A Reel Review - MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING (or MI:8), has two missions to accomplish. First, as the direct sequel to the outstanding DEAD RECKONING (or MI:7, from 2023, read Reel Speak's review HERE), it has several storylines to wrap up. Second, as the (supposed) final film in the series (or at least, the final outing for star Tom Cruise), it has the responsibility to end it all on a high note. This mission is chosen and accepted by Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie. Did they accomplish it…? 

 

Set just a couple months after the events of MI:7, Agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise), and his team (Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Pom Klementieff), race around the world to prevent Gabriel (Esai Morales), from letting a powerful A.I. called Entity from spreading into the world’s nuclear missile controls. 

 

Directed by McQuarrie and produced by Cruise, MI:8 continues the tradition set by the first MI film (way back in 1996!), of having a plot that feels denser than it needs to be. Stopping Gabriel and the Entity is the mission, but there are several layers and complexities to get through to make that happen. There’s a lot to do, and the film often has to stop dead in its tracks to explain everything that is going on. 

 

Once things get out of the planning stages and into the action, MI:8 delivers and delivers well. Sequences such as Cruise dangling off an airplane and exploring a wrecked submarine at the bottom of the ocean are incredibly tense, with the underwater scene amazingly done with zero dialogue for nearly 20 minutes (and also not healthy for any claustrophobic viewers to watch). Cruise is committed as ever to do the stunts himself, and the realism is excellent. 

 

The plot has a lot to do, so any deep character work is traded in for spectacle and getting everyone from one place to another. It’s not a dealbreaker but the film feels shallow. MI:8 also uses past events from nearly every previous film, with returning characters from MI:1 being put to great use. The worldwide locations are well-used and are stunning. 

 

Acting is great all around. Tom Cruise owns every scene he is in. Hayley Atwell is always excellent, as is Pom Klementieff…but both feel underutilized. Angela Bassett returns to the franchise, this time as POTUS, and is very good. 

 

By the time all the running and high-flying stunts are done, MI:8 settles into a quiet, and satisfying ending for Hunt, his team, and the franchise. The thick plot hinders the film in places, but once it gets going the tension is relentless with its massively high stakes and jaw-dropping stunts. It has its fair amount of nostalgia that works and is a love letter to the last (nearly) 30 years of impossible missions. This mission is accomplished. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it