5 STARS
It is no secret that Tom Cruise is regarded as the last Hollywood movie star. The title is often mentioned; he has worked with some of the most celebrated directors in cinematic history, and he requires no introduction. Cruise received a BFI Fellowship Award this year, recognising his performances and his commitment to the UK film industry as a producer. It would be more than fair to suggest that the actor deserves auteur status in his own right by keeping the old Hollywood style of filmmaking alive, himself and Christopher McQuarrie providing the last few beats of the dying heart of the genre with the Mission Impossible (MI) franchise, where Ethan Hunt (Cruise) chases down the bad guys and must save the world. Now, with Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Cruise’s stunts are more impressive than ever, and we must prepare to say goodbye to Hunt and the golden era forever, or must we?
The Final Reckoning follows Hunt and his team, prominent members Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames), as well as others, as they attempt to save the world from the malevolent AI known as the Entity, previously introduced in Dead Reckoning (2023). The Entity has the power to destroy all humankind, so, naturally, Hunt finds himself in some precarious, if not downright “impossible” situations. The AI plot is not always comforting, both in terms of global safety and skilled screenwriting. Still, the dedication to the stunts, the score and the acting make the lazy plot only a minor issue.
The film is best experienced on the big screen, especially to hear the theme tune through good speakers; a home TV does not do it justice. The lighting, particularly at the beginning of the film, reverts to the chiaroscuro darkness of the first film (1996), gently nodding to the expressionist era that influenced Alfred Hitchcock, whose classic golden age film North by Northwest (1959) acts as an unambiguous influence on The Final Reckoning. Cruise’s stunts are more tense and adrenalised than any of the franchise’s predecessors, and The Final Reckoning does well to keep them secret in the trailer.
Cary Grant as Roger Thornhill in North by Northwest (1959).
Is it cheesy? The answer is yes but in an endearing way. The MI franchise will always be nostalgic, and Hunt and his gang feel like a big family. Some might find it tiresome by now; I certainly did with Dead Reckoning, which failed to induce any fear of the end of the world I had felt from the previous films. Still, after watching The Final Reckoning, it’s apparent that the former was made so that the latter could be a masterpiece. Perhaps now that fear has turned itself into fear of losing Ethan Hunt, if he really is gone for good. Still, although The Final Reckoning is the finale of the MI franchise, the film ends on a doting note that is almost too poetic to be true.
The Final Reckoning plays with the fluidity of the MI franchise. It’s exciting and tense and a great reminder of someone who loves making movies. It might just be the best Cruise has churned out yet.
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