Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Review: ETHAN BIDS A MIDDLING FAREWELL

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Cast/Actors: Tom Cruise, Esai Morales, Hayley Atwell, Benji Dunn, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga, Tramell Tillman, Hannah Waddingham, Simon Pegg & Others

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Production House: Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media & Tom Cruise

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Release Date: 17th May, 2025 (India)

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Available On: Theatrical Release

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Released/Available In Languages: English & Hindi (Dubbed)

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Runtime: 2h 49m

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Critic Review:

It’s Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) who saves the world from The Entity, a disastrous AI creation that’s about to fall into the dirty hands of Gabriel (Esai Morales).

On screen, it’s Tom Cruise, all by himself, who saves director Christopher McQuarrie’s story less adventure from nose diving like his planes do in an action sequence. Cruise is still watchable at 60+ especially since performing his own stunts continues to be one of the main attractions of the franchise.

Mid-air heroics as Ethan grasps to hold on to a plane or two and aqua thrills as he gasps for breath underwater, are the two adrenaline pumpers of writers Bruce Geller, Erik Jendresen and McQuarrie’s rudderless tale. An acceptable add-on is a finale that runs on four high-drama parallel tracks. Hunt chasing planes and Gabriel is intercut with a seriously wounded Simon (Benji Dunn) as he instructs Grace (Hayley Atwell) and team to simultaneously patch him up and detonate a bomb. On the third line is another team taking care of another blast-ready part of The Entity and the fourth is at the White House where Madam President (Angela Bassett) plays the great American fantasy of a woman, that too black, showing who’s the boss taking the right decisions in the nick of time. To save humanity, of course.

It takes a while, and a bit of a heartbreak, to get used to an ageing Cruise play the earth-saving hero. Just like the film itself takes over an hour and a half to get going from a leaden start.

What ails The Final Reckoning? Verbosity, for one. An incredibly heavy-footed beginning that makes a few references to moments from earlier editions of the franchise but has neither humour nor movement to give it the pace of a thriller. At the heart is the core issue: the familiar story of a power that must be stopped from giving anyone control over the world’s nuclear arsenal, throwing in overused predictions of “doomsday”.

But the two action sequences, up in the air Ethan battling baddies and controlling two planes and down underwater in a submarine that rolls with Ethan being thrown all around, are a thrill to watch.

At the end, the question to ask is, is this really the end of the Ethan Hunt franchise that’s been like a comforting family member since 1996?On the one hand are the visible signs of an ageing Ethan. On the other, he does walks away from the final scene at Trafalgar Square with what could well be the beginning of yet another edition.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Watch Or Not?: Watch it if you’re still a Cruise admirer and for a series of heart-racing action sequences that come after the second hour.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Score Rating: 3 out of 5 (i.e. 3/5)

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Official Trailer: