Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning almost forgets what makes the franchise special

Courtesy Paramount Pictures

One of the strengths of the Mission: Impossible series over the years is how it’s treated that godawful word “lore.” Most current franchises are overly focused on building such a densely-connected world of references and interconnected storylines that if you miss even one entry, you won’t understand what’s happening (for a recent example, see Marvel’s Thunderbolts*, which requires watching at least three movies and a Disney+ series to know who any of the characters are or comprehend the plot).

The M:I movies, by contrast, work well on their own, rewarding long-time fans with occasional references, in-jokes or movie-to-movie continuity, but never slamming you over the head with too much unnecessary information. Director Christopher McQuarrie and star/producer Tom Cruise know why you’re here: action first, character interactions a close second, the death wish psychology of Cruise’s Ethan Hunt a distant but always-intriguing third.

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, ostensibly Cruise’s last time out with the franchise, is a departure. For the first time, we’re getting the second half of a two-part story, and a legacy-ender at that. The ideal goodbye would be to let the movie do what all its predecessors have done best. Unfortunately — call it a crisis of confidence, call it misplaced ego — the movie is so caught up in…well, the lore, that it takes too long to get to the good stuff.

But rest assured, the good stuff is worth waiting for.

The Final Reckoning continues the plot/threat/baddie from 2023’s lengthily-named Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. But rather than drop us right into the action and see Ethan and his pals destroy the evil AI program The Entity and defeat Esai Morales’ mustache-twirling Gabriel, we spend the first ten-ish minutes in clip show mode. Ethan gets his standard mission briefing message, this time from now-U.S. President Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett), who not only unnecessarily recaps the last film but congratulates Ethan on years of death-defying, world-saving self-sacrifice, complete with flashbacks.

That drag continues through the rest of the movie’s cold open and a chunk of what comes after it, slowing down the actual story with long stretches reminding us what’s going on, something none of the rest of the M:I movies ever bothered to do, to the complaint of (checks notes) no one. One reveal ties a character to the first Mission: Impossible film with no actual bearing on the current plot, and necessitates an entire fight scene that takes the movie off track.

Lest this sound like I’m not recommending the film, I reiterate: if you’re willing to grin and bear it, the reward is worth the wait.

The back end of The Final Reckoning is a rollicking action extravaganza, containing a bevy of delightful cameos (Severance fans, prepare for an extra-pleasing Tramell Tillman performance) and two of the wildest, most anxiety-inducing stunt sequences the series has yet produced. Ethan’s inevitable visit to the sunken Russian submarine Sevastopol is claustrophobic and squirm-inducing. A climactic showdown between Ethan and Gabriel on a pair of small airplanes is so impressive it deserves a feature-length documentary breaking down every single shot.

In all the concern about legacy and closure and patting Tom Cruise on the back (he deserves it, but let’s be real, he’s been more than compensated), Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning very nearly loses its identity. It would have been a real shame to have such a consistently satisfying series end in a boondoggle, and it almost happens. Fortunately, Cruise, McQuarrie and company catch themselves to deliver a suitably epic finish. It falters at the start, but the dismount is something you won’t want to miss.