Despite all its flaws, the sincerity of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is hard to beat. It is the love of cinema in its purest form. It’s a bit messy, but it’s entertaining as hell. See it on the biggest and best screen you can. Go and trust Ethan Hunt (and Tom Cruise) “one last time,” and perhaps a couple more times, too. 

This review contains spoilers for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the grand finale of the Mission: Impossible franchise that spans four decades. These last two films, which function as two halves of one story, were fraught with trouble from COVID shutdowns to the actor and writer strikes. There was also the quiet renaming of this film from “Dead Reckoning – Part Two” to “The Final Reckoning.” Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (Part One?) is considered a great film overall, although not quite at the same level as the action masterpiece of Mission: Impossible – Fallout. As the finale, a lot was riding on The Final Reckoning to give Ethan Hunt the send-off he deserves. Although it is the weaker half of the Entity story, it is still a thrilling watch and a solid conclusion to the franchise. 

The Final Reckoning takes place a couple months after Ethan Hunt and his team secure the key from Gabriel on the train. The movie starts with the world in shambles because the Entity has wreaked havoc. It has infiltrated all but 4 nuclear arsenals: Great Britain, China, Russia, and the United States. It wants to create a nuclear apocalypse and wipe out all life on Earth after it secures itself in a bunker in South Africa. There are also Entity cultists who believe it is for the best. The Entity has now pushed aside Gabriel, who once was its human messenger, after failing to get the key. Gabriel is upset and now wants to control the Entity. Ethan and Luther have created a plan to kill it, but Gabriel continues to be a thorn in their sides. Ethan surrenders himself to the government to get face time with President Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett), the CIA director in Fallout. He explains his plan to her and the rest of her team, and despite how insane it is, she lets him free to attempt it. 

The main issues with The Final Reckoning come from the script. First, all of the Mission: Impossible plans are slightly insane, although they are relatively logical and the team mostly runs into trouble whenever outside forces make things difficult. The plan for The Final Reckoning is preposterous and relies solely on luck; it’s a hard pillow to swallow. What it really is is Cruise and McQuarrie figuring out the story to fit the action sequences they want to film. They have admitted to doing this in the past, but this is the movie where it works the least. Second, in the first half, there are three aspects of the film that connect Mission: Impossible and Mission: Impossible III to this movie. Two of the three work well. These two retrofit previously unimportant lines and make this film a richer text. The other is so random and unnecessary and doesn’t connect to the plot whatsoever. Also, the lack of clarity on Ethan and Gabriel’s past was frustrating because it could’ve added more depth to the story and made Gabriel a more interesting villain. While Ethan Hunt is not the most multidimensional character, it is frustrating for the writers to tease something and not provide an answer. Finally, there was no perfect way to end the film series. Nobody expected Ethan to buy a house on the beach and ride off into the sunset, but the final scene is truly underwhelming. No answers, no big goodbye. Only one character was given an ending that could be considered satisfying.

The bromance of Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie is as strong as ever. Although I consider Cruise to be the auteur of the Mission: Impossible series, his partnership with McQuarrie is where the franchise flourished. He is the only person to have directed multiple Mission: Impossible films. Of all four of them, this is the weakest one. The action sequences, particularly the unbelievable submarine sequence in the middle of the movie, look spectacular. There aren’t enough words in the English language to describe how beautiful it looked. The audience was at the edge of their seats, and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Unfortunately, it seems that all of McQuarrie’s attention went only to the action scenes because any regular scenes, especially with the President and their team, look so uninspired and flat. A bit more effort in the visual aesthetic of the first hour would make the information dump a much more enjoyable experience. 

Despite all the frustrations with the film, there are many great things about Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning! As previously stated, the submarine set piece is one of the coolest action sequences ever put to film. How they actually got that footage is a wonder to me. Also, the score is absolutely fantastic. Although Lorne Balfe couldn’t return for this film, he entrusted his collaborators Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey to compose the score. Multiple times mid-movie, I would stop and think about how gorgeous and powerful the score was. This was their first major production as composers, and they did a fantastic job.

The new additions to the cast are all excellent. They include Hannah Waddingham, Holt McCallany, and Nick Offerman, but Tramell Tillman, in particular, was a standout. He has such a cool aura, and despite having a short filmography, he easily holds his own with a veteran actor like Tom Cruise. All of the actors on the submarine are great. They remind me of the marines in Aliens. Unfortunately, we only get a sneak peek into their little underwater world. The biggest casting news for the movie was the bringing back of Donloe from Mission: Impossible! This works well for multiple reasons. Ethan has been forced to confront how his actions and weaknesses have set off chain reactions despite his good intentions, and bringing back the one man who he actively screwed over is the perfect way for him to reckon with it. Not only that, Dunloe isn’t just a cameo but an integral part of the story. It’s lovely to see Cruise take care of the people he has worked with.

The team Ethan and Benji have accidentally recruited throughout Dead Reckoning and The Final Reckoning is a special group. Hayley Atwell is back as Grace, and this time she is dedicated to the team instead of being a thorn in Ethan’s side. Her role in the finale scene was hinted at throughout the two films, and the setup paid off well. Pom Klementieff and Greg Tarzan Davis played his enemies in the last movie but, once again, Ethan Hunt’s charm won them over. They are a test of Cruise’s ability to foster the future of cinema. Nothing more can be said about how great Simon Pegg is. Keeping him on after Mission: Impossible III was one of the best choices in the franchise. He adds the right amount of humor and levity to every scene he’s in and is inherently loveable. Finally, Ving Rhames has been Tom Cruise’s constant companion since the original Mission: Impossible, and onscreen it’s clear how much these two love each other. 

Between the epic action set pieces is a story about Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie’s thoughts on artificial intelligence and the internet. Everybody jokes about Cruise being the savior of cinema, but there is truth to it. Businessmen making decisions that actively destroy the art of film are analogous to world leaders who think they can control the Entity. It believed it understood humans, but it couldn’t anticipate what Ethan Hunt would do in the same way AI can’t write a script that captures the human experience. It’s a warning that even the best intentions can lead to disastrous consequences. Despite all its flaws, the sincerity of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is hard to beat. It is the love of cinema in its purest form. It’s a bit messy, but it’s entertaining as hell. See it on the biggest and best screen you can. Go and trust Ethan Hunt (and Tom Cruise) “one last time,” and perhaps a couple more times, too. 

Grade: A-

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: Best Sound, Best Visual Effects
Should Be Considered: Best Original Score

Where to Watch: In Theaters