Introduction
Delays seemed to be never-ending for this film, courtesy, the American actors' union strike, which pushed the release date from June 2024 to May 2025, but the finale is finally here and while it may not be the best of the franchise (should've been coz this is the final film in the franchise), it is pretty solid and better than it's immediate predecessor, the Dead Reckoning Part One! Although it has released in India, it is yet to release in it's domestic USA markets, and thus, I will try my best to make this review as much 'spoiler-free' as possible.
Basic Story
Taking place two months after the events of the previous film, the American Government gives IMF agent Ethan Hunt, the duty (much to the dismay and skepticism of the Government officials) to retrieve the source code of 'The Entity' from the Sevastopol submarine and destroy the rouge AI once and for all, before it takes control of the nuclear arsenals of several countries and starts to wipe off humanity.
Positives
Performances and Direction
Cast performances have never let us down in this franchise and this film is no different. Tom Cruise, as usual, is breaking barriers, bones and records, all by himself because he's just 63 years young! Pom Klementieff has a better role here (as compared to the previous film) and she does justice to the character. Hayley Atwell does nice and so does Simon Pegg. A special mention to the ruthless and vengeful Esai Morales whose character 'Gabriel' would stop at nothing and would give the Entity what it needs, no matter what. He's the perfect villain to reckon with! I particularly loved the sequence where Ethan tried to open a gate to meet Luther but couldn't. The emotion that Cruise showed in that particular scene is excellent. The way he portrays the emotional panic attack and tried to open the gate three times is just awesome! Even the humor has been so subtle yet effective which provide tension relief 'breathers' just at the right time. Overall the cast performances has an edge over the other departments of this film and it's solely due to the performance department that the seriousness and gravitas of the core story is realized. Talking about direction, well, it has been a step up from the previous film but MI: 6 is still unmoved at the top of the franchise. Anyway, talking about Final Reckoning, this film has that charm which seemed to be significantly missing in the previous film, and that keeps this film moving. The humor, as mentioned earlier, is clear, subtle and effective and is evenly spread throughout the film (contrary to MI: 7) which enhances the overall watching experience. The overall optimistic tone, that used to be a trademark, is back in this film and so are the high-stakes thrills!
Execution and Thrills
This film is surprisingly not about the action but the thrill that it offers through it's runtime! This felt like a homage to the first instalment (1996) of the franchise, a film which had a grand and prolonged sequence only at the end and was devoid of any serious action whatsoever. This film begins on a low note, carrying forward where the previous film left, only to become huge and high-staked at the very end. Too much information is shared in the first act, which, although felt quite decent to me, can be disliked by some. But once you get past that, there's no looking back as one thing leads to another, which collectively make way for the two huge action set pieces, namely, the submarine sequence and the final bi-plane mid air action! The thrill factor is fantastic in this film and while you expect a sudden burst of testosterone as the action scenes set up (only to die down later), director Christopher McQuarrie makes sure that the thrill is very linear, that grows on you as the film progresses. This is a different take that the director has approved and it has worked well for me. The slow burn nature of the film gets you towards the end of the film and once you realize and get the slow burns, you absolutely love the execution of the grandeur-filled sequences! The two grand scenes are almost devoid of any dialogue and that is an absolute winner. The stakes are extremely high and when coupled with the 'doomsday clock' factor, things get overwhelmingly fun and thrilling! The final showdown with the bi-plane sequence is extremely compelling and I'm sure it's going to rapidly increase your BP. Such is the amount of 'edge of the seat' thrill on offer.
Underwhelming Aspects
Consequences of past misdeeds and Lack of Action
Sowing bad quality seeds will require you to reap subsequent bad fruits, and that's very evident in this film. Director McQuarrie does in this film with Ving Rhames (Luther) what he did two years ago with Rebecca (Ilsa) in MI: 7, and that too at the very beginning of the film. Extremely emotional and bad at the same time! This proved to be a major bummer as the core IMF team falls apart (as the director gets away with the characters too easily) exactly when the franchise required it the most! To make matters worse, you need to carry the things, that are set up in the prequel, into the sequel and there's no looking back. I mean, come on man; It's the end of such a legacy and the bare minimum that you could've done on your part was to keep the core IMF team intact. How do you even expect to receive wholesome appreciation like in the older days, even after having the OG team replaced with a new set of members, and that too, at the very end of the franchise? This robs off the entire chemistry between the lead actors and that's so heartbreaking to watch. The team breakage would be bearable had it been kept in the climax of this movie, but the decision to be extremely proactive has backfired it seems, at least for me. Moreover, this film lacks some serious action and it's such a horrific decision! Seems like the director wanted to make this film in the veins of the first film of the franchise, but what he absolutely sent for a toss is the runtime. The 'low in action' nature of Mission Impossible (1996) by director Brian de Palma, proved to be just right, as it was a rather short 110 minutes film, but at a gracious 2 hour 49 minutes, you cannot just get away without even designing a proper car-chase or even a hand to hand combat (let alone a bike-chase)! I truly missed the sheer chaotic madness and action here in this film.
Conclusion
All said and done, this film has been genuinely good despite some of the significant flaws that it has in store. I would have definitely liked a lot more action and a significant amount of fan-service (it's the end and I'm sure what I'm expecting isn't much), but the film kind of redeems it's flaws with a cool camera work, subtle humor, nice background score, edge of the seat thrills, and the the two stunning show-stopper sequences. The film retains the overall somber tonality from it's predecessor (toned down this time), is quite emotional at places, and even philosophical during the end, this Christopher Nolan like treatment seemed a bit unnecessary in spite of their solid execution. A significant positive of this film, that I should mention is how it ends. As they say, all's well that ends well; that is exactly what has favored this film. While it's prequel started high and ended low, this film is just the opposite as it starts low, but finishes on a high note, very high indeed, and when you're watching a film that has everything in abundance (scale, star cast, thrill, runtime), this strong finish absolutely saves the day for you. Cool callbacks from the first film and Mission Impossible 3 (2006) prove nostalgic for sure. In spite of some plot loopholes (if The Entity devastates everything, whom will it rule on?), the surface level establishment and absurd conclusion of Esai Morales' character, and a few more bits & pieces, I think it's more important to just admire the entire franchise and celebrate it's 'impossible' legacy that it has built over 29 years! Although this is billed as the final instalment, Tom Cruise has shown interest in continuing to play Ethan Hunt beyond Final reckoning. 'The world still needs you Ethan' says the film at the end, and you never say never!
Watch Out For
- Cast Performances
- The underwater sequence
- The thrilling climax
WTF Rating
7.5/10