Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning

It’s time to light the fuse one last time. At least, the new Mission: Impossible has been marketed as the final chapter–although Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie have both been very coy about whether it really is the end of the franchise. Regardless, this film is meant to give Cruise’s now-iconic superspy Ethan Hunt closure. Furthermore, it is intended to be the second part to the two-parter set up by the previous installment–which was known as Dead Reckoning–Part One until the filmmakers dropped the Part One when they changed the title of this one. Let me clarify that this entry is meant for die-hard fans of the long-running series, and not for casual audiences. It helps to go back and have every previous chapter fresh in your mind before seeing this one. That said, I can confidently report that only the original 1996 film, Mission: Impossible III, and Dead Reckoning (as it is now named) are really the only ones that are required viewing before this one.

Okay, now to do my best–in the absolutely most spoiler-free way possible–to answer the million-dollar question: should you trust Tom Cruise and Co. with three hours of your time and money? The answer is a bit more complicated than simply yes or no here, but I would say that if you are a hardcore fan of this saga, you should be satisfied with what this movie has to offer.

First, I’ll tell you what worked. Once this outing gets moving, I found myself enjoying it. Make no mistake: whatever reservations I have–which I will get to–this is absolutely meant to be seen on the big screen. The two Big Action Scenes here remind you why you love watching Cruise cheat death to offer you some of the most visceral thrills you are likely to see in any blockbuster this year. I always respect that dedication to entertaining us. No doubt he will at the least be considered for the Academy’s newly-created Stunt category for his work here. Particularly in the last fifty minutes, I was grinning ear to ear watching as he dangled from a plane. No spoiler warning necessary, because it’s the most heavily promoted action set piece–so much that it is featured not just in the trailers, but on the movie’s poster.

The other Big Action Scene appears earlier (about the midway point), in which Cruise submerges himself underwater and goes into a submarine. This sequence lasts about twenty minutes, and is also enjoyable. Returning cast members including Ving Rhames (who has appeared in every Mission), Simon Pegg (who has been around since M:i:III), and Hayley Atwell all turn in good performances. That’s not even mentioning other familiar faces Henry Czerny and Angela Bassett. A minor character from the franchise’s earliest days is brought back, which works surprisingly well. There’s even some nice emotional resonance to boot. The closure is satisfying as well. The Final Reckoning undeniably has very high highs…

…and unfortunately, some very low lows. Let me start by addressing the elephant in the room: no action movie ever needs to be three hours long. To put it in perspective, Dead Reckoning is about five minutes shorter than this one, which is clearly a Part Two. Don’t come in expecting the same frenetic wall-to-wall action here; this is probably the first film in the series to include the least amount of spectacular action that you are used to by now. The script by McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen—who also penned the previous installment—is the biggest problem here. Considering that this eighth film is—as mentioned—intended for die-hard fans, brimming with callbacks and Easter eggs—it is too often unnecessarily preoccupied with needlessly excessive exposition and incorporates flashbacks to past entries. This is especially problematic because if you are watching this, you are presumably very familiar with the rest of the franchise. One key character’s subplot is almost entirely comprised of flashbacks.

The writers also treat us like we are completely unfamiliar the premise (which conceptually is similar to Terminator, with a Chosen One who must stop enemy AI and prevent nuclear holocaust). They seem to have forgotten the “show, don’t tell” rule, and instead continue the franchise’s recent trend of “come up with cool stunts and then write a plot around them”. “The Entity”, which was very much a palpable threat in the previous film, has a shockingly reduced presence here. It doesn’t help that the primary human antagonist, Gabriel (Esai Morales, reprising his role from Dead Reckoning) is arguably the weakest villain in the series to date. A romance between Cruise and Atwell feels forced, taking into account that they sorely lack the chemistry that he had with Rebecca Ferguson.

Despite these criticisms, The Final Reckoning is undeniably a good time at the cinema. But it could have been great, like past adventures. Again, if you enjoyed the previous films, you should enjoy this one. Mission: Impossible II remains the weakest link in the series, but for all of the frustrations I had with that one and M:i:III, this new entry is perhaps the most unnecessarily bloated, and could have been more cohesive and much better-paced. This Mission isn’t impossible, but should you really accept it? That’s up to you.

Rated PG-13

2 hours, 49 minutes