In 1996, director Brian De Palma, screenwriter David Koepp, and star Tom Cruise could not have foreseen the juggernaut they were about to create with their big screen version of the 60s television series, Mission: Impossible. On a budget of $80 million, the picture went on to gross over $450 million worldwide. Just under 30 years later, we have come to the eighth and “final” entry in a franchise that has a combined gross of over 1 billion. Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning is to be the swan song for Ethan Hunt and his crack team of agents, so expectations are high. Fear not. Director Christopher McQuarrie (who co-wrote the screenplay with Erik Jenderson) and Tom Cruise have awarded loyal fans with one of the most entertaining films of the entire series.

2023’s Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One was considered a box office disappointment. Although the film had a final gross of $566 million globally, the project carried an estimated $300 million production budget. While it may seem odd to consider a take of over $550 million a let down, the budget was tallied before any promotional or distribution costs were added in. Fans showed up to make the film a box office hit, but the ballooning costs prevented the profits from being celebrated by the studio’s executives.

With a budget that approached $400 million (due to production delays caused by the writers and actors strikes of 2023), Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning has become the most costly of the series and one of the most expensive movies ever produced.

Does the film achieve something worthy from its giant price tag? With a globetrotting plot (Africa, England, Alaska) that makes good use of its locations and two of the most epic action sequences in decades, Tom Cruise’s “final” bow as super agent Ethan Hunt of the IMF (The Impossible Missions Force) is a silly but breathtaking cinematic thrill-ride.

Final Reckoning begins its story a few months after the events of Dead Reckoning. Hunt and his team, Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg), and Grace (Hayley Atwell) are racing against time to stop villainous Gabriel (Esai Morales, in an underwritten role) from achieving control of the “The Entity”, an artificial intelligence program that has decided to end the human race. Why? Don’t ask. In the scheme of things, there is no real satisfactory answer and it just doesn’t matter.

The overstuffed script finds Hunt working with/against/for the U.S. President (Angela Bassett) to stop nuclear Armageddon caused by The Entity. As the president contends with her close advisors (Nick Offerman, Janet McTeer, Mark Gattis, Charles Parnell, and Holt McCallany) who want to prepare for a preemptive nuclear attack, Hunt and his crew devise a rather elaborate plan to save the world.

The cast does pretty well. Some roles are interesting while others feel out of place. Cruise is still the perfect Ethan Hunt (Yes, he runs!), as Pegg, Rhames, and Atwell lend endearing support. Morales tries his best to overcome a thin role. Bassett, Offerman, and McCallany are fine, but Klementieff and McTeer aren’t given enough to do. Sadly, it is Hannah Waddingham who comes up short, as she is completely miscast in the role of an American Admiral. 

Greg Tarzan Davis and Shea Whingham do good work as IMF agents who play important parts in the yin and yang of Ethan’s mission. 

The best supporting performances go to Tramell Tillman (who steals every scene as a U.S. sub commander trying to avoid the Russians) and an actor I will not reveal. This isn’t a “name actor”, but one whose presence is a welcome surprise and a cameo that is used more than just a surface level reference to another film. 

The rogue-but-not-really-rogue Ethan Hunt and his team hunker down to hash out their plans; each one becoming more preposterous and implausible. Again, it just doesn’t matter. The plot is fine enough for what the filmmakers are trying to do. McQuarrie, Cruise, et all, are here to make sure the beloved series ends with big, well-executed, action set-pieces that one-up the previous films. 

After a first half hour that is nothing but recapping the previous films and characters spouting exposition, the ball gets rolling. Delivering non-stop excitement and suspense that doesn’t let up until the final credits roll, The eighth Mission: Impossible reveals itself to be one hell of a preposterously fun blast.

In a well-designed segment, Hunt must break Paris (Pom Klementieff) out of prison to help in his mission. In a tight hallway, guards and the prisoner fight with fists, kicks, and guns. Such close quarters add a claustrophobic intensity, while McQuarrie and his cinematographer Fraser Taggart keep a good flow without resorting to confusing angles or choppy framing. Editor Eddie Hamilton makes his cuts sharp, but not too quick. The filmmakers want viewers to feel every moment of suspense while dazzling with superior fight choreography.

Director, star, and their stunt coordinators go out of bounds and into the stratosphere with their imaginative stunt showcases. There are more than a few moments that would have even Jackie Chan saying, “Wow. Is Tom Cruise actually doing that? That looks dangerous!”

The film’s centerpiece finds Hunt diving in the Arctic in an attempt to retrieve the Entity’s source code from a sunken Russian submarine, an important call back to the previous entry. This prolonged, nearly silent, segment is full of second-to-second unbearable tension that should have audiences pinned to their seats. Every time Hunt moves or bumps into something, the sub begins to shift and roll closer to the edge that prevents it from sinking further into the unrelenting deep. All the while, Ethan is trying to make his limited air last and survive the depths of the Arctic waters. This masterfully designed segment takes its place as one of the series’ best, rivaling the first film’s classic nail-biting moment when Hunt broke into the CIA.

The climactic aerial chase involving Hunt, Gabriel, and biplanes is absolutely jaw-dropping. Esai Morales is really up there (some of the time) while Cruise is REALLY up there, as he takes his penchant for death-defying stunts to the extreme. The ads alert audiences that their star will be doing stunts on a plane in midair, but fans have no idea how far the scene goes. While what happens is completely outrageous, it all works due to stunning practical stunts and properly inserted FX (with a shade of CGI when necessary). When our gasps turn to laughter at what we are witnessing, it isn’t because it’s bad. Quite the contrary. We are watching one of the world’s biggest stars risk his life for our entertainment. To see Tom Cruise so committed to the final product, and to watch the levels of madcap absurdity he and his stunt crew are willing to achieve, brings about a cathartic pleasure. After holding our breath for so long, a chuckle of relief is the best review the filmmakers can get.

What doesn’t work is the clunky sentimentality. Fans of the series have long understood Ethan’s love and respect for his team. Each of them (in one film or another) have spoken about how they are all more than colleagues to one another. That sentiment worked in the other films, but plays too saccharine this time out. Save for one genuine emotional moment between Hunt and another IMF member, which spoilers prevent me from revealing, the heartfelt musings between characters fail to land.

A few misplaced macho “attaboys” between  characters come out of nowhere and feel like they fell out of a John Milius script. 

It will be easy to spot the film’s flaws and even easier to look past them. McQuarrie and Cruise have used their combined talents to create a nearly non-stop action thriller with enough tension and jaw-dropping thrills to keep viewers riveted.

Don’t look closely at the screenplay, marvel at what is on the screen.

Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning sends the popular series out on a heart-stopping, pulse pounding, edge-of-your seat, high note. This is what blockbuster entertainment should be. 

The film opens in theaters everywhere Friday, May 23.

Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning

Written by Erik Jenderson & Christopher McQuarrie

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie

Starring Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Angela Bassett, Ving Rhames, Hayley Atwell, Henry Czerny, Pom Klementieff, Esai Morales, Hannah Waddingham, Tramell Tillman, Nick Offerman, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Shea Whigham