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Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is being touted as the sayonara film in the franchise. But the film is listless and open-ended enough to indicate that a proper send-off still awaits the series that has never failed to enthral in its 29-year-run.
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie and written by him and Erik Jenderssen, The Final Reckoning is a sequel to the unfortunately subtitled Dead Reckoning (2023). In Dead Reckoning, a rogue artificial intelligence programme called the Entity has gained the ability to overpower global security systems, including nuclear defences. The key to stopping the Entity is literally a key, which Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) manages to procure.
In the sequel, Ethan must retrieve the Entity’s source code from a destroyed submarine while outwitting his adversary Gabriel (Esai Morales) – who wants to control the Entity – and also prevent nuclear Armageddon.
This order of business might daunt anybody who isn’t Ethan Hunt. He plunges into problem-solving mode with the go-for-broke quality that has made him one of action cinema’s most iconic characters. It’s a pity that Ethan’s enthusiasm – and Tom Cruise’s unwavering commitment – isn’t matched by the staging.
The Final Reckoning can’t overcome the weaknesses of its predecessor, which had an abstract enemy, a dull villain and a morose quality. The sluggish sequel has something rarely seen in a Mission: Impossible movie – scenes of people sitting around and dishing out exposition.
Throwbacks to the entire Mission: Impossible catalogue abound, ranging from the half-heartedly nostalgic to the conveniently lazy. The only positive outcome to looking over the shoulder is the return of a character from the first production. The Final Reckoning makes good use of this character, who serves as a link between Ethan’s very first adventure and his putative last one.
It’s not entirely a write-off. Tom Cruise is in stellar form as the over-achieving Ethan, enlivening ordinary scenes with his gung-honess. It’s always fun to watch Ethan’s mates Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg), even when they are underutilised. Paris (Pom Klementieff), returning from Dead Reckoning, is a valuable addition to the IMF team.
The plot has the quality of a grandmother’s yarn about impossibly brave heroes going to the ends of the earth to achieve their goals. Fittingly, the two main action scenes take place in the depths of the ocean and in the sky.
The stunningly filmed, nerve-shredding underwater sequence is undermined only by its tame ending, just as a thrilling battle between biplanes has a head-scratching conclusion. Ethan’s escapades have always appeared plausible despite not being entirely logical. This time round, there’s a lack of conviction, a visible clumsiness to his feats.
Like No Time to Die (2021), Daniel Craig’s last outing as James Bond, The Final Reckoning can’t escape the heaviness that accompanies the sense of an ending. Even the mandatory scene of Ethan running at breakneck speed is tinged with poignancy.
Perhaps the makers are indeed serious about concluding the franchise. Perhaps the “final” in the title is actually that, rather than a rumour spread by the Entity.
But Mission: Impossible needs a better farewell than this film, which appears unconvinced about itself and far too serious for its own good for much of its 169-minute duration.
Also read:
Are we ready for our final reckoning with Tom Cruise’s ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies?
This article first appeared on Scroll.in
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