Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie (2025)
There have been plenty of fictional characters with fascinating lives—Indiana Jones, James Bond, Jack Bauer. But when you really break it down, all of their adventures revolve around a kind of self-sacrifice most of us wouldn’t trade our relatively boring lives for. Ethan Hunt is no different. In fact, his missions demand such an extreme level of dedication that I honestly can’t imagine even the bravest person alive signing up for them willingly.
That said, Tom Cruise owns this role. He throws himself into it with unapologetic zeal, doing all his own stunts and sprinting headfirst into danger like it’s second nature. It’s genuinely thrilling to watch someone that committed to their craft.
In Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, we reach the culmination of a thirty-year-old franchise, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. The terrifying concept of an Artificial Superintelligence capable of wiping out humanity doesn’t just feel timely—it feels inevitable. It’s like the final test any civilization has to pass before it gets to leave its home planet. Scary stuff, but it’s damn exciting too.
The film does take time to nod back at the previous entries, revisiting clips and side characters from all seven movies. I get the impulse—it’s the last ride—but honestly, it felt unnecessary. It bloats an already long runtime and doesn’t add much emotional weight. As a longtime fan (except for the second one), I found the nostalgia a bit overdone.
But let’s be real: we’re here for the stunts, and this movie absolutely delivers. There's a second-act sequence so tense, I was holding my breath the whole time. That’s what Mission: Impossible does best…grounded, visceral action that keeps you on edge.
If there’s one weak link, it’s the villain. The same guy from Dead Reckoning returns, and he’s still just some guy. Not charming, not menacing, and certainly not memorable. He’s got none of the chilling presence of Philip Seymour Hoffman in MI:3, who remains the franchise’s gold standard antagonist.
Still, The Final Reckoning is a solid sendoff to a fun franchise. It hits the beats it needs to and, for the most part, sticks the landing. Let it end here, on a high note.
Rating: B+
