If this is truly the last time we see Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) running at full speed down seemingly endless streets, driving like an absolute maniac, or hanging off the side of an airplane, then fans of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ series will leave the theater satisfied. Hell, they may even have a few tears in their eyes by the time they get to their cars.
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A Beautifully Messy Finale
As it opened with a montage containing some of the more recognizable moments from the action series paired with a voiceover by the U.S. President, Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett), pleading for Ethan to turn himself in, I really didn’t know where ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ was going. It felt like an over-explanation of past events, a little bit too expository, and made me nervous the movie may have fallen victim to the recent trope where franchises feel like they have to connect everything from previous entries for the audience in their final installments, like the ‘Rise of Skywalker’. It’s almost like jingling keys in front of a baby, saying remember when this happened? Maybe it’s just because I rewatched all of the movies in preparation for this one, but this introduction felt extremely out of place for this magnificent franchise.
We reunite with familiar faces, like Benji (Simon Pegg) Grace (Haley Atwell), and Luther (Ving Rhames), almost immediately after this montage, picking up some months after the events of ‘Dead Reckoning’, where the Entity has the world’s population in a chokehold. These opening scenes felt a little disjointed and went by too quickly, but towards the end of the first act, Ethan asks Sloane to trust him one last time, nearly staring right into the camera as he does it, and all of my worries went away. It felt like Ethan was addressing us, the audience.
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Christopher Mcquarrie’s fourth directorial effort in the series takes a while to get off the ground, but when it does, it never stops, and there is no turning back. The stakes have never felt so high as they do for a movie in this franchise, for the lives of billions of people are quite literally in Ethan’s hand, and he must figure out a way to stop the Entity and Gabriel (Esai Morales) from destroying the world before time runs out. No one in the U.S. government particularly trusts him, and they have a failsafe installed just in case his mission ends in failure.
With many plot points carrying over from its predecessor, ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning’, the pacing could have been tightened up a bit throughout the first act, because a lot of the information we were being given about what was going on in the world was already previously revealed. Nonetheless, this helps set up the next two acts, with minimal issues throughout the rest of the runtime.
We are introduced to several new characters in this latest entry, most of whom have key roles in advancing the plot, such as the blunt, comedic Captain Bledsoe, portrayed by ‘Severance’ fan-favorite Tramell Tillman, and the hard-nosed General Sydney (Nick Offerman), who never seems to leave the President’s side. Some of the characters may feel a bit weightless or inconsequential in certain scenes, but they all have their moments by the end of the movie.
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Death Defying Set Pieces and Stunts
The franchise is known for taking risks, particularly Cruise, and the stunts in this installment seem to be the culmination of everything he’s pulled off throughout his career. We’ve seen him hang of the side of an airplane in ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’, scale the Burj Khalifa in ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’, and now we see him prove that he may in fact be the last true movie star – by hanging off the side of a biplane as it tosses and turns. Stunts like these will continuously bring people back to the theaters. They don’t want to see CGI-filled slopfests, because at the end of the day, that’s not what movies are or should be.
There is one sequence in particular that is seemingly inspired by the ahead-of-its-time sci-fi epic, ‘The Abyss’, directed by James Cameron, and you’ll know exactly what it is when you see it. There was not a noise, not a whisper, not even the sound of fingers tapping on the glass screen of an Iphone during it. Everyone in the theater was so locked in on what was being unveiled before our eyes, it felt magical, an experience you’ll never get by watching a movie on a laptop or flatscreen television.
The dedication to quality filmmaking by Cruise and the crew, while virtually risking their own lives for our entertainment, is unmatched in this era of modern blockbusters. They care about the audience and producing the best possible piece of art for them, which can’t be said for everyone in the industry.
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How Does This Entry Compare To Others?
As a massive fan of Tom Cruise and the ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies, I knew going into the theater that I was going to like this movie. There’s just something about them that makes me so invested in each character, each moment, and each sequence, something I can’t say I feel about other major franchises. There is no correct way to rank this franchise, because each entry has something to offer for everyone. That being said, ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ definitely falls somewhere in the middle of my rankings. If the first hour didn’t drag on, it would have skyrocketed towards the top – that’s how good the rest of the movie is.
What’s Next For Tom Cruise?
With franchise filmmaking taking the backseat for the time being, Tom Cruise will be branching out and acting in movies that are not necessarily constricted to the action genre. He just wrapped production on an untitled comedy with director Alejandro González Iñárritu (‘Birdman’). The logline, according to Deadline, reads: “The most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he’s unleashed destroys everything.” Additionally, he will be reuniting with ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ director Doug Liman in the supernatural thriller ‘Deeper’, with Ana de Armas attached to star, as well. It’s promising to see Cruise work on projects like these where he can show his full range as an actor, and because we haven’t seen him in a non-franchise movie since 2017.
By Aidan Reidy
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Aidan Reidy is a writer who’s currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in motion pictures screenwriting at the University of Miami. He is passionate about the entertainment industry and enjoys watching most genres. He is interested in every aspect of filmmaking ranging from technical aspects like editing and sound mixing to acting and directing styles. Hollywood Insider’s commitment to substance-filled articles rather than gossip columns attracted him to the website, creating an enjoyable environment for him to write in and aligning with his personal values, as well.
Aidan Reidy is a writer who’s currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in motion pictures screenwriting at the University of Miami. He is passionate about the entertainment industry and enjoys watching most genres. He is interested in every aspect of filmmaking ranging from technical aspects like editing and sound mixing to acting and directing styles. Hollywood Insider’s commitment to substance-filled articles rather than gossip columns attracted him to the website, creating an enjoyable environment for him to write in and aligning with his personal values, as well.
