Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning feels like a love letter to Tom Cruise, by Tom Cruise, that loses itself in its messy plot

2.5 out of 5

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning is the last (we think, we hope?) installment in the multiple-decade spanning Mission Impossible franchise. For the most part this franchise has been able to maintain its tone and quality across 7 films starting with the Brian DePalma directed outing in 1996. In its finale it loses a lot of what made these films so special and, dare I say it, iconic.

I as a huge fan of the original TV series: the plots, the tech, the locations, the clever masks, etc and I was delighted with the 1996 revival on the big screen. Yes it as messy and the plot a bit baggy but it was great to hear Lalo Schifrin's score and see the IMF in action complete with self-destructing messages.

Starting with the overall story of this new film, it’s all over the place. To begin, this film takes 55 minutes to get to the actual start of its plot. The first hour of the film feels like a fast-paced highlight reel of the things people know and love from the previous films in the series. Because of the janky editing, rapid location, and motive changes, I genuinely had zero clue what was happening until a third of the way through the film. After the plot got kicked off, I was severely disappointed yet again. The remaining two hours of the film felt like it was built around two really cool scenes. Once they had their big stunts for the story, they scrambled together a weak storyline to get them from point A to point B. While neither Tom Cruise or the director of this film (and the past 4 Mission Impossible movies) Christopher McQuarrie have confirmed this to be last film, considering the name being “Final Reckoning”, its safe to assume it was at least intended as an end to the story of Ethan Hunt and the Impossible Mission Force. That being said, nothing about this movie is “Final”. In fact it manages to end in the exact same way that nearly every other installment has before it.

Perhaps the biggest draw for these films is the action and big stunts. While both in this film pale in comparison to that of its predecessor, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, there are still two great tension-filled stunts that keep this film memorable and entertaining. The majority of the marketing in this film has surrounded the plane scene, where Tom Cruise stands on the wings of a small plane and gains control of it mid-crash. That being said, the scene goes on for a little too long, and because of that, some of the tension loses its effect. The other stunt, while under-marketed, is actually, in my opinion, a much better scene. It places Ethan Hunt in a rapidly descending submarine, as he tries to escape before he gets accidentally blown up by one of the many dislodged missiles floating around the hull of the ship. The way this scene is shot and edited builds so much tension for the audience, and it never loses your attention. With scenes like the plane scene, it can often be difficult to see what’s happening fully, as everything is traveling at breakneck speeds. This submarine allows for us to fully grasp the tension and explore different ways Hunt could be in danger (rather than just falling off a plane). This sub as a set piece was an excellent choice and a highlight of the film.

Overall, this film loses a lot of the heart that the other films had. Instead, it feels like a love letter to Tom Cruise, by Tom Cruise, that loses itself in its messy plot and trying to one-up its previous installments. What we’re left with is a messy, somewhat entertaining, 3-hour-long film that serves as a (maybe) finale for the series that deserves a much better send-off. If you’re a fan of the other films in this series, you’ll probably enjoy some of the callbacks and cool set pieces, but ultimately, you’ll be disappointed by the way this film plays out. In the end, I’m going to give it a 2.5 out of 5. It could’ve been so much better, and the more I think about it as a film, the more disappointed I am.