MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE-THE FINAL RECKONING (2025)

An Exciting Finale? Mission Accomplished.

Grade: A

---

Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning once again proves why Tom Cruise and Director Christopher McQuarrie make a perfect team. As the (apparent) final entry in the long-running action film series, it pulls out all the stops to create yet another edge-of-your-seat thriller full of amazingly crafted action sequences and incredible performances. Is it the best in the series? That’s debatable. But the fact that Mission: Impossible has managed to stay mostly high-quality since it began back in 1996 is nothing short of remarkable, and The Final Reckoning continues that trend.

            Continuing two months after its predecessor, Dead Reckoning (2023) left off, The Final Reckoning follows Cruise’s Impossible Missions Forces agent Ethan Hunt as he sets out to destroy the Entity, the malevolent Artificial Intelligence which has now spread worldwide. Ethan and his team, consisting of Grace (Hayley Atwell), Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames), Paris (Pom Klementieff), and Theo (Greg Tarzan Davis) intend to find a crucial piece of equipment that will enable them to trap it. Also on the submarine’s trail are Gabriel (Esai Morales), a former servant of the Entity who now seeks to control it because it cast him aside after he failed to stop Ethan in the last movie. Ethan and his team only have three days to destroy the Entity; if they fail, the world is doomed.

            The Final Reckoning is nearly three hours long, but there is hardly a dull moment. Just about every scene is filled with suspense as the characters are forced to make impossible choices which can mean the difference between life and death for every human on Earth. In the process, we are treated to some truly compelling performances, arguably the best of which is provided by Angela Bassett. Here she reprises her role from Mission: Impossible-Fallout as Erika Sloane, once the CIA Director and now the U.S. President. As the clock counts down to nuclear Armageddon, she is truly convincing as the world leader on whom everything is hanging.

            An interesting and paradoxical thing about the action is the fact that, despite being fast paced, it is still not afraid to take its time, allowing the movie to immerse us in what’s going on. The sequence where Ethan descends into the bowels of a sunken nuclear sub, and later goes toe-to-toe with Gabriel on a biplane, are two such examples. The former stretches out for a while, but there is a constant sense of danger as the sub teeters closer and closer to a precipice with Ethan inside; we are right there with him, and we feel the suspense. The latter is amazingly photographed and realistic looking as he struggles to hold onto the plane without any aid whatsoever.

            The script is not perfect; as ostensibly the last movie, it makes several references which tie it into previous films. A few of these feel forced, such as the true identity of one of Ethan’s adversaries. But at least one is a gem, as a minor character from the first film in the series returns and is given a prominent and compelling role. As far as plots go, we can pretty much predict how things will end up, and it the ending falls shy of having a truly profound impact. It also becomes borderline impossible to keep track of the team’s convoluted plan to save the day. But while the movie is happening, we are so caught up in all the action that we don’t really care. We know what we need to know about the characters' intentions, and we want them to succeed.

            It has become a major topic of debate in recent years whether movies are best seen in theaters or on streaming platforms. This reviewer can assert that Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning is one flick that should be seen on the big screen. Not only can we truly appreciate the size and scale of the massive production here, but since we have to turn off our phones, we won’t be distracted. And The Final Reckoning is not a movie you want to be distracted from. Like all great action movies, it sucks us into the excitement and doesn’t let go until the end. And the movie theater is inarguably the best place to experience it.

---

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Screenplay: Christopher McQuarrie, Erik Jendresen (Based on the television series created by Bruce Geller)

Producers: Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie

Cast: Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt), Hayley Atwell (Grace), Ving Rhames (Luther Stickell), Simon Pegg (Benji Dunn), Esai Morales (Gabriel), Pom Klementieff (Paris), Henry Czerny (Eugene Kittridge), Angela Bassett (Erika Sloane), Nick Offerman (Gen. Sidney), Hannah Waddingham (Rear Adm. Neely), Tramell Tillman (Jack Bledsoe), Shea Wingham (Jasper Briggs), Greg Tarzan Davis (Theo Degas)

Rated: PG-13 (for sequences of strong violence and action, bloody images, and brief language)