Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning Cinema Review

6

Their mission - should they choose to accept it: conclude the Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning story to the satisfaction of fans and casual audiences alike, generate a profit for the studio off the back of one of the highest budgets in cinema history and (possibly) close the door on a nearly thirty year, multi-billion dollar grossing theatrical franchise. Will the message self-destruct, or can star Tom Cruise and Director Christopher McQuarrie stick the landing? Read on, but beware of some light spoilers...

6

Two months on from the events of Dead Reckoning, the malicious AI known as 'the Entity' has wreaked havoc through cyberspace where it altered mankind's stored accumulation of knowledge, turned citizen against citizen and nestled itself within worldwide defense installations. The only way for things to be set right is if IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team can access the entity's source code and trap it before it can access the United State's cache of nuclear weaponry and launch nuclear armageddon. The only problem is the code is hidden in the bowels of a downed nuclear submarine located under the ice caps of the Bering Sea - where it definitely does not want to be found.

6

For a franchise that's continued on an upward trend to action greatness, 2023's Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning was a rare stumble, a casualty as much of the COVID pandemic that halted production and caused the budget to skyrocket to an unsustainable level, as the filmmaker's own ambitions. Hit by middling reviews, intense competition from the so-called 'Barbenheimer' effect, and a general audience backlash to paying for the privilege of seeing one half of a movie, the sure-fire hit turned into a nightmare financial loss for the studio.

Unfortunately, their face-saving pivot to ensure The Final Reckoning is better catered towards casual audiences who might have skipped its predecessor has made things worse for those who have been paying attention.

6

Best Deals: NA

Today 7 days ago 30 days ago Buy

Check Price

-

-

Check

Check Price

-

-

Check

Check Price

-

-

Check

Check Price

-

-

Check

Check Price

-

-

Check

Check Price

-

-

Check

Check Price

-

-

Check

For a series that's generally balanced plot intricacies with storytelling efficiencies, the first hour of the film is an exposition-heavy slog, with an opening re-cap and lead characters that continually discuss the mission amongst themselves as if they never participated in the events of the predecessor. The awkwardly intercut flashbacks compound the frustration. Remember that scene from the first Mission Impossible film? Don't worry - they'll show it to you. Repeatedly. It also doesn't help that there's enough retconning to make a Star Wars fan blush.

To be fair, some of it works in an organic, pay-off kinda way, and others embarrassingly fall flat on their face. And it's a surprise, too, because the Mission films have generally resisted the urge for such indulgences. But nostalgia sells, and again, this film needs to make as much money as humanly possible.

6

Still, there's a lot to like, and even a somewhat disappointing Mission Impossible film is still better than the majority of action films made today. Cruise is the star here (perhaps the last of the stars), and there's little doubt that he's put it all on the line, offering a strong performance and death-defying stunts that a man half his age wouldn't attempt. Two heart-stopping action sequences are worth the price of admission alone - the Sevastopol set-piece is expertly edited (albeit featuring yet another wholly unnecessary flashback), and the bi-plane chase climax is one for the history books.

The lead cast are all allocated their moments to shine - including a king-making moment for Simon Pegg's Benji - even if some characters are notable by their absence and the obviousness of Haley Atwell's character having originally been intended for the non-returning Rebecca Ferguson is clear.

Rather than wait for a compromised experience at home, audiences should definitely seek out The Final Reckoning in the largest cinema screen they can get to (IMAX, if at all possible) and revel in what's been cooked up. Flaws aside, it's a hell of a ride, and there will likely never be another franchise quite like it in our lifetime. But it might improve the enjoyment if expectations can be brought down from the stratospheric heights that the media campaign would have you believe.