Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

The movie has two really good parts: the underwater sequence in the submarine and the insane plane stunt - aka Tom Cruise signature craziness. You gotta respect that level of filmmaking, and I'm happy that stuff like this still exists.

However, when it comes to actual content, the movie is mostly filled with characters explaining, over and over again, what they are doing and what's going to happen next, embedded in overly dramatic and exaggerated dialogue. Sorry, but that's just not good writing - it's exposition dumping.

The rest is basically run-of-the-mill action sequences and plot devices that lead to a pretty predictable and not-very-exciting plot. So while the movie is still entertaining, you're left with the bittersweet realization that this farewell to the Mission: Impossible franchise could have been just a bit more.

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is bombastic to put it mildly, given all the fast-paced exposition and visually resounding action setpieces.

While after the Hitchcockian narrative of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, this concluding chapter somewhat may feel a bit inadequate - especially with all those lots of scenes in caves and lairs and prisons with no astoundingly risky turn - the highs are even higher than the lows seem lower. Let me tell you, everyone will be googling "Mission Impossible 8 submarine scene" a week for now.

The underwater chapter is indeed breathtaking and quite original piece of filmmaking and a nice addition to M:I franchise which saves the movie big time. That 20-minute sequence with submarine is perhaps the most original piece of action written for action-oriented narratives since 1996's Mission: Impossible's own aqua cafe sequence between Ethan and Kittdridge, directed brilliantly by Brian De Palma. The suspense as Ethan so assiduously tackled all those aquatic, James Cameron-isque challanges was palpable. The realism and authenticity added the rest.

Else, they have recycled tropes all over the place in order to pay homage - the gala which is rendered into a jail before the gathering itself is even exhibited - no fancy cars, garish costumes, stupendous decorum, dances, masks, bluetooth talk, etc. In here. I missed the trains as well.

And narratively, there also exists this thing called predictability, and it's here to stay in the movie - the biggest weakness of The Final Reckoning. The movie is, perhaps, the least memorable for its twists - or the lack thereof - when compared to all the other M:I movies in the franchise, probably tied with Mission: Impossible 2. But that's not to say it is bad, or average or even above average - no! It's hella great!!

In terms of action-based storytelling as well, this may seem like a step backwards from Mission: Impossible - Fallout. Most scenes, when considering the movie is nearly 3 hours long, is quite limited or superfluous otherwise. But all of that pays off in the final act, trust Mr. Cruise. Because that brings us to the biplane chase sequence.

After 150 minutes of absolutely no motorcycles and cars chasing each other, though plenty of Cruise sprinting, the red and yellow old-school biplanes going after each other in South African skies is something that should adequately feed all the ravenous audiences. It's suspenseful, it's engaging, it's REALLY dangerous; though the villainous Gabriel character is still bland and bad, like the previous entry.

The diversity, without throwing into our faces what their genders are, is probably the quintessential example of how these things should be done. Hannah Waddingham in charge of aircraft carrier was something that really paid off. I didn't like the "lady boy" person wearing that vest and donning horrible hairstyle in that submarine. Angela Bassett seemed a natural as a president and didn't feel forced to assume a masculine aura just because she's a female US President. Thanks to all the brilliant women in the movie to forsake that awful cliché line "you don't think a woman can do it" - you show them subtly rather than preaching non-stop about such superfluous substance like in some Marvel movie.

Overall, a decent enough Mission: Impossible movie but a brilliant actioner, nonetheless, given how the series has always fared when compared by Hollywood's standards. Kudos to Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie.

7.5/10.

I'm going to sound negative because to be honest i expected a lot more from this movie.

First of all the dialogue was unusually poor, i know that's not what the movie is for but it's noticeable and it broke the immersion for me. The beginning felt like an introduction, which might be necessary for first time mission impossible viewers, though quite repetitive for those who have seen Dead Reckoning. The flashbacks and flashforwards to explain the story was a lazy choice in my opinion and it was one the big negatives in this film. The whole story is constantly being explained leaving no room for mystery, some intrigue or some unpredictable moments. Actually it becomes almost annoying because the dialogue is just sloppy, leaving very little for the actors to work with. Fortunately some momentum is gained as the movie progresses, mainly from the stunts which are absolutely incredible and let's be honest, you probably won't find anything that comes close in any other type of media. Though this momentum doesn't last long because of all the explaining again and the bad guys seeming to be there only for show. What I'm trying to say is that Yes the action sequences are obviously the main selling point of MI but not the only one. An interesting story that keeps its viewers guessing is what separates an OK MI from a great MI. I don't know, maybe they messed up the editing? I think the writing was a problem, the whole thing seemed rushed.

I think i will just rewatch Fallout to feel good.

Lamest movie in the series, if not ever! I unfortunately spent money in the theatre to watch this so waste of time as well as money! I don't even want to waste any more words writing this review but unfortunately cannot post this until and unless it contains three hundred words so to sum up... Lamest movie ever!

Quite a mixed bag.

Amazing stunt work but the first half of the movie really tests your patience before getting there.

The formula and sexy intro from 3,4,5,6 and even 7 is not here.

I get the impression they were disappointed with the box office from 7, saw Oppenheimer's success and hastingly tried to restructure what they had already filmed for 8 into a bizarre Mission Impossible - Oppenheimer mixture with a very Nolan-esque talking in riddles first half.

That's exactly what this is. And for me it does not work.

Bringing back ground characters back from previous MI movies, who cares?! Tying the entity to what we saw in MI3. Why? We already had the setup in Dead Reckoning? Why make it any more complicated?!

None of the epic / surprise set pieces such as the Kremlin bombing in Ghost Protocol are here. It very much needed something in the first 90 minutes, such as a nuke going off. Instead we are just told what the threat is and it goes on and on.

No Masks, no Ethan completely surprisingly outsmarting the bad guy. It needed something epic, which I was expecting (Ethan had to outsmart the Entity and be a step ahead according to Luther!) For example Elsa could have surprisingly made it and just faked her death or so (in the party club scene in DR we saw Gabriel knives - I thought Ethan may have swapped them for dummy ones or so, the tools were there to do this).

I'm not sure what they were thinking with this one.

A real shame. Too much talk and hardly any fun.

Worth seeing for the action.

But stick to 4,5,6 and 7 for the best of the Mission movies. Those are funny, action packed and have much more heart.