REVIEW: 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' Is Better Than What Critics Are Saying

To give your a quick disclaimer, I am a huge fan of the Mission: Impossible franchise. The way it’s evolved through time and through the eyes of so many directors has made for an amazing cinematic experience and it is, as it stands, the standard-bearer for Hollywood stunts and action. This is all to say that I might be a little biased. Anyway, going into this movie I saw the same reviews some of you may have seen. “Tonal mess!” “Bad editing!” “Slop Fest” and, my personal least favorite, “It’s like ‘The Rise of Skywalker’”. So my expectations, which were already a bit tempered after not liking ‘Dead Reckoning’ as much as ‘Fallout’, went a little lower. I’m happy to report that the lowered bar has been cleared and then some. 

Let me start out with what works for the movie. Tom Cruise, as always, is the last movie star and this whole movie is made by the dedication and love he puts into it. He crushes it as usual and his crew, both old and new, are great as well. One particular legacy character, played by Rolf Saxon, was actually pretty incredible. To the point where I was thinking where the hell this dude has been since the original movie. Also, Pom Klementieff has set herself up firmly for more action roles if she chooses to accept them... The action, like always and especially under McQuarrie’s wing, is incredible. There is a set piece action sequence in the second act that I would put up there with the best of the entire franchise. The dogfight you saw in the trailers is also incredible and had my palms sweating the whole way through. 

Now for what kinda worked. Like I mentioned, critics compared this to Rise of Skywalker in how it plays up nostalgia. I didn’t feel that way at all. Where in TROS it was just keys jangling in front of you like you are a stupid baby not worth entertainment that requires effort, this is making an actual play to take you to the roots of the franchise. Sometimes it comes off corny and a little unnecessary (I think all franchise movies can trust their audiences a little more), it never feels disingenuous. And, most importantly, it worked in some moments. 

Now for what didn’t work. I just never liked Gabriel or the Entity as villains. AI was already kind of lame when ‘Dead Reckoning’ was coming out and now it’s not only the villain in every other sci fi project but is the subject of the most tiring, real-world discourse in cinema. I like Esai Morales a lot and think he was terrifying in small doses during ‘Ozark’ but he just doesn’t hold a candle to the Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Sean Harris’ and Jon Voight’s of the franchise. Partially because Gabriel is a little uneven as a character and partially because his presence is undermined by the entity. 

Overall, I liked this movie about as much as I liked ‘Dead Reckoning’. Both had an impossible standard to live up to which was set by ‘Fallout’ and both were dragged down a little by an underwhelming villain. And while this one goes a little into the schlock, it has action sequences that rank among the best in the franchise. Overall, it’s about an 84/100 for me.