Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is absolute perfection in concluding Ethan Hunt’s story after almost three decades of saving the world with sensational stunt work in some of the most insane stunts ever captured on film, a heart pounding, high stakes and emotionally profound story, and an incredible performance from Tom Cruise that sends off one of cinema’s greatest heroes!

 

“Your mission, should you choose to accept it.” The famous line of the Mission: Impossible franchise that signals Ethan Hunt’s near impossible missions he is presented with in every film, since his introduction on the big screen back in 1996. Since then, Tom Cruise has been saving the world as Ethan Hunt while performing his own stunts, constantly pushing the boundaries of the action genre and delivering sensational films. While each film can be viewed as their own separate story, the choices that both Ethan Hunt and actor and producer Cruise have made in the series have shaped both of their lives; giving audiences one of cinema’s best heroes and turning Cruise into an action god. But, it is the sum of these choices that have led them both to Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. Billed as the summation of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie return for one more mission and deliver the blockbuster experience to end all blockbusters: bursting with exciting action sequences that rank among the franchise's best, incredible performances from Cruise and the entire ensemble cast, and a fast paced and high stakes story unlike any other in the franchise. The result: a pitch perfect farewell to both Ethan Hunt and the Mission: Impossible franchise that belongs in the history books of cinema! 

 

Should this be the final Mission: Impossible, which I will neither confirm or deny, it ties together the events of all of its predecessors into a single story and serves as a fitting, emotionally satisfying and thrilling conclusion in the only way this series knows: packed with death defying stunts. Picking up shortly after the events of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, the story continues Ethan’s attempt to stop the Entity and save the world from being destroyed, and immediately the stakes have never felt higher for the series. There is an undeniable fear infused into the story as Ethan and his team face the hard truth that the world and humanity as we know it will end if they don’t succeed on their mission, surpassing the heart pounding stakes of the third act of Mission: Impossible - Fallout at every turn. Yes, the plot does require you to suspend belief, which given that the film’s villain is artificial intelligence it is easy to get on board with the far-fetched narrative swings, but the emotions of the story are never that. Compelling as viewers feel the weight put on Ethan’s shoulders, the film’s slower start, more focused on setting the stage and developing the stakes, even with some choppy editing in the first act to help condense the film’s runtime to an under three hour cut, you can feel the despair and pain in every frame. At the same time, featuring more hand to hand combat before the massive set pieces in the film’s second half, close quarters and callbacks to the previous films, McQuarrie builds the fear within viewers and an emotional depth that delivers a powerful world ending narrative that audiences haven’t seen in a long time on the big screen. It all builds so by the time the film reaches its second half, you are ready for the death defying set pieces and the third act to end all third acts as Ethan and his team make their final stance against the Entity and Gabriel.

The Mission: Impossible franchise is synonymous with the most breath taking, death defying stunts ever captured on camera, and somehow Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning ups the ante for the series. The stunt choreography per usual is absolutely flawless, delivering lots of exciting fight sequences in the film’s first half. But, when the film enters the second half and the big set pieces are unleashed, audiences are going to have their breath taken away. Teased in the marketing, but the diving and airplane set pieces are two of the most insane stunts ever captured on camera, transporting viewers into incredibly stressful situations. Visually, the cinematography puts audiences right alongside Ethan in these two unbelievable set pieces, ensuring that your heart is racing as you watch to see if he is going to accomplish the impossible, while being left speechless knowing that this is all Cruise himself performing the stunts without any aid from CGI. Under McQuarrie’s direction, each sequence becomes a focal point of the film, amplifying the emotion of the story and leaving audiences gasping, leaning off the edge of their seats in utter shock and anticipation as to what stunt Cruise is performing on screen. It’s all bolstered by the musical score of Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey which riffs on the series’ most memorable themes, even if the presence of Lorne Balfe is notably missed, ensuring that every second of Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is the height of blockbuster cinema