#VicksFlicks Special Edition: Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
Tom Cruise’s final (?) mission frustrates and exhilarates.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning - 3 out of 5 stars
Tom Cruise has been defying death with every mission he’s accepted for nearly three decades. Over that time, we have come to accept that he is Ethan Hunt and vice versa, and together all of us are assuredly in good hands. Great hands, actually. The Mission: Impossible franchise has become an out of this world action spectacle, and there’s not a bad one in the bunch. Wait…I forgot about the second one. That one’s a stinker and we all know it. Still, its movies and mega movie star continue to raise the bar, leaving us with our jaws on the floor. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning does exactly that, though not quite like we have come to expect. If this truly is Cruise’s last ride then I sadly must inform you all that they did not save the best for last.
Almost the entire first half of the film rarely feels like M:I due to the sluggish pace and the excess of exposition. Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie tries way too hard to make this entry feel as though the entire series has a singular spiritual connection. To honor the franchise is one thing, but not at the cost of bogging down the one we’re watching. There’s the constant callbacks to the previous installments, causing The Final Reckoning to come too close to being crippled by nostalgia. Also, there are the ridiculous reminders from Dead Reckoning that are totally unnecessary. To find yourself bored while watching McQuarrie and Cruise cook is something that just never seemed feasible. For the first time in a long time, are we going to have to abort our mission?
Not so fast. We must trust them one last time.
Right when it feels like all hope is lost, McQuarrie, Cruise, and crew give us what we came for: mind blowing set pieces, spectacular stunts, and a handsome, ageless lunatic who will stop at nothing to entertain at the highest (and most terrifying) level to ever exist. It’s precisely what has made these M:I movies so prosperous for so long. Cruise’s enthusiasm and dedication is astounding, inarguably becoming the greatest action star of any movie era. What he’s done for this series in front and behind the camera is unparalleled. He lives (and will probably die) in the shadows to entertain those he holds close and for those he will never meet.
The rest of the cast is excellent with new and old characters getting the love and respect that’s well-deserved. Hayley Atwell, Tramell Tillman, Greg Tarzan, Pom Klementieff, and Angela Bassett serve the story with such self-assurance and obvious talent. Ving Rhames is the only other OG and Luther’s genius, wisdom and unwavering friendship is needed now more than ever. Personally, I’ve enjoyed watching Simon Pegg’s Benji grow from the funny IT expert to a natural leader in the face of danger. Don’t let anyone tell you that one man can save the world. Even Ethan Hunt knows it takes a team. A team that becomes your family.
With The Final Reckoning, all involved are tasked to not only top what audiences have experienced before, but for it to also deliver an epic conclusion for the whole franchise. Perhaps the pressure became too much, which could explain the first part being too much as well as doing too much. Nevertheless, redemption is a beautiful thing and this movie achieves it by submarine and plane. Top-notch, thrilling sequences that arguably has this series outdoing itself. That M:I mojo comes roaring back before the fans’ adoration self-destructs. The Final Reckoning eventually succeeds in satisfying everyone who has been awestruck from 1996 to right now. So basically all of us.