Bringing this franchise to a close, or so we may believe...
Edited by Mariane Tremblay
Tom Cruise is back as legendary IMF agent Ethan Hunt in what aspires to be the greatest and latest installment of their impossible missions. Though it may not live up to some of its predecessors – Rogue Nation (2015) or Fallout (2018) – it does still feel like a good end to Hunt’s story (if we are to believe it truly is the end).
At the end of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, our heroes are completely cut off from their government assistance. Grace (Hayley Atwell) remains on the train in the hands of Kitteridge (Henry Czerny) while Ethan (Tom Cruise) and Benji (Simon Pegg) narrowly escape with the key, the key which may lead to the end of the world should it fall into the wrong hands. As they’re racing against time, they’re also pursued by the government, which mistakenly believes Ethan is the threat. Despite the high stakes and the darkness that surrounds the team, moments of laughter and comedy shine through. Though team members are lost, hope and love remain.
In The Final Reckoning, Ethan resumes his mission (alongside Benji and Grace) determined to find the only person who knows what the key opens, Gabriel (Esai Morales) – an assassin who previously worked with the Entity. But it is Gabriel who finds them instead, forcing Ethan to retrieve the entity’s core module from the bottom of the ocean in the sunken Russian submarine, the Sevastopol. To complete their final “impossible” mission, they must rely on new allies, Paris (Pom Klementieff) and Theo Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis). As the team pushes the boundaries of what’s (im)possible, the film raises the stakes not just for global security, but for the moral compass and loyalty of everyone involved.
As what is currently considered the finale of this eight-part franchise, The Final Reckoning focuses most on all of the steps Hunt has taken along the way to get him to where he is today. The film deliberately recalls key moments and characters from previous Mission: Impossible films, making it essential for viewers who truly want to understand to have viewed the earlier installments before taking a seat for The Final Reckoning.
“Your team has been betrayed, Ethan. All your secrets compromised.”
Gabriel warns, serving as a chilling reminder of how deeply the Entity has infiltrated their lives, and the Entity learns more and more about each team member. Their pasts are brought back into check, old wounds resurface, and we are left with one question: who will survive?
The Final Reckoning attempts to tie together almost 30 years of Mission: Impossible history, even drawing on lore from before Ethan Hunt was introduced to audiences (how was he given the choice by the IMF in the beginning?). However, it becomes and overwhelmingly complex three-hour film with little time to catch up. All the familiar elements from the past seven films are present: Ethan fighting in his underwear, high-speed racing (swapping out motorcycles for planes), and being tied up in a dark, dingy room. However, these Mission: Impossible familiarities are overshadowed by unrealistic additions that make the results feel forced rather than believable. Stunts that are just too great or push the boundaries of humanity a bit too far, take away from the “impossible” essence the franchise is known for.
From running across London to flying over the mountains and hanging off planes, Tom Cruise continues to deliver the ridiculous stunts that have defined his portrayal of Ethan Hunt. However, the heart of the film lies with Pegg’s portrayal of Benji and the relationship development and growth between the characters. Despite the darkness they have all been subject to, Benji remains the emotional core of the film. His love for his team and his pure hope carries throughout. He continuously reminds audiences that we’ll “figure it out” and that applies to much more than the film itself. Pegg himself has credited the role of Benji to affecting his own personal life and helping him from a low point. This effect the character had on Pegg can be seen in the emotion and love he puts into the character.
In a high-stakes action film, comprising some comedic elements, it is rounded out by the love and friendship that comes from the characters. Even though some – such as Grace, Paris, and Theo – have not been part of the team for long, they all become part of the crazy family that is the IMF team. Reminding audiences everywhere that even when things seem dark and bleak, your chosen family can be the thing that saves you – just as the IMF team saved each other and the world.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2025, and was released in cinemas worldwide beginning May 21, 2025. If you have been a Mission: Impossible fan from the beginning, The Final Reckoning may not blow you away, but it should be on your list of films to watch in cinemas. It wraps up this eight film franchise and brings characters stories to a close. And, after watching this on one of the biggest screens, if you have an IMAX screen near you, it is beyond worth it to watch it in the format it was originally filmed for.
Originally published on wspotlight.blogspot.com
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