Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

by Philip Price

Photo: Paramount Pictures

Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell & Ving Rhames 
Rated: PG-13 (sequences of strong violence and action, bloody images and brief language)
Runtime: 2 hours & 49 minutes

 
Tom Cruise, for the better part of this millennium, has needed the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise as much as it has needed him. During the promotional tours for these movies Cruise touts the teams and creatives behind the production as the real reason these films continue to work and the same could be said about Cruise's character, Ethan Hunt, within the world of this franchise; one of the main thematic threads in the series has been how Hunt would sacrifice millions before allowing something to happen to those closest to him. No matter the amount of praise he heaps upon the stunt teams or how much importance Hunt places on his IMF colleagues though, Cruise is still the one at the center of it all, he is the primary focus and in “Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning” it has never been more apparent that Cruise both can’t help this no matter the amount of grace he displays and that, in truth, he wouldn't have it and doesn’t want it any other way. 
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The character of Ethan Hunt represents the epitome of moral righteousness, he is literally the keeper of the nuclear keys in this "final outing" for the franchise - the guy every other character comes around to supporting because deep down they know he is the one they can trust to do what is right - and Cruise has been intent on parlaying this savior-like mentality into his own persona as the keeper of the theatrical movie-going experience upon realizing this was his path back to, if not the top of the cultural mountaintop, at least maybe the industry Mount Rushmore he so quickly demolished on Oprah’s couch in 2005. In 2025, at the time of the release of ‘The Final Reckoning,’ Tom Cruise is now four years older than Jon Voight was in 1996 when the first film arrived in theaters. The impulse to make this final chapter as much a retrospective victory lap as a conclusive story is not without calculation; the inclusion of footage from the previous seven films, showing not only the symbiotic relationship between the franchise and its star but also how weathered both the character of Hunt and Cruise the actor have become in the nearly three decades since the initial installment is a bold choice. This is, of course, all in the name of the…ahem…mission to solidify Cruise’s reputation and legacy - a layered and complex web of how our persona and authentic selves can both be reflected through art - is as compelling a route to take as any but unfortunately said victory lap is ultimately more symbolically satisfying than it is conqueringly definitive.

By default, ‘The Final Reckoning’ may be the worst entry in the franchise, directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who took over a decade ago with ‘Rogue Nation.’ That isn't to say this supposed finale isn't an enjoyable, action-packed time at the movies - it certainly can be - but McQ has indisputably made the best film of the franchise in ‘Fallout,’ blended the action and convoluted storytelling into a perfect pace with the aforementioned ‘Rogue Nation’ and had seemingly set up a grand plan of a finale with ‘Dead Reckoning (Part One)’ two summers ago that by comparison, makes this "Final Reckoning" not only feel rushed and messy, but somewhat incomplete given the nature of the story it is telling and the place it will hold amongst the franchise from here on out. 

Yes, ‘The Final Reckoning’ has a mega MacGuffin a la a couple of bombs, the drive that holds the code for “The Entity” and at least for part of the running time, the cruciform key that unlocked access to said “Entity” and was the primary focus of the previously sub-subtitled “Chapter One”. Yes, ‘The Final Reckoning’ begins with a secret message asking its protagonist if he chooses to accept a mission - appropriately going analog considering the Entity’s AI and communicating said assignment through a VHS tape - as well as, of course, all the running and elaborate stunt work audiences have come to expect. ‘The Final Reckoning’ even includes one final bait and switch with the mask gag but that’s also kind of the problem: this is the final film, and your only mask reveal is a throwaway bit at the top of the movie? There doesn't need to be an abundance of people ripping off faces, but more if you’re only going to give us one instance where this series' hallmark is utilized, then at least make it a memorable one. This speaks to the overall, keystone issue with the film in that it seemingly checks all the boxes but apart from the two main set pieces it feels more than ever like everything around those set pieces was written and contrived to make the stunts feel not only logical, but sensical. For example, so much of this movie is subterranean in location, when a large part of the ‘MI’ movies' appeal has been the globetrotting element. It’s almost as if, in a somewhat conflicted need to try and make this entry feel different than the rest, that McQ and Cruise actively attempted to subvert the franchise tropes instead of embracing and celebrating them despite clearly designing the film to be that final lap around the track that, I guess, doesn’t really count but would have still felt more rewarding if the overall tone was more triumphant instead of being the somber goodbye it amounts to.

