Movie Review: ‘Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning’

Tweet
Mission: Impossible-Final Reckoning is a well-crafted tribute (possible finale?) to the nearly 30-year film franchise. And Tom Cruise is still awe-inspiring as he literally runs around trying to save the world from total annihilation with death-defying stunts and light-hearted humor. Much of the cast from Dead Reckoning Part 1 are also back along with a few other familiar faces from previous entries. If you are a fan of the series, I would highly recommend trying to see this on the biggest screen you can manage.

This movie picks up not long after the previous entry, with Ethan in possession of the completed key that can stop a rapidly advancing AI called “The Entity”, but he must find a sunken submarine, fend off the primary (human) villain, and he is not sure who he can trust outside of his team. The President and her team are getting anxious as the world’s nuclear arsenal falls under control of “The Entity” potentially leading to humanity’s self-destruction even before “The Entity” can terminate all life. The stakes could not be higher. Okay, maybe they could if the whole universe was at stake, but this franchise hasn’t gone into the universe outside of Earth… yet.

Overall, it was an entertaining nearly 3-hour film. Naturally, there are quite a few glorious action sequences, with Tom Cruise famously doing most of his own stunts (and it makes a difference). Even with the fate of humanity at stake and a few tear-jerker moments, there is plenty of comedy to break the tension and some thought-provoking commentary of the state of “reality” in an increasingly digital world.

It does help to have seen the previous films, especially the last one, but this movie provides many convenient “previous on” flashbacks at the start of the movie and throughout the film as needed to help the audience identify/remember who is who and what is what. At least once, I thought “am I supposed to know that guy” and the movie inserted a flashback as if to say “yes, this is him during a previous movie and this is why that item has meaning”. Overusing flashbacks could be tedious, but it is done well in this trip down memory lane.