‘Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning’ feels like a series finale
Latest Ethan Hunt adventure is for the fans.
I’ve heard all of the criticisms of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. I understand them and I agree with some. I also don’t care.
Is Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise’s latest collaboration stretched too long at three hours? Probably. Does it have too many scenes where people repeat plot points or explain what we already know? Absolutely. Is the film a Trojan horse to argue for Scientology’s beliefs that you can manifest your future and shape your destiny? There’s a good argument for that.
Again, I don’t care. The latest Ethan Hunt adventure delivers what fans have wanted from this franchise for nearly 30 years – convoluted plots that put the fate of the world at risk, last-minute escapes and spectacular stunts. If it all seems a bit implausible, well, to paraphrase Sir Anthony Hopkins in Mission: Impossible 2, it’s not a mission plausible, it’s a mission impossible.
If it’s been awhile since you’ve seen 2023’s Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning1, there is a sort-of “previously on” segment to bring you up to speed, since this is an immediate follow-up. Ethan Hunt has – once again – gone rogue, trying to stop The Entity, the all-powerful AI that is running amok and attempting to destroy humanity. All governments want to control it; Ethan wants to kill it. He has a key to unlock The Entity’s source code, which is also sought by the villainous Gabriel (Esai Morales). Ethan, as usual, must depend on his team of tech genius Luther (Ving Rhames), field agent Benji (Simon Pegg), newly recruited pickpocket Grace (Haley Atwell), and a former assassin whose life Ethan saved in the last movie (Pom Klementieff).
After an amazing three-movie run in which the franchise kept reaching new heights – Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation and Fallout are among the best action movies of the 21st century – Dead Reckoning was a messier, more chaotic affair. Part of that was due to filming a globe-hopping adventure amidst COVID restrictions, but it was also due to writer-director McQuarrie’s habit of writing to the film’s action sequences. The straining to connect the plot to the stunts was more apparent, and the story was more slapdash, with lengthy scenes of explanation required to make it all pay off (but, as usual, the stunts – including a motorcycle jump and a fantastic climax aboard a plummeting train – were amazing).
The Final Reckoning has some of those same issues. The breathless pacing of the series’ best films is gone and there are multiple scenes where characters sit around either reminding us of what happened just a few scenes ago or discussing Ethan Hunt’s greatness in hushed tones. I’d wager about 50% of the dialogue is some variation of “Ethan, what are you doing?” This is a cliffhanger-dependent series (often literally), and the biggest tension here seems to be McQuarrie figuring out how to get from scene to scene.
But that didn’t bother me as much this time because McQuarrie and Cruise go to great pains whenever possible to tie plot threads back to the series’ larger – previously disconnected – mythology in a way that rewards longtime fans. It doesn’t make it feel any less messy, but it provides a sense of cohesion missing from the previous film, even if it’s all a narrative magic trick. Newbies or casual fans might not respond kindly – although how many of those can there be when a series hits its eighth entry in three decades? – but those who’ve followed Ethan Hunt on his various impossible missions will likely be engaged.
Perhaps befitting for a franchise that began as the adaptation of a television show, The Final Reckoning often feels like a series finale. Plot points from several films (episodes?), including several from the first installment, come full circle. Reveals tie seemingly minor characters into the bigger picture. There’s even a clip show element. If Dead Reckoning sometimes felt like a beloved show running out of gas, Final Reckoning feels like a good if past its prime series reminding longtime fans what they once loved on the way out the door. I didn’t really need to know what happened to the CIA analyst Ethan got the best of in the Black Vault in Part One, but bringing back Rolf Saxon’s William Donloe is a welcome surprise and a heartfelt addition (although the use of the original film’s release date as an Easter egg is a bit much).
Tom Cruise continues to be the world’s most active senior citizen, throwing himself into the fisticuffs, freefalls and frenzies as Ethan Hunt. It’s been a long time since he portrayed Hunt as a wet behind the ears rookie, and in that time he’s achieved an iconic status in the franchise that is almost comical. A few films back, Hunt was described as the “ultimate personification of destiny,” and if that seemed a bit much at the time, Cruise is basically in savior of the universe mode at this point. We’re constantly reminded that he’s the only one holding civilization back from the brink, and trust in him is so high that the U.S. president (Angela Bassett) is willing to risk nuclear holocaust on Hunt being in just the right place at the right time. At times, the film’s “if Ethan can dream it, he can do it” ethic feels perilously close to Scientology propaganda, particularly in a voice over at the film’s end by another character. But because Cruise is so unflappable and willing to risk life and limb for our entertainment, we roll with it. I’ll admit that I slightly prefer the emotional wreck Ethan Hunt of Mission: Impossible 3 or the comedically tinged, everything’s-falling-apart Ethan of Ghost Protocol, but it’s a small point; no one else is as good in pure movie star mode as Cruise.
The franchise’s earlier entries leaned too hard on Hunt as a lone wolf, paying only lip service to the team dynamic, something J.J. Abrams corrected in the third entry. Hunt is still the focal point, but Final Reckoning continues to lean on the series’ strong bench. In particular, Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg both get time to shine as Hunt’s longtime IMF partners. Pom Klementieff is a wonderful wild card addition from the last film, and I like the suave menace Morales brings as the film’s human villain – the Entity is the true baddie, and it’s basically just Skynet with a cooler operating interface. The last film brought Henry Czerny back as Kittredge, the government agent committed to stopping Hunt; he’s fun when he shows up, but largely wasted here. Severance’s Trammel Tillman pops up in a solid supporting role, and while I’m always happy to see Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham show up, I’m curious why they brought such a well-known British actor in to growl a few lines as an American Navy captain. The only weak link is Haley Atwell. Nothing against the actress, but Grace has no other use in the film than to fawn over and evangelize others about the powers of their savior, Ethan Hunt. It also doesn’t help that Grace was added at the loss of Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust, one of the franchise’s best characters, and Ferguson’s presence is sorely missed.
But, of course, I’m burying the main draw, which are the stunts that put Tom Cruise into mortal peril for our amusement. McQuarrie delivers the requisite fistfights, car chases and shootouts – there’s a particularly strong close-quarter brawl on an American submarine. But the movie’s standouts are two extended setpieces. One involves Ethan trying to escape a sunken Russian vessel, avoiding plummeting torpedoes as he does, and it’s a fantastic bit of suspense that works extremely well in IMAX or Dolby Atmos. The film’s climactic sequence involves a biplane fight, with Cruise climbing around a plane in flight before jumping onto the wing of another, his hair whipping and face pulling back to prove it’s really him out there2. It’s a great sequence, and McQuarrie makes great use of the IMAX framing to ensure we see everything. It’s not quite Ghost Protocol’s Burj Khalifa sequence, but it’s a top five moment in this saga.
In the end, do I really buy that this is the “final” reckoning? The film kind of shrugs that off. Its ending feels like it’s closing the story, but that’s never stopped it before. If this is the end, it’s a satisfying one for long-time fans. And if Cruise wants to accept another mission, I’d be happy to come along. These continue to be great summer entertainments.
The Part 1 in that movie’s title was removed when the film underperformed, and the former Dead Reckoning Part 2 became Final for this one, which is a better title.
With the great train escape in Dead Reckoning and the wing walking scene here, it appears that Cruise and McQuarrie wanted to make sure they were paying homage to the great moments of early cinema stunts in these final films. Mission accomplished.