With eight films, a TV series, and almost thirty years of death-defying stunts, the Mission: Impossible franchise has cemented its status as one of our greatest action series. Film after film, one man fights for what he believes is the ‘greater good’ of the entire planet, saving everyone and the people he cares for the most in a gripping thrill ride, should he choose to accept. The films deliver some of the greatest sequences you’ll ever see on the silver screen, so it’s incredibly bittersweet that it might be time to say goodbye with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025).
The culmination of the Tom Cruise-led saga is gargantuan in runtime and scope, and it never truly feels as refined as director Cristopher McQuarrie’s past efforts with Fallout (2018) and Rogue Nation (2015). The Final Reckoning’s constant reliance on flashbacks, flashforwards, and archival footage from previous films is utilized in a way that feels alien to the franchise, making things messier and wilder than ever before.
It’s hard, though, not to be in complete and total awe of how Final Reckoning unfolds, acting as a beautiful tribute to every time Ethan Hunt has risked it all for the people he loves. It’s a mess, but it’s a mess that I welcome and love with open arms. With its alluring nature, high-wire stunt sequences, and a third act that is the highest point of spectacle for the series, Mission: Impossible, as we know it, is capped off with a flair for the impossible.
In this last chapter, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) continues where his journey left off in the previous entry, Dead Reckoning (2023). His IMF team still has one singular goal: killing the all-powerful artificial intelligence only known as The Entity. The terrifying AI, able to predict an infinite number of realities, has managed to grasp control of almost all intelligence across the globe and continues to play the cards it deals itself.
The Entity will soon be able to grasp entire nuclear arsenals and is putting the world on the brink of destroying itself. U.S. President Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett, seen previously in 2018’s Mission Impossible: Fallout) and her associates are on the cusp of changing the tides of the situation, and it’s up to Ethan and his IMF team of Luther (Ving Rames), Benji (Simon Pegg), Grace (Hayley Atwell), Paris (Pom Klementieff), and Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis) to somehow stop the The Entity and its human apprentice Gabriel (Esai Morales).
Even if this brief description encapsulates the broad strokes of Final Reckoning’s overall narrative, it doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of the multitude of ideas the film attempts to tackle. The AI antagonist angle finds a clear parallel to our current generative AI-instilled reality with ChatGPT, disgusting image generation, and more. In the film, every government and power within the film has its reasoning for why it should control the Entity. In reality, absolutely no one should have that kind of destructive power. It’s the most fascinating concept for a conflict in this entire series.
Unfortunately, all of this promise is weighed down by the overcomplication of everything, from how to stop the entity to a lack of exploration in these thematic concepts, especially within the first 30 minutes of the film. The opening contains insane amounts of exposition and jarring flashbacks trying to remind the audience of what came before, while also making changes to the continuity of certain characters and plot points of previous films with no rhyme or reason. Luckily, this messiness isn’t a deal breaker for the film.
Everything else that this franchise normally offers — action sequences, combat, stunts, and a thrilling final hour — is the most jaw-dropping they have ever been. Every minute of the submarine wreckage sequence in the film’s back half is harrowing, reminiscent of Rogue Nation’s own underwater sequence. This time, though, the sequence is so much more claustrophobic and nail-biting, with its use of actual underwater footage and some angelic final shots of Cruise reaching the surface of the ice caps. McQuarrie fires on all cylinders with non-stop thrills and action, a complete lock-in point for the entire film.
On top of its finale, the Biplane set piece, which has been plastered all over this entry’s marketing, is remarkable Somehow, the sequence itself (split up throughout the third act) manages to top Fallout’s incredible helicopter chase, outfitted with the most audacious stunts and freefalls performed by Cruise in this entire film franchise. From long shots of him gripping onto the wings to climbing like no other person would, it feels like you’re unlocking a cinematic memory that you’ll never forget when you watch it on a towering IMAX screen. “How did they do it?” will be a question asked more than ever before.
The supporting cast here, despite the loss of Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust, is as great as ever. Luther acts as the heart of the film, with Ving Rhames giving the usual gravitas the character is so deserving of. Simon Pegg’s Benji takes more of a leadership role this time around, and Pegg makes the character as lovable as ever. Even our newer additions of Grace (Atwell) and Paris (Klementieff) provide their standout moments throughout, fleshing the team out even further.
In the trailer of this film, Luther says, “Our lives are the sum of our choices.” That line quite perfectly encapsulates not only this film but the entire Mission: Impossible franchise itself. Every choice Ethan Hunt has made has led him to the potential future he always feared, but he has no regrets as long as it leads to the greater good of the world and his team.
Final Reckoning, as a whole, is certainly rough around the edges and not quite up to snuff with other films in the franchise, but it still lives up to the level of expectation we have come to know and love from this franchise on a grander scale than ever before. As a whole, it all comes down to being willing to trust Cruise, one last time, to put his body on the line for our entertainment. My trust prevailed.
Review Courtesy of Joshua Mbonu
Feature Image Credit to Paramount Pictures and Skydance via The Guardian