Synopsis:
Our lives are the sum of our choices. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
What We Thought:
Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning is a good way to close out the franchise or at least the Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) storyline. Is it too long and full of exposition? Absolutely, but it’s also full of over-the-top action set pieces and ridiculous stunts by Cruise.
Being the potential end of the franchise meant closing out a lot of plots and storylines. The film is weighed down because of it especially early on as it uses flashbacks to remind viewers of past characters and story arcs. There is a ton of exposition thrown at viewers to remind them of things from the previous films through the decades. The movies began in the 1990s and it’s currently 2025 so there is a lot to remind people of if they don’t rewatch all the movies prior to seeing The Final Reckoning. It’s a good recap, but it does bog the movie down because of it.
But you watch this franchise to see what Tom Cruise will do next. Say whatever you want about him personally, but the man is the last true movie star. If this is the last time he’s playing Ethan Hunt, Cruise was definitely going out swinging with some of the most insane stunts he’s ever done. He goes underwater in a crazy submarine dive. He takes to the sky in a ridiculous biplane sequence. He’s a madman and I’ll watch it all.
Besides the stunts the best part of the film is they brought back a character from the very first movie. He ends up with a hero arc he deserves and it is such a great callback. His scene in the first movie became iconic and to see him come back and get some actual character development is fantastic.
Tom Cruise threw everything he could in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning for the fans and as a fan I’m ok with that. Sure you could cut some new characters (Hannah Waddingham’s character for sure) and get the runtime down by at least a half hour, but by the end I was happy with what I got. The stunts are dynamite. The story wraps up well and I didn’t feel disappointed in the end. The 4K looks absolutely beautiful especially the biplane sequence and it sounds even better. It has some great bonus features as well. If you are a fan of the franchise you should be happy with the nostalgia trip and closure to the Ethan Hunt character.
The Nerds Templar 