‘Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning’ Review: An Epic Conclusion to One of Cinema’s Most Iconic Franchises, Tom Cruise’s Latest Cinematic Endeavor Is One For the History Books

Ramping up the action, emotional stakes, and the series’ scope and scale, The Final Reckoning concludes Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible franchise in glorious, mind-blowing, stunt-filled fashion.

Overall Score: 10/10

Image: Paramount Pictures

Tying together eight movies and decades' worth of action-packed adventures is no easy task. In fact, some might say it’s a task that almost seems… impossible. But as we all know by now, impossible is — quite literally — Tom Cruise’s middle name. And with the release of The Final Reckoning, bringing the iconic Mission: Impossible franchise to a satisfying end has been a mission that he has chosen to accept.

See what I did there?

All jokes aside, though, what Cruise and frequent collaborator Christopher McQuarrie have accomplished with the latest Mission: Impossible film is nothing short of amazing. It’s an insanely ambitious, three-hour thrill ride that tops everything they’ve done before. I’m talking scope and scale, action, stunts,  emotional impact… everything. You thought Fallout or Dead Reckoning was the franchise’s peak? Think again.

The Final Reckoning picks up shortly after the events of Dead Reckoning. IMF agent Ethan Hunt and his crew have refused to turn themselves in, racing against time to locate The Entity’s source code (which is located in the heart of the sunken Russian submarine, the Sevastopol). Once in possession of said source code, our heroes plan to destroy the evil AI, believing that no one nation should be in control of it.

To start, what immediately struck me while watching The Final Reckoning was how accessible it was. Unlike the big finales of other franchises (like, say, the MCU), you don’t necessarily have to do your homework. Quite the contrary, The Final Reckoning seems to have been designed with general audiences in mind. There’s more than enough callbacks and references to the previous installments sprinkled throughout to bring the average moviegoer somewhat up to speed. And while, of course, longtime fans of the Mission: Impossible franchise will likely have a richer overall viewing experience, I’d nevertheless argue that this film works just as well as a standalone action flick. Just ask my little cousin, whom I took to see The Final Reckoning opening day. This was her very first M:I film, and by the time the theater lights came on, I could see that she was grinning from ear to ear.

The next most obvious thing to discuss would be the action and the stunts. If you thought that Tom Cruise scaling the world’s tallest building or riding a motorcycle off a cliff was nuts, you’re dead wrong. In The Final Reckoning, Cruise’s Ethan Hunt can be seen attempting to navigate a sunken submarine with limited oxygen, and later hanging on for dear life from an airborne plane (which also serves as a platform for his nerve-wracking wing-walking). Perhaps it’s the knowledge that Cruise is really out there risking his life to film these scenes, but the effect on me was all the same: I was on the edge of my seat, constantly reminding myself to breathe. No disrespect to Jackie Chan, but at this point, Cruise has probably cemented his status and legacy as the movie star who’s performed the most ambitious and craziest cinematic stunts of all time.

But it’s not just the stunts that are bigger. This time around, with The Final Reckoning, the stakes for the Mission: Impossible world have never been higher. How do you top Dead Reckoning’s ultimate, truth-manipulating AI threat? The answer? Have said AI take control of the world’s entire nuclear arsenal and threaten the existence of all life on earth. That’s right. If our heroes fail to beat the franchise’s latest digital baddie, it’s game over for humanity.

Furthermore, as this is the final M:I film, there’s an unpleasant sense that just about anyone can die at any given moment. After all, having already killed off Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust in the previous installment, there’s virtually nothing holding Christopher McQuarrie and the creative team back from going after other fan-favorite characters. I won’t spoil who survives and who doesn’t — you’ll have to find that out for yourself — but be ready to be hit in the feels.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Look, is this a perfect movie? As most other reviews out there will tell you, no, of course not. In my opinion, however, its flaws are minor and easily outweighed by its many strengths. Plus, it gets a full score for being one of the very best action films ever made. The Final Reckoning is truly one for the history books, and if this is indeed the Mission: Impossible franchise’s finale, Tom Cruise and company can rest assured that they’re sending it out with one last highly satisfying, death-defying stunt-filled bang.