Movie Review: Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning

 

Just 6 short days ago, I used about 550 of an 800-word review of Final Destination Bloodlines to rail against the film's obnoxious embrace of fan service, so I would be a loud and proud hypocrite if I didn't rip Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning for its similar sins. As the title implies, The Final Reckoning is being framed as superspy Ethan Hunt's swan song (whether or not our IP-obsessed times will allow a firm conclusion to actually occur is another issue entirely). What this means is that the film is obligated to examine the legacy behind Hunt's 30+ year, 8-film journey while simultaneously sending Hunt and his revolving door of cohorts (this time around it's Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Pom Klementieff, Greg Tarzan Davis and for the last 90 odd minutes of the film, a returning character from a previous film that nobody on the universe would've ever expected to come back) on another impossible mission as they once again attempt to take down the super AI known as "The Entity" that was introduced in 2023's Dead Reckoning. And what delightful modern franchise storytelling device is used to make this messy arranged marriage happen? Well, retcons and hollow exposition dumps of course!!! Please believe me when I tell you that a significant amount of the first hour of the movie consists of a hodgepodge of monologues from various characters explaining how Hunt's past actions (archival footage is constantly spliced over the dialogue since there's no fucking way that anybody who hasn't seen the earlier movies recently would be able to recall most of, if not all of these events) paved the way for the creation of The Entity and why the powers that be shouldn't trust him given his history of recklessness and bucking authority, but ultimately have to since they don't have a better choice to try and stop The Entity. It's a unique combination of nostalgia-baiting garbage and the same thinly veiled self-fellating that Cruise used ad nauseum in Top Gun: Maverick to reflect on what Hunt has meant to cinema for all these years. Ultimately, it's an equally hilarious and embarrassing exercise that sows some serious doubt about whether or not The Final Reckoning is going to be able to land the proverbial plane when the time comes.

In a fitting tribute to Hunt himself, The Final Reckoning manages to pull it off right at the moment when all seems lost. What Mission-Impossible is really about isn't spycraft or the love Hunt has for his team and having vaguely romantic relationships with gorgeous brunette women, it's the setpieces. When the stunts are electric and the kinetic energy is really humming, everything holding these movies back fades away (namely the mediocre-to-bad scripts and forgettable villains outside of Phillip Seymour Hoffmann's Owen Davian) thanks to the unstoppable force that is sheer blockbuster movie magic. While things start trending in the right direction with the submerged submarine dive sequence in the second act, things really kick into the high gear in the final act with the stunt of Cruise hanging off the biplane that's been plastered all over the trailers and posters. This breathtaking extended sequence along with the hypertense cutaways to what the other characters of note to the story are going through while Hunt is dangling from the wing of that plane is one of the most pulse-pounding stretches in a series that's no stranger to putting exhilarating moments into the world. At no point during this portion of the film was I thinking about any of the clumsy, forced tie-ins to the previous movies in the franchise or some government official being played by a veteran actor (Angela Bassett, Henry Czerny, Nick Offerman, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Hannah Waddingham) explaining what the Entity was capable of in 12,000 uninterrupted words. I was merely in awe of what was transpiring on that screen and what it took to pull it off. And when you think about it, that's about as fitting of a sendoff for Hunt and the egomaniacal nutjob that brought him to life as you could possibly ask for. 

Could The Final Reckoning have been better? Sure. Should it have been better given the strength of the setup that Dead Reckoning provided and the quality level this franchise has ascended to since Christopher McQuarrie took over as director with Rogue Nation? Yes. But as flawed and aggravating as it is-particularly in the early going, there's enough pure spectacle and old school Hollywood razzle dazzle on that screen to make it all worthwhile. If this is indeed really the end of the line for Hunt, I salute him for his service to his country, his team and (Vin Diesel voice) the movies.                       

Grade: B