Ideally, McQ and fellow screenwriter Erick Jendresen would have shut down the “Entity” in the cold open considering the climax of the previous film (why is White Widow nowhere to be found?) and made the bulk of ‘The Final Reckoning’ more personal with Hunt going after Esai Morales’ Gabriel so that Hunt might find some justice in the events that initially brought him to the IMF, giving us what might be some redundant background information on our hero but at least bringing the series full circle. Such criticism is often labeled unhelpful or unproductive given it focuses on what should have been rather than constructively addressing what is yet there is a stench on this screenplay that there was a need, however unnecessary, to unite disparate strands from past films to mold the franchise into more of a cohesive cinematic universe; a trend that’s ironically on its way out the door. To his credit, McQ the writer, can’t help but integrate some thematic depth into the screenplay with sparks of attempting to resolve whether the existence of super heroes spurns the existence of super villains. However, even this idea feels like a remnant from an earlier draft that was either never explored thoroughly or hit the cutting room floor in the rush of edits and reshoots the production seemingly weathered. Truthfully, all I wanted to see was Pom Klementieff's Paris joining Hunt's merry gang of agents to assist them in catching Gabriel after he abandoned her thus reinforcing this idea of Hunt as the way to the light, but hey, at least the script allows her to save Simon Pegg's Benji and for the two of them to seemingly find a happy ending with one another? Anyone else get that vibe?

The ‘Mission: Impossible’ films are maximalist entertainment. They are inherently designed to celebrate abundance and opulence by way of creating sensory-rich experiences and embracing the excess that is the extent Cruise and co. go to perform these outlandish stunts, delivering as much bang for the audience’s buck as can be mustered. Movie-goers anticipate and see these films for these reasons; they expect the highwire tension that ensues when Ethan Hunt utilizes an experimental diving suit to reach the depths of the Bering Sea to retrieve said mega MacGuffin as the submarine wreck slides down the continental shelf forcing Hunt to escape without his air supply narrowly. We go for the climactic biplane chase between Ethan and Gabriel in which Cruise holds onto the wings of the open cockpit as it flies upside down above the mountains of South Africa in what is undoubtedly the most lush and exhilarating sequence in this film but could genuinely go head to head with any film in the series as one of the most insane things ever committed to film. It's breathtaking.
 
What audiences don't want from the ‘Mission: Impossible’ films is restraint in their maximalism and aside from these two admittedly singular scenes ‘The Final Reckoning’ largely feels composed of ridiculous interstitial moments (how do they keep finding abandoned buildings to set up shop in?) or needlessly forced callbacks (Rolf Saxon back as Donloe? Sure. Shea Whigham's ancestry DNA reveal? Unnecessary). Maximalism is not only about the number of items, but also about how each contributes to the overall narrative of a space. ‘The Final Reckoning’ certainly serves up a murderers row of TV legends in Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman and Hannah Waddingham doing a lot of talking in rooms not to mention Tramell Tillman who damn near steals the movie out from under Cruise with his five minutes of screentime, but what makes these films work when they're at their best is when they balance the opulence of their antics with a simple, streamlined story. The story got away from McQ and Cruise in the intended initially two-part finale arc and while there is no doubt plenty who will be pleased by Cruise's scuffle in his skivvies and shirtless scuba dive (and props to Cruise for those abs at 62, seriously) the lack of scale, levity and a strong group dynamic (apologies to Ving Rhames and Hayley Atwell) make this culmination more of a self-parody than anything, completely deflating the seriousness with which it wants to be taken.