Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)
Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Premise: The eighth Mission: Impossible film. Picking up where Dead Reckoning left off, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team scramble to contain a rogue artificial intelligence before it takes control of the world’s nuclear weapons.
What Works: The Final Reckoning is the second part of the story that began in the previous installment and this is the better half. Despite running nearly three hours, The Final Reckoning moves along steadily. Dead Reckoning revealed the truth of the AI and the purpose of the MacGuffin, allowing The Final Reckoning to be more focused. Ethan Hunt and his team split up for parallel missions. The intercutting of the two teams is done well, especially the exposition scene. The standout set piece of The Final Reckoning is the submarine sequence. Unlike the speed and fury of series’ most ostentatious set pieces, the submarine sequence is quiet and claustrophobic and skillfully draws out the tension. The filmmakers emphasize the physical challenges of the mission and the way world governments are on the verge of panicking. This proves more interesting than the AI and its villainous henchman Gabriel (Esai Morales) who is thankfully pushed to the background of this film. As silly as the AI premise can be, there is something about the concept that is relevant to this cultural moment. The idea of a rogue AI inspiring nihilistic and cultish devotion speaks to the way technology has infiltrated our perception of reality. The Final Reckoning is positioned as the final chapter and it does have the feel of a grand finale. Series regular Ving Rhames is given a particularly effective send off.
What Doesn’t: The Final Reckoning continues some of the flaws of the previous film. It continues to be drudgingly self-serious. One of the best aspects of the superior Mission: Impossible films was their humor. The lighter touch made those films likable, gave them a humanistic quality, and created an ebb and flow of emotion. The Final Reckoning is so heavy that it sometimes feels monotonous. That self-importance is most obvious in the regard for Ethan Hunt who is unambiguously positioned as the world’s savior. The other characters constantly thank and praise him. This sequel does not do much with anyone else. This series has consistently been thin in character development but with a story this long and this sprawling, the Reckoning duology ought to have done something more with these characters. The previous film implied that Gabriel was connected to Ethan’s past and suggested a personal vendetta. That’s completely dropped here. The filmmakers seem unsure what to do between Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell’s characters. A romantic connection is implied but never goes anywhere. The AI premise continues to be silly and some of the plotting of The Final Reckoning is ludicrous. Characters somehow deduce the AI’s plans and government officials warn that if the AI were killed (whatever that means) the entire internet would be destroyed along with it. It’s a transparently stupid idea. The climax of The Final Reckoning reiterates the finale of Fallout but this version is not as tense or exciting.
Bottom Line: The Final Reckoning probably brings the Mission: Impossible film series to its conclusion. If so, this is a good enough resolution to the series. It doesn’t reach the heights of the best installments nor does it do much with the characters but The Final Reckoning is a competent and entertaining action picture that leaves the series with a sense of finality.
Episode: #1049 (May 25, 2025)