'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' Review: An Imperfect But Fitting Farewell
- Elliot Lines
- 1 minute ago
- 3 min read
By Elliot Lines - May 16, 2025
Tom Cruise—the quintessential movie star, a man who goes above and beyond. From learning to fly a jet to riding a motorcycle off a cliff, there’s seemingly nothing he won’t try. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is his swan song to a franchise that has pushed him to his limits. But is it a worthy finale?
The Final Reckoning finds Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and the IMF team on one last mission: a race against time to stop the Entity, a rogue artificial intelligence capable of ending humanity. While the film’s first act gets bogged down by exposition, it ultimately regains momentum, delivering a credible, action-packed farewell—for both the franchise and its fearless star.
Mission: Impossible stands out as a cornerstone of the action genre, with Tom Cruise being a major force behind its success. The franchise has been running for nearly 30 years and is now synonymous—especially in its more recent instalments—with death-defying stunts that Cruise insists on performing himself. The two go hand in hand; any future Mission: Impossible without him simply wouldn’t be the same. Cruise's Ethan Hunt is the heartbeat of the franchise, and in this final chapter, he’s determined to send it off with a bang.
Picking up from Dead Reckoning, which featured some of the franchise’s best action sequences, The Final Reckoning unfortunately stumbles in its first act. The opening section is essentially a massive exposition dump—almost as if designed for viewers unfamiliar with the series (though it’s hard to imagine someone jumping in at the eighth instalment). It plays like a 40-minute “best of” Mission: Impossible montage, which quickly becomes tiresome and, at times, a slog to get through.
That said, there are welcome moments of franchise connectivity. The return of William Donloe (Rolf Saxon), for instance, could’ve been a simple cameo, but he ends up playing a significant role. There’s also a meaningful call-back to Mission: Impossible III, particularly the long-mysterious “Rabbit’s Foot.” Fans have speculated about it for years, and here, the film finally offers some clarity—something long-time viewers will surely appreciate.
Once you get past the exposition-heavy opening, The Final Reckoning finally comes into its own. With multiple action set-pieces, the film delivers what audiences came for. While the bar set by previous instalments may slightly dull the impact, the entertainment value is still very much present. The film offers a diverse range of action—from a tense sequence aboard a "lost" submarine to a high-octane biplane chase. It’s in these moments that the mission truly feels impossible, and you begin to question whether Ethan Hunt can actually escape and prevail. These scenes capture the essence of what makes the franchise so thrilling.
The ever-present faces of the franchise—Ving Rhames (Luther) and Simon Pegg (Benji)—are always a welcome sight, even if their roles are more limited this time around. New-ish-comer Hayley Atwell (Grace) brings fresh energy to the team, giving Hunt someone to fight for alongside his long time IMF allies. Thankfully, the film resists going fully down a romantic path—despite several hints—which would have felt out of place given the recent loss of Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) in the previous instalment. Each performance is solid, but let’s be honest: the spotlight remains firmly on the action.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning isn’t the flawless finale some may have hoped for, but it still delivers where it matters most. Despite a sluggish start and some structural issues, the film eventually finds its rhythm, offering high-stakes action, nostalgic call backs, and one last showcase for Tom Cruise’s relentless commitment to cinematic spectacle. As the curtain falls on this chapter of Ethan Hunt’s journey, what lingers is not just the large set-pieces, but the sheer dedication of a star who has given everything to this role. If this truly is the end, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is an imperfect but fitting farewell to one of action cinema’s most enduring legacies.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning releases in cinemas May 21
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