Movie Breakdown: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Pre-Screening Stance:
I’m a big fan of both Tom Cruise and the Mission: Impossible movies, but I have to admit that I’ve ultimately come around to feeling pretty so-so about the last entry, Dead Reckoning. If The Final Reckoning really is the end though, I have total faith in Cruise and filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie to stick the landing.
Post-Screening Ramble:
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning rips. It is the actual definition of a MOVIE. It looks great, it’ll make you feel great, and it’s 100% the sort of movie that theaters were built for. Tom Cruise and the legit litany of other very recognizable faces in the film give it their all at every turn, and Christoper McQuarrie directs the hell out of the near three-hour affair. There’s just one little tricky part though – you need to be all in on the Mission: Impossible franchise if you’re really going to enjoy it. The previous seven entries? Yeah, you need to have not only seen them, but you need to have liked them enough to have watched them multiple times, as The Final Reckoning takes a step back and deeply threads super spy Ethan Hunt’s entire career and life into its plot. A minor character from the first movie, the Rabbit’s Foot from the third film, etc. – it’s all here. Now, I do think that McQuarrie does a pretty good job of sliding in indicators as to what these callbacks are for, but if you’re having to spend the whole film trying to piece together all the little details, I could see it making make for an exhausting experience. Then again, maybe you won’t even care because the set pieces in this behemoth of a movie are so bonkers that you’ll be too dazzled to pay attention to the plot anyhow.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is a premium theatrical experience, so you should absolutely go see it on the biggest screen you can find. Just maybe do your homework first if your aim is to get more than surface-level enjoyment out of it. The movie opens tomorrow, May 23.
One Last Thought:
Tom Cruise does not manage to get on a motorcycle in this movie but he does – seemingly – run more than in any other entry. And, as far as I’m concerned, he is the fastest man alive and running is the quickest way that he, and only he, can get anywhere at any time, even if there’s any sort of motorized vehicle available.
