the film’s necessary air of grace and femininity, and Greg Tarzan Davis (another Dead Reckoning cohort) steps up his supporting player mentality by joining the team, seeing the good in Ethan’s wild intentions.
In fact, as is tradition with these films, the ensemble cast is a variety of winning extended cameos, with Hannah Waddingham enjoying her minutes as a no-nonsense aircraft carrier captain and Severance‘s Tramell Tillman carrying himself with movie star swagger (and deep sexual energy) as a rescue submarine commander, who’s chemistry with Cruise burns brighter than most. In playing to the film’s throwback temperament by linking itself to its beginnings, Shea Whigham, as CIA agent Briggs, earns a surprising backstory to offset his determination in catching Ethan, whilst perhaps the most tender inclusion surrounds Rolf Saxon‘s performance as Donloe, an analyst who was involved in the first film’s legendary wire heist sequence, who proves far more valuable than his perceived ineptitude would suggest.
The love for these films and the action genre in general pumps gleefully through the veins of The Final Reckoning. Whether or not the best has been saved for last is up to the individual, but you’d be hard pressed to not find value in what Cruise and McQuarrie have created here. It’s too easy to compare this to the Mission films that have come prior, and that is where this film’s perceived disappointment will lie, but if you can detach yourself from expectation and surrender to the joy of what these films represent, you’ll find it a much easier mission to accept.
Though there is a finality to it all, it can’t help but leave audiences with the suggestion that maybe, just maybe, Ethan’s “last time” comes with some fine print. Cruise is finally returning to the planes of prestige cinema (he has Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s first English-language feature in over a decade next on his plate), so another Mission, or another actioner in general is certainly not on the immediate cards, but when he feels as if the world deserves another shot of unmatched showmanship, there’s no doubt he’ll deliver accordingly.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is now screening in Australian theatres. It will opening in the United States on May 23rd, 2025.
