Mission:Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025)

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the rest of the IMF crew are back for ONE last mission....to save the world from The Entity, a massive artificial intelligence collective which has spread so far it is now on the verge of taking over every major nuclear weapons arsenal.  And the President (Angela Bassett) is running out of options as Ethan still has possession of ONE key item which our AI overlord still needs....a cruciform key.  As this is a direct continuation of the previous Mission: Impossible sequel (Dead Reckoning) from a couple of years ago, most of that film's key cast returns including series stalwarts Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, along with Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, and Esai Morales as the villainous Gabrial.  Also returning is director Oscar-winning writer/director Chris McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Jack Reacher) who has now helmed his fourth Mission:Impossible film in a row.  Once again, the stunts gets crazier and The Cruise Missile seems to put his life on the line even more for the sake of pulling them off-screen - this leads to crazy action both underwater and up in the air!  

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

https://livingforthecinema.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/

Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/

Transcript

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING – 2025

Directed by Chris McQuarrie

Starring Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Greg Tarzan Davis, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Tramell Tillman, Katy O’Brien, Rolf Saxon, Shea Whigham, Hannah Waddingham, Lucy Tulugarjuk, and Angela Bassett

Genre: Action Thriller (Audio clip)

This latest Mission: Impossible is about 70% forceful techno-thriller and 30% poorly edited slog overwhelmed by nuclear weapons porn and clip show elements. Seriously there's enough footage from previous MI chapters inpcluded here to compile TWO trailers and hey, I support the push for physical media as much as anyone but there are less clunkier ways to sell blu-rays. ;) It's a bit of a confused movie for sure though to be fair, it's not the first in the history of this franchise to show some obvious problems....each of the first three had glaringly obvious reshoot and rewrite seams showing but they ALL still felt tighter than this....

Which isn't to say that director Chris McQuarrie's (Jack Reacher, the previous three MI's before this) latest opus didn't command my attention for its entire bloated 170 minute runtime....because it did. The highs are still pretty high include what MIGHT be the most thrilling underwater setpiece since The Abyss. :o Yes I'm considering other James Cameron's since then....this is THAT good! Beyond that, almost all of the extensive cast came to play, not the least of which The Cruise Missile once again killing it as rogue IMF agent/Jackass semifinalist Ethan Hunt. ;) 

Returning OG (sorta) IMF'ers Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg are always a delight and even given a BIT more depth this time around, newer IMFer's Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff are also fun and engaging. During an extended submarine sequence detour (which is likely my favorite part....just TOO long since a proper submarine thriller), I found this to be a dazzling introduction (sorry I haven't seen "Severence") to Trammell Tillman as the sub's droll captain! And as one of the navy grunts, yet another scene-stealing appearance from up-and-comer Katy O'Brian....can James Cameron just cast her as his next big action lead already?? 😁

Esai Morales returns from the last one as the mysterious villain Gabriel - he's fun too but with a completely different performance from the last 'Reckoning. (There's SOME explanation for that within the dialogue) Shea Whigham also returns as an FBI rival with his own VERY unique grimace (Is he always looking back at some one who's not there? I can't tell but it's still entertaining to watch) and an added dimension this time around which isn't really explored but just served as a reminder to piss me off about what occurred with a certain character from the first mission movie. 🫤 And here's Angela Bassett again, only this time as Madam President....cool idea and she's quite good but the movie spends WAY too much time with her and her beleaguered war cabinet.  It's unfortunate because when this thriller cooks, it REALLY cooks! 

And if you've seen any of the trailers or posters, you KNOW there's going to be an extended sequence involving bi-planes....with Ethan seemingly hanging off them. And that sequence does NOT disappoint! Wow....just WOW, it's breathtaking to watch and a genuine masterclass in aerial both stuntwork and camerawork. Between the bi-plane climax and the underwater stuff, you almost automatically already have a three star movie there....I just wish there wasn't so much perfunctory stuff surrounding it. ☹️ Likely the weakest of the series overall, but still worth checking out on the biggest screen possible.

