Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt, Pom Klementieff plays Paris, Greg Tarzan Davis plays Degas, Simon Pegg plays Benji Dunn and Hayley Atwell plays Grace in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt, Pom Klementieff plays Paris, Greg Tarzan Davis plays Degas, Simon Pegg plays Benji Dunn and Hayley Atwell plays Grace in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

Review – “Mission: Impossible – the Final Reckoning”

By: Robert Prentice
Rating:

In Mission: Impossible – Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan’s past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | Official Trailer (2025 Movie) - Tom Cruise

Review

Tom Cruise doesn’t seem to be in any mood to stop playing the role of Ethan Hunt. Even as he turns 62, he is still doing his own stunts. The final Reckoning is the culmination of the events that start in Dead Reckoning Part 1. The confusing naming changes aside, Mission: Impossible – the Final Reckoning takes a narrative leap in what feels like an attempt to wrap up the entirety of the franchise into some James Bond-level story narrative. The film spends an enormous amount of time in exposition spoon-feeding connections back to the first Mission: Impossible movie that tie into how they got to where they are today. In many ways, they decided to retcon things that never had any long-term vision of a connection to make it all appear as though it was planned from the start.

While this worked in some areas of the story, in others it felt forced and gratuitous for no reason. At 2 hours, 56 minutes, this is the longest film of the franchise. Outside of the overdone exposition, there were action sequences that lingered too long on screen and left you wondering if they just didn’t bother to edit things down. You could easily cut the film down by 45 min without disrupting the overall story.

From a setpiece and action sequence standpoint, the 8th film in the franchise continues to stun with the many edge-of-your-seat moments throughout the film, whether it’s the aerial dog fight in the skies, the submarine diving trip or the countless bombs that need disabling, the director spared nothing in keeping Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning true to its now.

The film features several cameos—details we won’t spoil—but as previously mentioned, the writers attempt to weave elements from past missions into the current narrative, bringing back several familiar faces. While this isn’t the weakest entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise, it also doesn’t represent its peak. That said, the series has consistently set a high standard for summer blockbuster action, and The Final Reckoning largely lives up to those expectations.

The film’s ending implies that the franchise is far from over. However, one must question where the story can go after the global scale of escalation seen in the eighth installment. At this rate, it seems increasingly likely that Tom Cruise could end his acting career due to an on-set injury. Yet, nothing appears to diminish his relentless desire to continue these films.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. | © 2024 Paramount Pictures