The Snapshot: 'The Final Reckoning' aims high with explosive set pieces and emotional farewells—but gets bogged down by an overly complicated narrative that may leave audiences scratching their heads.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
7 out of 10
PG, 2hrs 50mins. Action Spy Drama.
Co-written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie.
Starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny and Angela Bassett.
Now Playing at Galaxy Cinemas Sault Ste. Marie.
If you don’t feel exhausted watching Tom Cruise and his unparalleled stunts in the new Mission: Impossible 8, you’ll definitely be exhausted by it’s unnecessary three hour run time. Matter of fact, the only thing that’s even longer is the full title.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is the apparent end to the now 30-year-old spy franchise that redefined what was possible in the craftsmanship of stunts and action sequences in Hollywood.
For a grand finale, however, Cruise and returning director Christopher McQuarrie have crafted a film that is surprisingly devoid of stunts and action scenes. When the big scenes happen - boy do they deliver. The infrequency just feels a bit disappointing.
Despite excellent production and attention to detail in its convoluted, sluggish story, this latest entry (McQuarrie’s fourth in the franchise, starting with 2015’s Rogue Nation) is bogged down by long stretches of exposition and name-dropping that will confuse 99 per cent of the audience.
The main conflict, of Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his elite team trying to stop a dangerous AI from activating missiles and starting a nuclear war, far-fetched even when it began in 2023’s previous film Dead Reckoning; sort of a part one to this movie.
Read more here: Tom Cruise’s Dead Reckoning? An impressive, impossible mission
Yet the last film was far more successful in balancing scenes of dialogue and discovery with the perilous, impossible stunts that action fans are here for. Not only was Dead Reckoning easier to understand - it was also plainly more entertaining.
If you can put aside the ludicrous plot and just focus on the simpler concept of “good spies versus bad spies,” the rest of Mission Impossible 8 still offers editing, acting and production scale far greater than most blockbusters these days.
While the whole ensemble is great, Cruise is clearly the worthy star, and his submarine rescue sequence mid-way through the film really is a true show-stopper. Great music, camerawork and editing give boundless energy to this nearly 15 minute dialogue free scene when Cruise really appears to do the impossible.
The biplane chase and early prison break is also a highlight, though none of the stunts match the last film’s collapsing train escape that will likely keep it’s position at #1 for best in the series.
Having fun watching Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning really isn’t that hard: stop focusing on all the references from past movies and try to enjoy the action of the present.
Ethan Hunt’s mission is to show composure in the face of danger. Audiences who stay relaxed and open will truly succeed in the impossible mission of processing what’s going on around them.
A final word: special credit goes to actress Hannah Waddingham, playing Rear Admiral Neely. This weekend, she marks an impressive feat: as an ensemble member in both Mission: Impossible 8 and Lilo & Stitch (also opening today), she joins a small group of performers in the cast of two movies planning to debut at #1 and #2 of the box office in the same weekend.