By Sara Bright
The hallowed halls of Hollywood blockbuster cinema have long offered a refuge, a promise of escapist spectacle where an H&S culture, larger-than-life heroes vanquish nefarious villains against a backdrop of breathtaking locales and even more breathtaking stunts. Yet, within this established firmament, a curious, almost melancholic sentience can sometimes emerge, a reflection of a world grappling with anxieties too pervasive to be entirely ignored, even by its most fantastical fictions. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the eighth and purportedly final instalment in Tom Cruise’s enduring action-adventure franchise, arrives not as a frothy distraction, but as a “miserable, apocalyptic tract,” a film fixated on nuclear armageddon and societal collapse. Creativitys.UK will tell you about this unexpectedly doom-laden outing for Ethan Hunt, a picture that, despite its requisite daredevilry, might just be “the feel-bad film of the summer.”
A Franchise’s U-Turn
The tonal shift from its predecessor, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, is jarring. Where the previous film was a “funny, frothy Euro-caper sprinkled with mischief, glamour and romance,” The Final Reckoning, helmed by the same writer-director, Christopher McQuarrie, plunges into a far darker, more ponderous realm. The film opens with ominous pronouncements – “Truth is vanishing, war is coming” – and visuals of missiles launching and cities obliterated. Snappy banter is replaced by “cod philosophy about destiny and choice,” and Lalo Schifrin’s iconic, adrenaline-pumping theme gives way to “orchestral minor chords.” This deliberate move towards a Mission Impossible dark tone sets it apart from much of the franchise’s established identity, presenting a surprisingly bleak vision for what is marketed as a summer blockbuster. The film’s aesthetic mirrors its mood, set “almost entirely in tunnels and caverns, and in the depths of the ocean,” making it, as our reviewer notes, “the dullest and darkest film in the series, both literally and figuratively.”
Exposition: Interminable
A significant portion of the near-three-hour runtime is devoted to “scenes of people sitting in shadowy rooms, explaining the story to each other in gravelly whispers.” This reliance on ponderous, portentous exposition, often fragmented by flashbacks, flash-forwards, and even “flash-sideways” to other characters reiterating the same plot points, hints at a narrative struggling to find its footing. The frantic editing, rather than enlivening these scenes, suggests an attempt to mask underlying plot deficiencies. This Mission Impossible plot explained (or rather, over-explained) approach weighs down the pacing, a stark contrast to the kinetic energy typically associated with the franchise and its star, Tom Cruise action movies. The title, our reviewer quips, might as well have been “Exposition: Interminable.”
A Premise of Perilous Simplicity
Despite its convoluted delivery, the core premise of The Final Reckoning is, unfortunately, “as stupid as Hollywood blockbusters get.” Following on from Dead Reckoning, the film posits that an artificial intelligence known as the Entity has seized control of the internet and is poised to unleash a global nuclear strike, thereby exterminating humanity. The Entity’s motivations, and how the protagonists are privy to its apocalyptic plans, remain frustratingly opaque. Ethan Hunt’s mission is to eliminate this existential threat by uniting two small gadgets: a box containing the Entity’s source code, currently residing in a wrecked submarine (cue a “spooky” but unexciting deep-sea diving set piece), and a “poison pill” – essentially a thumb drive – invented by his tech-savvy ally, Luther (Ving Rhames). The critical flaw, and a source of considerable narrative frustration, is Ethan’s baffling decision to leave this planet-saving poison pill in the pocket of his unguarded, incapacitated friend, allowing it to be easily stolen by the villain, Gabriel (Esai Morales). This Mission Impossible plot holes moment undermines the film’s attempts at gravitas and the relentless praise heaped upon its hero.
Hero Worship Versus Heroic Folly
Ironically, the film consistently lauds Ethan Hunt’s heroism, with characters delivering speeches in his honour (in those same gravelly whispers) and montages of clips from previous films underscoring his legacy, as if a lifetime achievement award is imminent. Yet, this adulation clashes jarringly with his catastrophic blunder regarding the poison pill, a lapse in judgement that goes entirely unaddressed by the narrative. This disconnect between the film’s portrayal of Ethan as an infallible saviour and his demonstrable on-screen foolishness creates a significant credibility gap. The Ethan Hunt character analysis in this instalment reveals a hero whose legendary competence is inexplicably undermined by a single, monumental error.
Stunts, Spectacle, and Antiquated Aircraft
True to form, The Final Reckoning delivers on the promise of Tom Cruise stunts, with the star once again performing his own death-defying feats. The film’s poster- Sizzling action, breathtaking stunts, and Tom Cruise’s unwavering commitment make it a must-watch for fans of the franchise and action aficionados alike. image sequence, featuring Cruise clinging to a biplane in mid-air, provides the kind of visceral thrill audiences have come to expect. If witnessing Cruise’s face contorted by high-altitude winds is your particular brand of cinematic pleasure, this sequence will not disappoint. However, it’s not the most original set piece, essentially a mash-up of the helicopter sequence from Mission: Impossible – Fallout and the cargo plane sequence from Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. The choice of such an antiquated vehicle as a biplane also raises eyebrows, suggesting, perhaps, that the filmmakers, after nearly three decades of escalating vehicular mayhem, are running out of modern modes of transport to imperil their star. One might jest that if another sequel were to materialise, the IMF team would be “forced to pedal around a park on penny-farthings.”
As The Final Reckoning is being marketed as the grand finale for the Mission Impossible franchise, it is a shame that the series’ farewell had to be so “solemn – and so silly.” The film’s relentless gloom and convoluted, often nonsensical, plot detract from the genuine thrill of its action sequences and Cruise’s undeniable commitment to his craft. While the ambition to tackle weighty themes of existential threat and societal collapse is evident, the execution falls short, resulting in a blockbuster that feels more like a dirge than a celebration. It is a curious and somewhat dispiriting end to a franchise that has, for the most part, masterfully balanced high-octane action with wit and ingenuity. This final mission, it seems, is one that audiences might find more perplexing than purely pleasurable.
