‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ Tops in Action, Stumbles on Storyline

Fans are buzzing with excitement and high hopes, eager for ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ to deliver an unforgettable thrill ride. And it seems fans are satisfied with the thrill ride but not with the storyline. 

The initial round of responses to ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ has surfaced online, and although the action in the movie is receiving a lot of praise, the plot is also receiving criticism.

The eighth instalment of the renowned spy series, ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,’ centres on Tom Cruise's character Ethan Hunt and follows him in a high-stakes race to destroy The Entity, a renegade AI that has the power to wipe out civilisation. The video, which runs just under three hours, is the longest mission in the Dead Reckoning franchise to yet and picks up where 2023's ‘Dead Reckoning Part One’ left off.

Critics posted their opinions on social media following early screenings.  Fandango's Erik Davis praised the film for its fantastic action sequences and many allusions to earlier episodes. He termed it the most ambitious ‘Mission: Impossible’ film to date, full of heart-pounding scenes and iconic spy aspects, two of which he referred to as his all-time favourites in the series.

Image Courtesy: Mission: Impossible/ Instagram

 Jake Hamilton, an entertainment reporter, described ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ as a touching homage to devoted fans that unifies the franchise's narrative threads into a cohesive emotional experience.  He praised the plane stunt as one of the best in movies and even acknowledged that it was the first time a Mission: Impossible film had moved him to tears.

The mayhem and intensity were echoed by writer Jillian Chilingerian, who called the movie "pure Tom Cruise energy"—full of amazing feats that made her scream and cover her eyes, both in the sky and under the sea.

 Not everyone was impressed, though.  Although David Ehrlich of IndieWire acknowledged that the action sequences were amazing, he panned the plot for being "dysfunctional" and "dull."  He was disappointed, particularly as he had been a longtime admirer of Cruise's filmmaking.

Image Courtesy: Mission: Impossible/ Instagram

 In the middle was where other reviewers ended up.  It takes too long to get going, juggles too many people and ideas, and prolongs sequences needlessly, but when it does, it really shines, according to one podcast.

–Farheen Ali