What’s done is done when they say it’s done…, for now.
Ethan Hunt and his team are back to finish what they started in their previous adventure. A piece of artificial intelligence, called “The Entity,” has gone rogue and infiltrated global intelligence, causing significant chaos amongst the world population. The team’s mission is to pick up from where they left off and capture the entity before it gets into the wrong hands and causes the end of humanity as we know it. New allies might join along the way, as well as some old familiar faces from the past. It will be a race against time to stop the world from changing forever, and only Hunt and crew can stop it. This plot synopsis will self-destruct in 3..2…1.
Now with that out of the way, there is a bit to discuss.
The Mission: Impossible series is interesting in how it grew over 29 years. What started as an adaptation of the 60’s series had transcended into a series of jaw-dropping cinematic thrill rides. Along the way, each entry got bigger, more complex, and for better or worse, longer. The series reached its peak when director Christopher McQuarrie permanently took the helm. The previous film in the series, Dead Reckoning: Part 1, introduced a plot with such a grand scale and intensity that the studio needed to split this adventure into two entries. They were shot back-to-back to release Dead Reckoning: Part 2 a year later. Unfortunately, Part 1 suffered at the box office thanks in part to the “Barbenheimer” extravaganza, as well as major strikes in the entertainment industry.
It is possible that the studio worried that this film would do even worse at the box office. With a budget of $400 million to recoup, they need to fill theater seats. Thus, Dead Reckoning: Part Two became The Final Reckoning and was marketed as the final entry in the series. That is quite some amount of pressure to put on this film. That is even more true for the audience due to its two-hour and fifty-minute runtime. A movie-going audience can forgive a long runtime if the goods are there. This film certainly delivers the goods, but also a heaping bunch of “member berries.”
This entry weirdly dips into the nostalgia pool that seems to have been overwhelming cinema since the early 2010s. Much of the dialogue seems to be insisting that all previous missions have led to this one. Sadly, insisting seems to be a fitting word for how effective this is. There is one returning character from the first that does have an emotional payoff, but most of these callbacks and returning characters feel tacked on. The presence of characters like Luther, who have been there since 1996, should be enough to warrant a heartfelt moment. And by this point, he has done more for this series than any other returning character could.
There are already enough plot details in this story to digest, and incorporating ones from previous films is exhausting. This is particularly true of the beginning, which includes a supercut of scenes from the previous films, and it does little to improve the pacing. The beginning feels weirdly quick, yet it feels like the main title sequence takes forever to start. Too slow and too fast fit the whole film. Granted, the film has well-paced scenes, but most of it is hurt by needlessly long exposition. Even more needless visual recaps to compensate for the dense storytelling in case we missed anything. For a film that would serve as a fun action blockbuster to kick off the summer, this feels too much on the human psyche.
Even though the film has its issues, there is plenty to enjoy in it. As many would already suspect, the action set pieces in this film are phenomenal. The plane fight sequence featured in all marketing is exhilarating, but the true winner is the submarine scene. It may be the most farfetched, bewildering, and (ahem) impossible sequence of the series, but its craftsmanship is astonishing. Like the vault scene in the first film, this one has no dialogue or music. In addition, both the sound and the lighting help add to the intense and nail-biting atmosphere.
What nicely sets Mission: Impossible apart from other franchises is its sincerity. The franchise may be popular for the action, but the dynamic between Ethan and his team is the true heart. One gets a sense that these characters care for each other and what they do. That, along with some dashes of well-executed humor, gives this series an empathetic edge that many others do not have. Now that AI has entered the picture and is causing major mistrust in everyone, this ingredient feels more crucial. And the filmmakers have done all they can to make AI downright terrifying. One particularly effective scene is one where Ethan is shown visions of a potential future with the Entity running it, all while trapped inside a darkened coffin. Move over, John the Divine! Ethan Hunt has a vision now!
In the end, The Final Reckoning is a fun ride, although it is the weakest of entries directed by McQuarrie. The action pieces are still fun and exhilarating to watch, particularly on a big screen, but the long runtime makes it drag. Someone out there can potentially trim both parts down and make them into one condensed and epic spy thriller. Tom Cruise has gone on record saying that this would be his last turn as Ethan Hunt. If he is the “last movie star” and someone can get him to dive down to the Titanic on a bicycle, anything is possible. So… until next time!