After a brief waiting period between Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning and the latest installment Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, the audience can finally approach a sense of closure. This would be a new milestone in terms of prolonged storytelling for the franchise. 

The MI films have always served as standalone storylines. Roughly two hours and twenty-two minutes is all the time fans of the franchise would need for the average high-stakes mission. Yet, fans of the series have now been met with something completely unfamiliar…an unresolved storyline. The prior film, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning left us with more questions, as we’ve sought to understand just how powerful this new mysterious AI adversary truly is. Overall, the final three hours of this franchise have given us more to sink our teeth into, not less. That becomes quickly apparent by the time you are only a few minutes into The Final Reckoning. The last outing for Hunt and his team in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, will finally deliver the long awaited gut-punch fans may or may not have been missing. If you didn’t get a sense of the impending danger introduced in film #7, the final film will conclusively force you to stare into the face of calamity as you finally become aware of the dire stakes at hand. 

Since 2023 when Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning first arrived in theaters, the films’ portrayal of the shifting anonymity within the IMF would recently find them coming up against their greatest threat yet…”The Entity.” One might get a sense that this recent threat is perfect to now introduce within the franchise, as AI has become so pervasively available to the public, influencing every aspect of society from work and education to healthcare, media, and personal relationships.

It’s only fitting that we would witness the highly influential driving force of AI introduced to the Mission Impossible storyline. If you’ve followed along with these films, you know they’ve become a part of a cinematic cannon that has continued to innovate within the film industry for decades. Invoking the influence of artificial intelligence makes perfect sense for the final chapters of Tom Cruise’s and Director Christopher McQuarrie’s vision. All of it fits into Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning beautifully, and we’re here for it. 

When we explore the impending sense of danger this film portrays, there is an element of dread that will catch you “off-guard.” It’s a risk that Final Reckoning takes boldly, and in large part, hits directly. Without giving too much away, it’s best that I tread lightly throughout, however, I will suggest why you might be missing out by not viewing this newest MI film in theaters.

Speaking of treading lightly, that’s an expression that couldn’t be further away from the situation with which Ethan finds himself. At one point in the film, Hunt now finds himself plunging into the deep dark depths of the sea in order to reach the Russian submarine introduced in the prior movie. The Sevastopol contains the origin of the Entity’s programming, which is to be retrieved and brought back to the surface. This is where MI:8 may deliver an impression completely different than all other films of the series. As Ethan is traversing along the submarine convoy, he is at extreme depths within the dark recesses of the known ocean. Everything is silent, apart from the groaning weight of the massive underwater armaments passing by in their remarkable and dreadful scale. At this point, the music becomes ominous and low. Again, the near silence is eery. 

This latest mission is one that takes us to a place no other mission has…not to a place of danger, loss, or tense thrills, but primordial horror. As with most objectives Ethan and the team face, this one doesn’t go as planned either. You may find yourself holding your breath during this sequence. The ride gets bumpy…and frightening. 

The physics in these films is likely questionable, especially when held under scrutiny by experts. I myself, was left questioning the films detail of swimming through freezing temperatures at intense pressures, and the importance of the wetsuit in protecting against those highly dangerous elements. There is one point, where Ethan ditches the wetsuit, which doesn’t seem to kill him straightaway as was suggested earlier. 

What really captured most people’s attention were the set pieces created to simulate the submarine rolling along an ocean floor trench. The technical scale of the rotating sub room was beautifully shot, which further lends credibility to the magic of well executed practical effects. Of course, if you’re going to see a mission impossible movie, you’re well within your right mind to demand some of the greatest non-CGI film tricks. 

Trailer: Final Reckoning

Further exploring practical effects, then of course we have the biplane scene, which shouldn’t come as a spoiler unless you live under a rock. It is after all featured as a poster for the movie, the same poster you’ve probably seen where Tom Cruise is dangling off the side of the aircraft as it likely attempts to shake his hold. This is one of those moments during the movie where yet again, you might be holding your breath. The biplane scene may not necessarily have you on the edge of your seat, and that’s because you know there’s just no way Ethan Hunt could fail at this pivotal moment. But, you’ll probably feel some tension coming on because this is a very real situation for the actor Tom Cruise. As with any Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie set-piece, the greater the actual danger, the better the idea for a movie. I have to give them credit, that immovable direction for the Mission Impossible franchise has put my butt in a theater seat every single time. 

Overall, you could argue that this latest mission/film holds the worst odds yet., and as we follow along with Hunt, Grace, Luther, Benji, and Paris, as well as Erika Sloan in her newest title, we are met with characters who are pushed to the brink of their limits. If there was ever a time to switch on the emotional display button, it’s not only been pressed this time around, but smashed repeatedly. I think you as an audience member, will really feel that this time around. 

The conflict centering around Gabriel and his push for full control of the entity forces the team into their own game of chess, where seemingly, any move is likely the wrong one with its’ subsequently fatal consequences in the loom. Perhaps for the first time, the IMF is now having to take multiple counter-intuitive approaches in besting their adversaries. What makes the race against time all the more impossible, is the constant questioning of Hunt’s abilities and motives. There are numerous players here, but most of them wanting to cease the impending global scale threat. The disconnect comes down to the very execution of this mission…is Ethan Hunt the best person to turn to in saving our world, or is the presence of all-encompassing enigmatic danger best left to government control?  

With the introduction of an enemy that has no real face, personality, or allegiance…the protagonist is forced to fight against something unseen and mostly unknown. The Final Reckoning, challenges us to play around with the idea of AI from a new perspective. What happens when AI technology become so advanced that it becomes a single proprietary force? How do you confront this AI entity that can only be controlled or destroyed through possession of its’ crucifix shaped key? Is it possible to control this entity when it is designed for total global destruction? The IMF are stretched to their limits with an unachievable task…which begs the question, is it possible for humans to think with pure logic in order to not only hold the same perspective as AI, but outsmart it’s ever-changing maneuvers? Maybe most importantly, what aspects of our humanity do we abandon in attempting to do so?