In an age of digital effects, one actor still insists on climbing, jumping, and falling for real, just to keep us watching.
After almost 30 years of near-death escapes and global threats, Mission: Impossible –The Final Reckoning arrives as the likely final chapter in Ethan Hunt’s long run. It’s a film that tries to do a lot but when it focuses on what the series does best, it reminds us why these movies have lasted so long.
This eighth installment picks up shortly after Dead Reckoning Part One, continuing the story of Hunt and his team as they try to stop an all-powerful artificial intelligence known as “the Entity.” Hunt needs to find two pieces of tech: the Podkova and the Poison Pill. As always, the mission won’t be easy, with enemies, underwater dangers, and personal losses along the way. But Cruise is all in, and the film delivers the kind of thrilling, high-stakes action fans expect.
| Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
It’s a familiar kind of villain: abstract, all-knowing, and world-ending but the real tension, as always, comes from how close Hunt comes to failing.
That said, the first hour, for me, is a bit of a slog. There are flashbacks, long dialogues, and dramatic speeches about Ethan’s sacrifice and duty. There’s a sense that the film wants to give weight to his legacy, but it leans so hard into it that the momentum, at some point, kind of stalls.
Still, once the action begins, The Final Reckoning finds its rhythm. One standout scene takes place inside a sinking submarine that had me holding my breath. Another is one involving a plane and a steep dive, these parts are well constructed and visually sharp.
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Tom Cruise remains the center of the story, and his commitment is once again the film’s anchor. He’s still doing his own stunts, still running full speed toward danger, and still managing to make the impossible look just barely possible. It’s hard not to admire the effort, especially at this stage in his career (the guy’s 63!).
The rest of the cast includes some returning favorites and a few new faces, though most don’t get much screen time because this is very much Ethan Hunt’s movie. While the story tries to give weight to his legacy, it works best when it just lets him do what he does best: run, fight, and pull off the impossible.
Here’s a clip if you’re curious about how serious he is when it comes to shooting a death-defying scene, just falling off a thousand feet, no big deal.
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Is this the best Mission: Impossible movie? Probably not. But it’s a worthy final chapter, and a reminder that even in an age of digital effects and superhero universes, one actor still insists on climbing, jumping, and falling for real, just to keep us watching.
And when the action hits, it does exactly what this franchise has always done: pull you to the edge of your seat and keep you there.
Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning is now showing in PH cinemas, and will be shown on May 21 in the UK and May 23, in the US
