By George & Josh Bate
This century, only a select few franchises have maintained the relentless upward trajectory of Mission: Impossible. Since the release of the first film in 1996, the movie series has evolved from classic spy thriller to all out action and, now, is considered a global cinematic event, equipped with breathtaking stunts from actor and producer Tom Cruise. Now, after seven crowd-pleasing entries, the Mission: Impossible franchise (purportedly) comes to an end with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, a finale bolstering jaw-dropping stunts dragged down an incomprehensible plot.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning picks up where the previous installment Dead Reckoning left off. Tom Cruise once again stars as IMF agent Ethan Hunt, who continues his battle to destroy The Entity, an artificial intelligence that has gained self awareness and is intent on destroying the human race. Joined by a team of close allies, Ethan’s mission takes him to the streets of London to the depths of the ocean and beyond to stop The Entity from manipulating global powers into a nuclear war and secure the malevolent AI so that it won’t fall into the wrong hands.
For all the mind-blowing stunts and intense action The Final Reckoning has to offer, the film is dragged down by an incomprehensible and overstuffed story. It’s amazing to see Cruise do death-defying stunt after death-defying stunt but the plot surrounding these stunts has to hold up too, something the latest M:I film misses the mark with.
The term ‘convoluted’ doesn’t begin to describe how narratively messy The Final Reckoning is. And this messiness rears its ugly head early on and doesn’t let up for the nearly three-hour runtime. Before the title sequence is even presented, Ethan is given a ludicrous amount of missions to tackle, each posing confusing questions with unsatisfactory answers. At the beginning, Ethan is told via a VHS tape to destroy The Entity, then he’s told to find the source code of The Entity, then he’s told to find the source code *for* The Entity before being instructed to go and rush to save his friend. What makes all of this ridiculous is not only the muddled and unintentionally twisted way these tasks are introduced to Ethan and the audience but also that the film itself has an incredibly simple story: find the source code of The Entity and infect it with a virus that will destroy it. That’s all it is, and if the story of The Final Reckoning was presented as simply and straightforwardly as it could and should have been, then this final Mission: Impossible installment would have been a far better film. Many of the Mission: Impossible movies have struggled with convoluted, overly intricate plotting, but The Final Reckoning takes things to a whole other level with seemingly endless streams of exposition dumps and narrative layers. While Dead Reckoning tried (and most succeeded) to streamline the plot after Fallout became a bit too perplexing, the eighth and final film does the opposite. The film lives up to the title ‘Impossible’ in an unintentional way, as it’s truly impossible to wrap one’s head completely around its incomprehensible plot, something likely only Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie can fully do.
Contributing to how perplexing and plot-heavy The Final Reckoning is an abundance of characters. Filled to the brim with so many characters, many of whom are unnecessary, characters begin to blend together and it is difficult to keep track of everyone’s motivations and standing in the story. Hayley Atwell’s Grace is essentially Rebecca Ferguson’s character from the previous films, acting the same, looking similar, and having a dynamic with Ethan akin to what he had with Ferguson. There’s very little to distinguish the two (which makes the decision to replace Ferguson with Atwell all the more strange), and Atwell unfortunately becomes more of a shell of a character than anything else, offering very little to the story or the film at all. The same can be said about characters played by Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, and Greg Tarzan Davis, who, together, form one of the most disintegrated and un-engaging cast of side characters in the entire franchise. Beyond Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames, Ethan’s crew offers little to be invested in as it’s cobbled together and chops and changes so much from movie to movie.
The messy plot does an unfortunate disservice to the incredible action set pieces and stunts, which are grander and more daring than ever. The final act sees Cruise hold onto a free-flying plane as he attempts to take control and continue his pursuit of Gabriel, the film’s primary human antagonist. It’s a bigger and better stunt than the one it builds off, which came in Rogue Nation, and shows that Tom Cruise is (somehow) getting even better at his action star stunts as time goes by. Similarly, another extended sequence, which leans in to thrills more than outright action, shows Cruise under water for an extended period of time, sometimes without oxygen. His swimming skills and ability to navigate in deep and cold water in this sequence builds upon a scene, again in Rogue Nation, in which Cruise holds his breath for six whole minutes – one of many memorable moments in this franchise, and a prime example of The Final Reckoning’s attempts to connect back to prior installments. Those who see Mission: Impossible films solely for the action set pieces and death-defying stunts will not come away disappointed.
These elaborate action sequences, coupled with a lengthy runtime and overstuffed plot, result in an oddly paced film. The first 30 minutes feels like a high octane race, almost as if it was the third act, before the middle portion slows down significantly and goes large stretches without any action. This wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, but without the action, the audience has to contend with the film’s ongoing plot, which, again, is no easy task.
Without spoilers, the story relates back to previous films of the franchise, mainly the original Mission: Impossible and Mission: Impossible III. The true nature of that film’s MacGuffin, the Rabbit’s Foot, is finally revealed, and its connection to The Entity is exposed. It’s an interesting idea, especially given that Mission: Impossible III is arguably one of the best films in the franchise and rarely gets the praise it deserves. Six years ago, the MCU did something similar with Avengers: Endgame, with callbacks to previous, often overlooked films in the franchise, to great effect. Unfortunately, The Final Reckoning doesn’t have the same level of success in this regard, as the connections to previous installments get caught up in the convoluted story, thus dimming any impact they may have had. These connections feel forced and ask the audience to remember fairly minute details about films that released decades ago, adding yet another layer of confusion to an already convoluted film.
As a film that has “final” in the title, and given that this is being marketed as the last of the Mission: Impossible franchise, the film squanders the opportunity to give Ethan Hunt and company a satisfying conclusion. As the film progresses, it becomes clearer and clearer as the that the film isn’t as interested in crafting a true ending to the franchise as it is with paying lazy homage to previous films (notably, through multiple misplaced montages from Hunt’s prior missions) . Instead, director Christopher McQuarrie appears more inclined to create a Mission: Impossible film that is bigger in size and scale than ever before. And, in this sense, the team succeeds as The Final Reckoning is certainly the most ambitious and grand of the entire franchise, featuring stakes that have never been higher and action setpieces that have never been as jaw-dropping.
VERDICT: 7/10
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning goes grander and more daring than any other franchise installment (for better and worse). Tom Cruise takes his trademark death-defying stunts to new heights (literally) and captivates with the franchise’s signature feature of jaw-dropping action. Unfortunately, the elaborately constructed action set-pieces are surrounded by a messy and incomprehensible plot, overstuffed with too many characters and forced callbacks to previous installments. The lengthy runtime and perplexing narrative foster an oddly paced film, which goes large stretches without action scenes and thus forces the audience to contemplate the absurdities and confusion of a poorly written plot. Despite higher stakes than ever, the film squanders an opportunity to live up to the word ‘Final’ in its title in failing to deliver a fitting finale for the franchise. Tom Cruise’s relentless effort, charisma, and dedication to jaw-dropping stunts only carry The Final Reckoning so far, a film desperately in need of a more streamlined story. While the missions Ethan Hunt tackles are characteristically impossible, so is the ability to follow what’s going on in this eighth Mission: Impossible film, reducing a potentially crowd-pleasing epic to a decidedly confusing time at the movies.