Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025) 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review

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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 from the COVID pandemic that halted production and caused the budget to skyrocket, as to the filmmaker's lofty ambitions. Hit by middling reviews, competition from the so-called 'Barbenheimer' effect and a general audience backlash to paying for 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 the predecessor has only made things worse for those who actually have been paying attention.

Two months on from the events of Dead Reckoning, the malicious AI known as 'the Entity' has wreaked havoc through cyberspace, where it has altered mankind's stored accumulation of knowledge, turned citizen against citizen and nestled itself within worldwide defence 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 States' cache of nuclear weaponry and launch nuclear armageddon. The only problem is that 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.

The first hour of Dead Reckoning is an exposition-heavy slog, with an opening recap 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 in 1996? 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, but most fall somewhat flat - worse because the Mission films have generally resisted the urge for such indulgences.

Still, there's a lot to like and even a disappointing Mission Impossible film is still better than the majority of action films made today. Cruise is undoubtedly 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.

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.

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Best Deals: Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

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	$63.88 USD	$64.08 USD	$63.27 USD	Buy
	$63.88 USD	$64.08 USD	$63.27 USD	Buy
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Video

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.20:1 in the Rec. 2020 color space, finished with dynamic Dolby Vision and static HDR-10 high dynamic range formats and encoded with AVC H.265 compression.

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As with Dead Reckoning, The Final Reckoning was shot entirely in the digital domain, with a number of key scenes composed for the expanded IMAX frame (which is thankfully preserved here), which all help to set a great base for a demo-worthy image - which is exactly what we get. Throughout almost every frame, there's a wealth of detail and resolution that really impresses, and mirrors the theatrical presentation marvellously.

In short, this is a wonderfully filmic presentation that is consistently good across the major benchmarks. Top marks to Paramount for stumping up for more expensive triple-layer discs and putting bonus features on a dedicated disc, which ensures that video bitrates can be kept high throughout the nearly three-hour runtime.

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Audio

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is presented in a Dolby Atmos object-based mix.

Perfectly matching the demo-worthy video transfer, this is a powerhouse effort which thankfully doesn't seek to tame the aggressive theatrical mix one iota. From the opening recap sequence, the front and surround channels are heavily exploited, with ample support from the heights and an absolutely heaving response from the low frequencies.

Pleasingly, the sound field doesn't collapse during less intense sequences, with a notably convincing 360-degree soundfield retained throughout. Even through the fiercest mayhem, dialogue is kept clear and understandable, although occasionally there's some evidence of dialogue that's been obviously ADR'd in.

Overall, a really superb effort that you'll want to return to again and again.

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Extras

Despite having a separate disc for bonus features, what we actually get is somewhat lacking in both quality and quantity.

First up, we have no one but two Audio Commentaries, the first with Director Chris McQuarrie solo, and the second with Director Christopher McQuarrie, Editor Eddie Hamilton and First Assistant Director Mary Boulding. As an extra bonus, we also have an Isolated Score which makes for a novel way of presenting the film. Only the most dedicated of fans will get through all three, but I'd recommend prioritising the solo McQuarrie track. He's a real student of film and speaks eloquently, and gives some real insights into the technical and creative aspects of production.

Next up are five Featurettes which total just 18 minutes of footage. This includes Taking Flight: Filming the Biplane Sequence, To the Depths: Inside the Underwater Stunt, To the North: On Location in Svalbard, The Score and Through the Mine. There's admittedly some fun footage in here, but they're ultimately just far too brief and perfunctory to be of much value. I would hope at some stage that the film is given a proper 'making of' documentary, but with McQuarrie generally preferring to guard these things quite jealously, what we get is unfortunately rather publicity-focused.

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Finally we have Olifants River Canyon & Biplane Transfer which takes a look at the multiple takes for the hair-raising finale, a 10 minute long Deleted Shots Montage which compiles some of the shots that hit the cutting room floor (including some that were included in the theatrical trailer), Four Promo Spots from the advertising campaign and Photo Galleries & Bios straight out a DVD circa 1998.