Tom Cruise is one of the few bona fide “box office heroes” in Hollywood. He has charmed and thrilled audiences for more than forty years and he has been doing the impossible – Mission Impossible that is – for about thirty years. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning may be the last. If it is, it’s going out on a high note.
The film is a direct sequel to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. Director Christopher McQuarrie did a fine job of setting it up with a fast-paced look back on how agent Ethan Hunt ended up in handcuffs and how a rogue AI known as The Entity is about to destroy all of humanity. For the mega-fan or the uninitiated, he also paid homage to thirty years and seven prior films and plots with flashbacks that fill in all the gaps. That wind up is part of the reason the film is pushing three hours but I, for one, thought the time was well spent and brought back some great cinematic moments to enjoy again.
First and foremost, this is an action thriller at its best. We know the heroes. We know the villains. The main protagonist is someone we really, really want to win not just because the world desperately needs his very unique brand of help but because it is just so fun to watch. There are explosions, aerial scenes that will have you gasping for breath, fisticuffs, friendships and a finale. At each scene, Hunt is presented with an impossible challenge. He overcomes them, one by one. When asked – which happens frequently in the film – “What’s your plan?” we find out he’s essentially winging it, relying on his wits, decades of experience and his astonishing team. With just 72 hours to save humanity, that is pretty impressive. I’m glad he’s on our side.
There are rumors that Tom Cruise might consider doing another Mission: Impossible film. I rather hope he does. But if not, ‘The Final Reckoning’ is a great way to wrap up a career as the most daring agent in the history of Hollywood action heroes. It’s been Tom Cruise’s mission to power the box office for the past few decades. If he decides to accept another Mission Impossible… well, I’ll be lining up to watch it on the biggest screen possible.