Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025)

Written by CinemaSerf on May 29, 2025

It might have been a good idea for Tom Cruise to have re-released the first part of this career retrospective a few weeks ago so we could be reminded of just what was in the submarine perched precariously on a subterranean ridge in the Arctic - because I had totally forgotten what happened last time around. Quickly, though, we are reminded that the entity (anyone see the “Forbin Project” from 1970?) is bent on seizing control of the world’s nuclear arsenals and using them to start a process of mutually assured destruction that will eradicate all life on Earth. Luckily “Ethan” (Cruise) has the magic key that might lead to humanity’s salvation, but he also needs the support of his erstwhile bosses, the President of the USA, an aircraft carrier and a nuclear submarine that actually works. Once we have waded through all the recaps the story kicks in with plenty of opportunity for our ingenious hero and his team - largely without Ving Rhames this time - to put together a series of cunning plays and counter-plays to keep themselves ahead of not just the megalomaniacal virus but also the malevolent “Gabriel” (Esai Morales) who reckons he might be able to take control. It’s essentially a vehicle for the star for the supporting efforts from the likes of Hayley Atwell and Simon Pegg offer us little of distinction, but if you’re a fan of action adventure movies then this is the equivalent of a higher-tech “Indiana Jones” movie with car chases; loads of pyrotechnics; great visual effects, an energetic score and it culminates with an enjoyable aerial dogfight that just needed the Red Baron and/or Sir Sean Connery. I am struggling to believe this is really the last of these, but if it is then it’s a fitting denouement for a character that has largely delivered well these last thirty years and that has has come along way from the Peter Graves stuff from the late 1960s. It does need a big screen as it will look very ordinary on the television, but even though it is probably half an hour longer than it needs to be, is still a good watch.