‘The Final Reckoning’ Is a Spectacularly Bloated Culmination to Tom Cruise’s ‘Mission: Impossible’ Franchise

Alci Rengifo

The “Mission: Impossible” movies have truly tested just how long a franchise can last without replacing its main star. Tom Cruise famously embodies the last of a particular brand of Hollywood celebrity. Whatever one thinks of him, it is impressive that he has carried this film series for almost three decades. James Bond gets continuously replaced. Ethan Hunt has been Cruise since 1996, when the first movie in this series premiered. “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” hints in its title that this may just be the last ride for the franchise, at least in its classic state. Fittingly it goes out big, so big that at times it can feel like too much material fighting for space. What no one can doubt is that it delivers action on a scale few movies attempt anymore.

This is technically the second part of a plot that kicked off in 2023’s “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.” IMF (Impossible Mission Force) operative Ethan Hunt (Cruise) faced down an old foe, Gabriel (Esai Morales), who covets the rogue A.I. weapon known as “The Entity.” Since then, The Entity has caused havoc all around the world, setting off political conflicts and now deciding to take over the nuclear arsenals of all nuclear-armed countries. U.S. President Sloane (Angela Bassett) asks Ethan to come out of hiding to help stop this massive threat to humankind. The legendary spy agrees, especially since he wants revenge for Gabriel having killed Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). He also brings in our favorite team members, Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg), and thief turned MIF operative Grace (Hayley Atwell). Blade-wielding assassin Paris (Pom Klementieff) has also joined the crew. Their first major target is a Russian submarine buried under arctic ice that holds the key for stopping The Entity.

While the plot sounds fairly simple, “The Final Reckoning” manages to stretch it out for 170 minutes. Christopher McQuarrie takes many detours to celebrate nostalgia for the entire series of films, opening with visual and narrative nods at Brian De Palma’s ’96 “Mission: Impossible” and even answering a plot hole from 2006’s “Mission: Impossible III.” There’s even room for a montage of images from nearly all the films. A surprise return from the first movie might inspire a cheer or two (just remember the famous CIA vault theft). McQuarrie’s screenplay, written with Erik Jendresen, almost puts aside some of the classic style of the franchise to do its own take on giant culminations like “Avengers: Endgame.” The attention to clues and puzzles gets replaced by massive set pieces and elongated discussions meant to explain more than carry the plot forward. Yet, it’s not as if Ethan Hunt is facing a moment of truth like Daniel Craig’s James Bond in “No Time to Die.” Instead of actual reckonings, the plot elevates its premise to the idea that Ethan Hunt is some sort of messiah figure. 

He may be a master of disguise, fighting machine and super brain, but that isn’t enough for Cruise’s take on the character. He wants Hunt to be the ultimate action hero. Conversations endlessly remind us the fate of the world is in his hands and, as Grace breathlessly tells him, only Ethan can be trusted over anyone else in the world with control of The Entity. Ving Rhames’ Luther, who has also been around since the very first movie, does get a rather moving send-off. Rhames gives what began as a feel-good character some real gravitas. Shea Whigham’s Briggs, the operative chasing after Ethan since the last movie, also gets a twist connected to the past so unexpected there is no other explanation than the director overdoing it with forced nostalgia. There are also too many moments of dialogue hammering into us that The Entity is out there and taking over everyone’s nuclear arsenal. It is almost maddening how many times we get the same montage of all the various missiles decorated with the flags of the U.S., Israel, France, etc. Gabriel as a villain nearly becomes flat after being established so well in the previous entry.

“The Final Reckoning” still manages to overcome these flaws with its kinetic energy and stunning action sequences. Cruise should be given credit for keeping alive the tradition of action films that look and feel absolutely real. His “Top Gun: Maverick” featured real flying and here there’s no doubt he’s struggling through the flooding corridors of a careening submarine. When the film does use CGI it’s still to stunning effect, like an escape that is brilliantly edited to wrenching results. Everything else in the movie gets outdone by the climactic sequence where Ethan goes on an aerial chase after Gabriel. The sequence feels endless in the best way, like a nonstop roller coaster as Cruise jumps midair from plane to plane, hanging from tails, gripping for dear life as the score by Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey accentuates every dive and elevation. In these moments we remember why the “Mission: Impossible” movies have lasted for so long. By comparison the other moments involving shootouts and standoffs feel so standard, though flawlessly done. 

Is this indeed the last adventure for Ethan Hunt? It is worth noting the original title of this film was “Dead Reckoning – Part Two,” which was changed after the previous entry disappointed slightly at the box office under the shadow of that summer’s joint “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” phenomenon. The writing certainly feels like Cruise giving the spy that has defined him as a popcorn attraction for nearly 30 years some sort of exit, even if the closing scene feels far from finished. What else can possibly follow the near-apocalypse? Never say never. Despite feeling like a rush to celebrate everything about the series while carrying on with its plot, “The Final Reckoning” is nonetheless dynamic entertainment. Like a classic band that hasn’t lost its shine, you can forgive its shortcomings to admire how well everything is executed. Cruise is still capable of keeping us at the edge of our seat and holding our breath when it seems he is about to drop to his doom, and that counts for something at a time when movies find themselves facing an uncertain future.

“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” releases May 23 in theaters nationwide.