I’m on the record stating that for my money, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE is the best movie franchise because there isn’t a dog in the bunch (https://bit.ly/47gogF2). That cannot be said of Bond, Star Wars, Mad Max, and so on and so forth. Through eight films, starting in 1996, the film series headed up by Tom Cruise and based on the superb 1960s television series MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE has delivered a winner every time. And that goes for this eighth film in the series entitled MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING. It’s a strong finish, albeit far too serious on the whole, if it is indeed the last we will be seeing Tom Cruise play super spy Ethan Hunt. It’s a fitting finale for him. I just wish it had more humor.
What it does have are brilliantly executed action sequences, death-defying stunt work, a thrilling race against time as its storyline, and a wholly committed cast of many familiar faces from the franchise. Unfortunately, the story is also too complicated and even one that finds characters constantly having to explain what’s going on to each other. Some of it drags, like an underwater action sequence that goes on and on, and that’s something I never thought I’d say of a film in this series. The most noticeable problem is this film’s distinct lack of laughs. The previous films were buoyed with sharp humor, a tendency to make hay of the ridiculousness of it all, laughing with us at the craziness, but here it is almost as grave as a funeral. Sure, the world is about to end and that’s pretty devastating, but the other films found time to chide while their worlds collide, so why not here?
The set-pieces don’t quite live up to past films either, with nothing here besting the break-in to the CIA HQ in the first one, or that extended helicopter chase in MI: FALLOUT. I’d also argue that despite the superb stunt work by Cruise climbing all over the biplane in the climax here, and as illustrated in this film’s poster, the scene isn’t as arresting as watching him run all over the glass exteriors of that high-rise in GHOST PROTOCOL or having to escape one plummeting train car after another in DEAD RECKONING. Each of those scenes was marked by derring-do, of course, but they also had plenty of cheek to them as well. Not only in the audacity of the tasks at hand, but in the counter to them. You’ll remember that Ethan’s team was bickering in one of the hotel rooms while he hung by his balls outside in the former, and the Orient Express train was ruined falling piece by piece while Ethan and his partner Grace (Hayley Atwell) clawed their way ever upward to avoid the same plummeting fate in the latter. There is nothing quite as outrageous or as humorous in this new outing. Sadly.
Look no further than how this film treats Benji (Simon Pegg), the character usually assigned to be the comic relief, to see where a lack of humor mars its proceedings. Here, Beni’s main time on screen showcases him having a cardiac arrest while trying to help Grace diffuse a bomb. He also gets stuck handling more expositional dialogue than any M in any Bond, and that’s a misuse of Pegg’s talents too. No characters interact all that much with Ethan either here, and even his skirmishes with villain Gabriel aren’t particularly compelling outside of that plane chase. Esai Morales made a horrifyingly vivid impression as the cartel boss in the streaming series OZARK, but here his character is almost two-dimensional – a stoic and implacable dud. If only Esai had as much character to play as the prickly prick that Henry Cavill got to essay in FALLOUT.
Maybe it’s because this one was set up as a finale so everyone felt it needed to be darker and more somber, but you know things are askew when Henry Cherny’s CIA wonk Kittridge isn’t given one good zinger like he had in the first film. I’m glad he’s back here again, as he was in MI: DEAD RECKONING as well, but this adventure doesn’t make the most out of that opportunity. The script by Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen would’ve benefited from one more time through the typewriter where they could’ve added some much needed banter between the characters, and a lot less plot explaining between all of them.
Yet, I’m still recommending this film as it has verve and professionalism like few other tentpoles. Director McQuarrie, star Cruise, and a cast that includes newcomers Nick Offerman, Holt McCallany, Hannah Waddington, and Tramell Tillman give it their all. The film also brings back Rolf Saxon’s William Donloe, the CIA stooge they stole the noc list from in the first one and this film redeems both actor and role. The score, cinematography, sound design, visual effects, and editing are all excellent once again, and Ving Rhames makes a very vivid impression in his few scenes as mainstay Luther. Despite its problems, M.I: THE FINAL RECKONING is still an exceptional film on many levels.
Perhaps I’m just a little disappointed this go-round because of the incredible fun that all the previous films had in abundance. It is amazing to watch Cruise, now in his 60s, still running around and investing every second with such energy. He is a marvel, truly, and perhaps our nation’s only true movie star left. (He’s been opening films since 1983 with RISKY BUSINESS. Salute!) Cruise holds the screen here like few others as he is both a terrific actor and one incredible stunt man.
Talented Tom is also expert at playing comedy…
I just wish there was more of it here.
