Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the eighth and final film in the nearly 30-year-old franchise. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
If audiences want to have serious conversations about the best action movie franchises of all time, Mission: Impossible needs to be at the top of that discussion.
What started as an intricate and at times difficult-to-follow espionage film in 1996 honouring a TV show of the same name has since evolved into a globe-trotting extravaganza that ups the stakes with every film.
Thirty years ago, the idea of Tom Cruise balancing on a wire to steal a list from the CIA seemed to be the peak of spy entertainment. Now eight films on, Mr Cruise, at the ripe old age of 62, is literally strapping himself to the side of a bi-plane and holding his breath underwater for five-plus minutes to deliver some of the best action flicks of all time.
Now, it is bittersweet that the franchise has come to an end with the eighth and final film, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
Picking up just minutes after the seventh film, Ethan Hunt and his team are still searching for the Entity, an AI algorithm that has gone rogue and aims to eradicate human weakness from the world.
Meanwhile, the mysterious Gabriel is looking to take the Entity into his own hands and plunge the world into nuclear chaos.
As the final movie in the franchise, the film has a lot of spinning plates.
On one hand, it’s trying to serve as a conclusion to a beloved series. On another, it’s also part two of the seventh film. It’s trying to honour the fans who have been involved since 1996 and potentially earlier with the original show, while also pleasing fans who may have only picked up the story recently.
With all these moving parts, it takes about an hour of this movie’s nearly three-hour runtime to cover the fan service and plot points necessary to push the franchise into its final moments.
Because of this, the movie, at least in the first act, is somewhat of a mess.
However, it is an end that justifies the means, because the last 90 minutes if this is freaking awesome.
Not just because of the stunts, but because the film ventures into territory the series has never explored before. It becomes borderline scary, as the stakes are far greater than any of the previous films, and there is no guarantee that anyone will come out alive.
It’s astonishing that a movie with so many teething problems, and arguably not as great as some of the earlier films in the series, can still be one of the best action movies of the decade. That’s the quality of this franchise.
There is a particular sequence involving a submarine that the last two movies, in particular, have been building towards, that is up there with the best set pieces in an action film ever.
I’m talking, John McClane in the vents, John Wick on the endless flight of stairs, Terminator with a shotgun, good.
It is shot in-camera, with little to no CGI, and it begs the question: how the hell did they shoot it?
The franchise is built on this kind of filmmaking, and it’s what puts bums on seats.
The finality of The Final Reckoning is plain to see. While I would have liked a little more love for some secondary characters, Ethan is sent off in a way that is satisfying and justified.
While not my favourite film in the franchise, those honours belong equally to Rogue Nation (the fifth film) and Fallout (the sixth film), the quality of what’s on show here is so high that even the sloppiness of the first act can’t derail the absolute thrill of returning to the world of Mission: Impossible.
If you’re a fan of this franchise, go see it – you’ll love it. If you’re not, watch the previous seven films and you will become one, then go see The Final Reckoning. As Ethan Hunt would say, “I need you to trust me”.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is showing in cinemas across the country.
Original Article published by Jarryd Rowley on Region Canberra.
