Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning - The Finale Should've Been 2 Movies Ago

 


It's becoming more and more clear that Tom Cruise and company should've stopped making Mission: Impossible films after 2018's Mission: Impossible - Fallout. That was one of the better entries in the franchise, while Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning and Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning are two of the worst. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is a slight improvement over its predecessor, but it still has a number of issues.

It's pretty evident that the filmmakers wrote themselves into a corner after Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning , as Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is essentially part two, even if it doesn't officially have it as its title. In the newest entry, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team continue their mission to stop the rogue Artificial Intelligence called "The Entity" from unleashing global destruction on humanity. While I believe this is relevant to current-day anxieties around AI, it's a difficult villain to grapple with. "The Entity" also isn't an antagonist that affects the heroes throughout the story. Not even "The Entity's" human proxy, Gabriel (Esai Morales), fills the role of a present villain. Gabriel is just as weak a villain as he was in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning. 

The plot of Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is ridiculous even by Mission: Impossible standards. MacGuffins are essentially the entire plot, and they're out of control in this film. On a similar note, in terms of the story, I couldn't help but think that despite the title of the movie, there wasn't much finality offered.

While I argue that there is plenty of bad in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, there are some good elements. The action sequences, even though they are incredibly long, do live up to the high bar you expect in a Mission: Impossible movie. The movie also does a decent job of connecting the 30-year story of the franchise. However, this still isn't a film you should prioritize going to see in theaters. You'll get some enjoyment out of it, but the runtime will start to wear you down. I do look forward to seeing what kind of movies Tom Cruise makes next, since he might be the only movie star left, but I hope they're better than his latest project.


Rating:

Yellow Light

 This is one to maybe check out once it's on Paramount+

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning    169 minutes    PG-13    In theaters

My 2025 Top Movies: The Ballad of Wallis Island, Not Just a Goof, and The Accountant 2


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