5/10
Mission: Impossible is an iconic franchise. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his ability to effortlessly hang from moving helicopters, pursue evil geniuses on motorcycles, mask himself as other characters, and, of course, run really, really fast have become cultural touchstones. Mission: Impossible–The Final Reckoning (or MI8) is, supposedly, the final installment in the franchise, continuing the story left off in Dead Reckoning (MI7).
MI8 is visually appealing and packed with fascinating action sequences, dramatic stakes, and laser sharp cross-series references. But with a lengthy run-time, wobbly pacing, and abandonment of the spy thriller genre, it’s hard to call MI8 a fitting conclusion to the famous saga.
The Final Reckoning begins where Dead Reckoning left off. Ethan and his crew, led by Grace (Hayley Atwell), Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg), and Paris (Pom Klementieff) continue searching for the remains of the Sevastopol, a destroyed Russian submarine. The Sevastopol holds the keys to destroying the AI program that’s taking over the world, known simply as The Entity.
In order to do this, Ethan and the gang butt heads with rogue vigilante Gabriel (Esai Morales) and the U.S. Government, led by agents Kittridge (Henry Czerny) and Serling (Holt McCallany).
All of this is a continuation of MI7, which, having been released about two years ago, requires extensive catch-up for anyone who hasn’t binged the entirety of the Mission: Impossible series in the past week (that would be me). This provides the first serious issue with MI8: exactly how much exposition the movie should give.
MI8 attempts to straddle an impossible middle ground. It sprinkles in short bursts of flashbacks from all seven previous installments—likely to boost continuity and emotional stakes—but otherwise throws viewers into an already-moving story, hoping they’ll catch up. The result is a tangled mess.
The movie only really starts about 45 minutes in, when Ethan and the U.S. government meet for a discussion on his next assignment. Everything before this point can be reduced to two scenes and an opening monologue with context.
Even though its rocky start is more or less salvaged by enjoyable action in the back half of the film, a Mission Impossible movie should never be 170 minutes long, especially this one, which doesn’t feel all that substantive.
The dullness caused by the extensive length is amplified by what is unquestionably the film’s largest issue: its overwhelming identity crisis. MI8 doesn’t know what it wants to be. In fact, it probably sees itself more similar to Avengers: Endgame than to MI1 or MI2. MI8 deliberately chooses to abandon its spy thriller roots for the less risky typical action flick, which just makes MI8 boring, and takes away the ease and swagger that makes the series fun.
And sure, it does action really well, but is a Mission: Impossible movie really a Mission: Impossible movie without numerous plot twists, an indiscernible web of characters alliances, chase sequences through exotic cities, and countless mask reveals? Yes, you heard that right, The Final Reckoning doesn’t have a single mask reveal. Heartbreaking.
This shift in identity hits actors hard. Series regulars Rhames and Pegg seem confused by the sudden change in tone and genre and can’t decide whether to fully commit to the action structure and risk losing the heart their characters have become known for. Atwell provides a stable, grounding presence, while Klementieff’s deadpan humor and coolness under pressure is used to the film’s benefit. By far the best supporting performances are from Tramell Tillman (of Severance fame) as a punchy U.S. submarine captain and Rolf Saxon, who returns (in the film’s most genius of quips) 26 years later as William Donloe, the CIA agent in charge of the white computer room Ethan famously breaks into in the first Mission Impossible.
As a leading man, Cruise is still hilariously stiff, keeping a deadly serious expression during his many mumbled warnings about The Entity’s threat to humanity. Cruise’s consistent drive to do his own stunts is endlessly admirable, and he will be remembered as the greatest on-screen runner of all time, but his acting consistently lacks any empathy or complexity. It just feels like Cruise is reading the words written for him, not living in another person. And there is literally nothing behind his eyes. Ever.
Staring at three hours of Cruise’s attempts at reactionary acting should be used as part of the U.S. Government’s newest torture programs.
The other main issue? Cruise clearly thinks that MI8 is going to save the world. It’s obvious he believes audiences are actually here to learn life lessons—not just to enjoy a couple hours of fun action. This highlights Cruise’s infamous delusion. It’s like your younger sibling truly believing you want the plastic apple they graciously gift you from their fake supermarket—this isn’t what I was in it for, but if it really makes you happy, I’ll pretend I wanted this too, I guess.
MI8 isn’t all bad though. In fact, it does a really good job at creating several interesting connections with previous films. Donloe’s return is obviously the most visible example of this. Alongside this comes the jaw-dropping return of one of the series’ most iconic weapons, the dropped knife from the vault in MI1. MI8 also makes several connections with MI3, expanding on the mysterious Rabbit’s Foot and doubling down on Ethan’s famous fatal flaw: his inability to value the lives of people he doesn’t know over the ones he does.
These connections, layered with the dire circumstances created by MI8’s conflict, do create a feeling of finality and conclusion. This isn’t just any other mission: this is what all the previous missions have been leading up to.
Where The Final Reckoning certainly succeeds is its exhilarating action sequences. The second act ends with a 20-minute, nearly silent exploration of the remains of the submarine wreck. It certainly feels long, but it’s also gorgeous and impressive.
The film’s climactic scenes, an airplane fight over South Africa, intercut with classic hacking and bomb defusing, are perfectly planned and paced. This creates a racing excitement, released in the form of an impressive fight sequence, probably the only time the film leans into what the franchise does best. It’s breathtaking and tense.
As always, The Final Reckoning’s stunts, action sequences and continuities create a generally interesting action film, but it just isn’t a Mission: Impossible film. And that’s tough to get away with, especially if this is the final installment, at least for a while. There have been cooler, more fun, and more relevant Mission: Impossibles. MI8 faced a clear identity crisis, one full of indecisiveness and complacency, which just makes it feel strained and uneven.
As Ethan Hunt saves the unknowing world from the shadows, Cruise begs for attention to pretend he’s important. And though for wildly different reasons, in both cases, nobody really cares.
Warning: This Article Will Self Destruct in Five-Seconds.
