A Bittersweet Blockbuster
Nothing prepared me for how Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning would make me feel—like I was watching a greatest hits album turned into a movie, but with the songs out of order and some key tracks missing. For nearly three decades, Tom Cruise has embodied Ethan Hunt, a super-spy who defies gravity, logic, and occasionally common sense to save the world. This eighth installment, released on May 23, 2025, aims to be the grand finale of the Mission: Impossible saga. It delivers pulse-pounding action—think underwater heists and motorcycle chases that laugh in the face of physics—but its tangled narrative feels like it's trying to tie up every loose end from the past seven films at once, often at the expense of coherence.
The Good: Spectacle That Delivers
Let's start with the undeniable: the action sequences are a masterclass in blockbuster filmmaking. The film boasts some of the most jaw-dropping set pieces in the franchise's history—seriously, that underwater heist is a masterclass in tension, rivaling the best of The Spy Who Loved Me. There's a motorcycle chase that makes you question whether Cruise has secretly rewritten the laws of physics. These moments capture the essence of what made Mission: Impossible iconic: the illusion of real danger, crafted with practical effects and Cruise's relentless commitment. As The New York Times notes, Cruise seems to challenge “physical death itself,” pushing his 63-year-old body to lunatic extremes.
Critics largely agree on the action's brilliance. Rotten Tomatoes reports an 81% approval rating from 136 reviews, with the consensus praising its “gargantuan” action and “characteristic flair for the impossible.” Collider calls it a “solid send-off” for the series, emphasizing the stunts' cinematic spectacle. Even harsher reviews, like Roger Ebert's three-star critique, acknowledge the recovery in the latter half, where the action takes center stage.
The Bad: A Plot That Overcomplicates
But here's the rub—just as you're catching your breath from one breathtaking stunt, the movie hits you with a wall of exposition that feels like it was written by a committee rather than a storyteller. The plot, centered on the Entity, an all-powerful AI introduced in Dead Reckoning Part One, is so eager to outsmart you that it ends up outsmarting itself, triple-backing into absurdity. Flashbacks, double-crosses, and jargon-heavy dialogue pile up, creating a narrative that's less a story and more a Möbius strip of confusion. IGN points out that the “soapy tone” keeps greatness just out of reach, while The AV Club calls it “repetitive and decadent,” suggesting the film leans too heavily on franchise callbacks.
The 170-minute runtime doesn't help. Roger Ebert describes the first hour as “unwieldy and clunky,” playing like the “longest ‘Previously On' you've ever seen.” The BBC goes further, labeling it a “miserable, apocalyptic tract” that's the “dullest and darkest” in the series, both literally and figuratively, with much of the action set in tunnels and underwater. This is a far cry from the lean, thrilling pacing of Ghost Protocol or Rogue Nation, where the plot took a backseat to spectacle without feeling like a burden.
Historical Context: A Franchise at a Crossroads
The Mission: Impossible series has long been a benchmark for action cinema, evolving from the 1996 original's taut espionage thriller to the stunt-driven spectacles of the 2010s. Films like Ghost Protocol and Fallout mastered the balance of high-octane action and coherent storytelling, earning critical acclaim and box office success. According to Wikipedia, the franchise's commitment to practical effects and Cruise's hands-on approach have kept it relevant in an era dominated by CGI-heavy blockbusters. Yet, The Final Reckoning seems to stray from this formula. Its reliance on CGI in sequences like the underwater scene—criticized in some reviews for feeling “cold”—marks a departure from the tactile thrill of earlier entries.
The film's production history adds context. Originally titled Dead Reckoning Part Two, it faced delays due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, pushing its release from 2022 to May 2025. With a budget of $300–400 million, it's one of the most expensive films ever made, per Wikipedia. This financial pressure may explain the film's ambition to be a definitive finale, wrapping up threads from the 1996 original while introducing new characters and conflicts. But as The Guardian notes, this ambition results in a “wildly entertaining” yet overstuffed adventure that struggles to maintain focus.
A Provocative Analogy
This film is like a Netflix algorithm trying to recommend every action movie ever made, but forgetting to ensure they fit together. It's got the explosions, the chases, the Cruise charisma—but it's missing the glue that holds it all together: a story that breathes. The Mission: Impossible series has always thrived on the illusion of danger, the sense that real people are risking real lives. In The Final Reckoning, that illusion is still there, but it's buried under layers of plot mechanics that feel designed to impress rather than engage. It's as if the filmmakers, aware this might be Ethan Hunt's last ride, tried to cram in every idea they ever had, leaving little room for the simplicity that made the series soar.
Critical Reception: A Divided Response
The critical response reflects this tension. The following table summarizes key reviews:
| Source | Rating | Key Praise | Key Criticism |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rotten Tomatoes | 81% (136 reviews) | “Gargantuan” action, sentimental sendoff | Plot issues, pacing |
| IGN | Not specified | Thrilling action sequences | Soapy tone, trying too hard to top past films |
| Roger Ebert | 3 stars | Strong recovery in second half | Clunky first hour, less fun |
| The New York Times | Not specified | Cruise's defiance of mortality | Overlong, narrative complexity |
| The Guardian | Not specified | Wildly entertaining, big-screen experience | Overstuffed narrative |
| BBC | Not specified | Cruise's stunts | Dull, apocalyptic tone |
The 71 Metacritic score mentioned in early reviews suggests a respectable but not outstanding reception, aligning with the mixed sentiments. Fans on platforms like Letterboxd praise Cruise's commitment but echo concerns about the story's coherence, with one user calling it a “visceral roller coaster” that “caps off the series” but doesn't surpass earlier highs.
The Bigger Picture: Cruise's Legacy
Tom Cruise's role as Ethan Hunt has redefined action stardom. As The New York Times observes, his boyish charm and relentless drive have granted him a kind of immortality, even as he approaches 63. The Mission: Impossible series, particularly under McQuarrie's direction since Rogue Nation, has been a love letter to theatrical cinema, with Cruise credited for “saving the movie-going experience” via films like Top Gun: Maverick, per Roger Ebert. Yet, The Final Reckoning feels like a film caught between honoring that legacy and succumbing to the pressures of franchise filmmaking—algorithms, legacy demands, and the need to go bigger.
Should You Watch It?
Despite its flaws, The Final Reckoning delivers on the promise of spectacle that fans expect from a Tom Cruise vehicle. The action alone may justify the price of admission, especially on the biggest screen possible, as The Guardian emphasizes. But those hoping for the tight storytelling of Rogue Nation or Fallout might find the plot a slog. It's a film you'll either love for its audacity or hate for its excess. If you're willing to risk 170 minutes of tangled storytelling for a few breathtaking stunts, it's worth a shot. Check your pulse if the motorcycle chase doesn't get your heart racing.
A Final Thought
As we bid farewell to Ethan Hunt (at least for now), one can't help but wonder if the franchise's final mission was truly accomplished—or if it just ran out of steam. The Mission: Impossible series has always been about defying the impossible, but in trying to do everything, The Final Reckoning may have forgotten what made it possible in the first place: a story that lets the stunts shine. What's your take? Would you brave the runtime for Cruise's latest leap? Comment below.
