First some details. The Mission Impossible film franchise has produced eight films including the current release. The period has been almost three decades in the making and the box office has exceeded 4 billion US dollars. It has also provided a visual history of Tom Cruise’s aging and acting chops. His physicality however remains consistent and he still does some of the most visually arresting stunt work in Tinsel Town.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning brings the current series to a close and provides a rousing finish. Everything is ramped up to eleven and It pushes improbable to preposterous and remains overdriven throughout its entire 169 minute running time. It barely pauses for a breath. The main characters are firmly defined by now and show minimal growth. There is also a curious lack of humour shown as that break in intensity would have helped with the peak energy moments.
The story follows the worldwide threat of an AI-generated program called the Entity and it mirrors the current fascination and perceived danger and benefit of artificial intelligence. It doesn’t however expand much on the peril this program established in the series so far and focuses more on the human consequences. It also leans into the connection of its main players Cruise as Ethan Hunt, Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell and Hayley Atwell as Grace.
This is filmmaking at its most bombastic (and illogical) and deserves to be seen in its largest version, powered by its biggest and loudest sound system. Watching it at home will certainly be fun but will lack the impact and human interaction available in a public setting. Pure escapism takes precedence and is satisfying in the triumph of good over evil. Will this be the last time Cruise and company don the face masks and get the mission details from a smoking device? Only time and box office revenues will tell.
Rob Hudson
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