Film Review: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING (2025): A Solid, If Overlong, Ending to an Unforgettable Series
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Review
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Christopher McQuarrie, written by Bruce Geller, Erik Jendresen and Christopher McQuarrie and starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Angela Bassett, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Tramell Tillman, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, Mark Gatiss and Rolf Saxon.
Tom Cruise is back in the long-awaited follow up to 2023’s Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One. Director Christopher McQuarrie’s new film is, like its predecessor, almost three hours long, but this time out, you’ll feel the film’s length a bit more than the last time. Still, Cruise and the cast of characters that have been assembled makes the movie feel intriguing and fresh. As expected, there are some solid action pieces that are a staple of this franchise which is said to be wrapping up with this latest picture.
As the film opens, Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and Grace (Hayley Atwell) are once again in trouble and Ethan puts his life on the line to save her. As expected, the pre-opening credits set of scenes run nearly 25-minutes. This film revolves around the Entity, a great artificial intelligence power that is accessible through a key that has two halves and was prominently featured in the previous movie in the series. On board, also as expected, are Ethan’s buddies: Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg).
It is Gabriel (the effective Esai Morales), the evil villain of the piece, whose quest for what the Entity can offer drives much of the plot. Ethan must go underwater to obtain what is necessary to save the world from potential impending doom and the story plays out with a series of other characters who arrive and they all must work together despite their differences if they want any hope of survival for the human race.
Luther ends up in an unfortunate situation as Ethan must try to save his life while he has the opportunity to which is easier said than done. Angela Bassett serves as the President who puts her faith in Ethan and hopes his past missions are an indicator that he has what it takes to save humanity (and the day) once again. The Entity that the movie centers around is so mysterious that the story line takes several twisty turns that can confuse viewers, but despite an abundance of characters, the movie remains a compelling film to watch despite its flaws.
Though the 2023 film was perfect, this new final chapter is usually anything but perfect. With one too many contrivances thrown into the plot, the movie lacks the precision of the last one, yet the visual effects and stunts are equally stellar when they exist in this latest adventure. A lot of the new film is talkier than it needed to be which undermines the fact that the action scenes are expertly staged. There’s a bit of time in-between some key scenes that makes some of the movie drag more than it had to.
There is a near-final scene with Ethan on a plane that eventually has no pilot. This is one of the most proficient scenes of the film and is a worthy sequence for the franchise. It’s crisp and enjoyable. Then, there’s the fact that this latest entry incorporates elements of almost all the Mission: Impossible movies as it takes it back as far as the first 1996 film when it comes to the flashbacks the movie shows. That wasn’t really necessary because there’s probably only a small fraction of the audience who saw all eight of these movies. A choice to show flashbacks wasn’t a good idea in terms of making this new Mission: Impossible a standalone film.
With that being said, there’s a lot to be said for this new film that actually works when it needs to. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning successfully brings back minor, but pivotal, characters like Paris (Pom Klementieff) and the way the heroic characters in the cast are assembled towards the conclusion is quite admirable. Rolf Saxon is probably the standout in the supporting cast as William Donloe who plays a large role in the mid-section of the movie as a one-time CIA analyst.
Cruise is aging (finally) and this movie starts to show he is growing slightly tired. I didn’t notice this possibility at all with the last movie in the series from 2023, but now time is catching up to him and it’s smart to end this series while it’s still entertaining enough to be plausible. Bassett offers good support as well as the President who has a lot on the line and depends on Ethan to be the hero in a delicate situation that could compromise the future of the world. Atwell feels underused here, however, and the attempt at romance between Cruise and Atwell is less successful this time than it should have been. Ving Rhames gets to steal scenes again which is something he used to do in earlier films in the franchise as most fans of the series well know.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is a good last hurrah for Cruise and company. There could be Oscar nominations for stunts and visual effects. While the acting is generally more than sufficient and the action soars at given intervals throughout the movie, Cruise and company have certainly seen better days. Ving Rhames does manage to go out with quite a bang, though, making him a potential highlight of this new film for fans who have faithfully stuck with the franchise throughout the years.
Rating: 7.5/10
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