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Lorne Balfe had been composing the score for the last two MI films and he had been doing a solid enough job…they’re replaced this time by a pair of up-and-coming composers from Los Angeles who have been working under the leadership of Balfe and HIS mentor Hans Zimmer, they are Alfrie Godfrey and Max Aruj….both have composed the scores for several documentaries and/or smaller films of late.  And their score for this movie is….solid, more of the same but that’s ok. (Audio clip) 

Of course we hear various versions of the original Lalo Schifrin theme throughout….and for that, my highlight would be likely be the reprieve of said theme with a quieter, melancholy lead-up in mostly flute – this track occurs over the VERY end over our remaining IMF team members now in London, apparently just processing everything which has occurred up until this point.  It’s fittingly called, “Curtain Call.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

Whether it’s truly the fault of the screenplay, editing, OR directing….the excess of exposition including laying out all of the worldwide threat stuff (from The Entity, this world's version of Skynet) is probably the weakest aspect of the film which just bogs it down the most, especially during the very choppily edited first hour. 🙄 

"You see, there's a looming nuclear threat.....MISSILE LAUNCHES....did we tell you there's a nuclear threat.....MUSHROOM CLOUDS....we just want to remind you once again that there's a nuclear threat....nation's flags draped over missile silos.....hey YOU sitting in the audience on your phone, did you catch what we said about a looming nuclear threat?!? 😆 Footage from Oppenheimer (just kidding but really not that far off) 

It's overblown and ridiculous, it's uncharacteristic of McQuarrie's directing style and it just lends a grimmer tone than this movie needs....there is just SUCH an exhaustive effort here to lay out the global stakes alongside calling back to previous MI films that these choices probably tack on an extra 30 to 40 minutes which this movie just didn't need. :( And unfortunately, the bulk of that blame needs to go to McQuarrie – before these last three Mission Impossible movies became increasingly bloated, his track record of relatively tight thrillers like The Way of the Gun and Jack Reacher – plus of course Mission Impossible Rogue Nation which MIGHT be my favorite of the series – was pretty consistent.  I get the sense that it was MORE than just him making those final decisions on what to include but at the end of the day, the fault lies with him as the director. 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

Funny but I DO feel the need to bring up the director again – his command of stand-alone action/suspense setpieces remains unassailable.  And as completely thrilling as I did find the bi-plane climax, my personal highlight for this movie still occurs about 90 minutes in.  The aforementioned underwater sequence is simply jaw-dropping. I don't know HOW McQuarrie and returnung DP Fraser Taggert pull it off but they manage to deliver Ethan traversing through a sunken submarine in the dark with missiles shifting position around him as the vessel creaks....and we can see AND understand everything that's occurring on screen. 🙂 

Next-level stuff also of course aided by another eerily realistic physical performance from Cruise! I was just LITERALLY on the edge of my seat watching this mostly quiet (with some occasional punishing sound effects) sequence with Ethan seemingly playing a terrifying underwater game of Jenga with tube doors and sunken missiles!  This is positively thrilling stuff to rival any of THE best sequences from previous episodes The Hunt for Red October, Crimson Tide, or Das Boot…..it’s THAT good and yeah, you could definitely say that I’m chomping at the bit for another great submarine thriller to come out. (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

As with recent previous episode Mission Impossible II and I’m PRETTY sure the last franchise entry ‘Dead Reckoning, I’m going to have a be a broken record here.  Once again, it’s GOTTA be The Cruise Missile….and it’s not even close.  He’s a true-blue MOVIE STAR and he does what he was hired to do…..you not only buy that he’s clutching to that bi-plane towards the end, you also question his sanity for doing so.  And besides all of the death-defying derring do, he always brings JUST the right minimum of relatability to this character – yes he can often defy gravity but you see on his face the reluctance to do so….often even comically so.  At this point, I AM hoping that this will be his last entry for the franchise…..you know quit while he’s ahead.  For once again delivering the thrills we have come to expect from him, Tom Cruise/Ethan Hunt is the MVP. 

Final Rating: 3 stars out of 5 

Yeah if I had to rank this among the entire franchise, it’s definitely towards the bottom….possibly this or MI3 are likely the worst.  Though to be fair, NONE of these are bad movies mind you….and the highs for this one are just TOO good to dismiss, still VERY much worth seeing on the big screen for sure! 

Now Playing In Theaters

And that ends another BLINK OF AN EYE review!