At The Movies: Ethan Hunt’s last Mission? The Final Reckoning delivers thrills amid nostalgia

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (PG13)

170 minutes, opens on May 17
★★★☆☆

The story: Following the events of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team continue the search for Gabriel (Esai Morales), the assassin hoping to possess and control the artificially intelligent virus known as the Entity. The team races against time because, with each passing hour, the Entity envelops more of the world’s computer networks, including the ones that oversee nuclear arsenals.

This is the final movie in the franchise – or is it? The news reports vary, but the most reasonable guess is this feature, Mission: Impossible’s eighth instalment, will be the last with Cruise as leading man. At 62, the Hollywood actor famed for doing stunts himself wants to bow out as the lithe, agile Ethan Hunt.

As if to remind moviegoers that it might be his swansong, a flashback montage in the early minutes of Final Reckoning feels like a Cruise homage, as if he were being celebrated in an awards show tribute segment.

The sentimentality of watching a slideshow of bits from the first Mission: Impossible (1996) to the most recent is mawkish and jarring. It is aimed at fans, so viewers ought to be warned about the moments of solemn reflection that come close to breaking the fourth wall and taking them out of the movie.

Otherwise, for those who have come for outrageous stunts and the preposterous reasons for why the stunts must happen, all the trademark elements are here. Everything has been ratcheted to extremes. In one scene, there are two – or is it three? – ticking clocks in the plot, all counting down to destruction.

As for the plot that surrounds the action sequences, it is as it should be. The series’ reputation for tying action set pieces with a hotchpotch of reasons, recited at speed and with authority so it feels less like nonsense, is intact.

Also shoehorned in are the flag-waving nods to American military might, in the form of aircraft carriers, aircraft and submarines. And, of course, there is the completely unnecessary scene of Cruise in a suit, sprinting very Cruise-ily.

The factor that sets the Mission: Impossible series apart from other blockbuster franchises is stunts that need little digital retouching.

As revealed in the trailer, The Final Reckoning has opted for depth and height: One is a dive into the icy depths of the Arctic Ocean, and the other takes place in the air, when Hunt has to wing-walk to save the day.

As standalone pieces of entertainment, these are brilliant in design and execution, filled with ingeniously designed obstacles for Hunt to navigate like a human videogame character.

The sense of danger – to the character of Hunt, and to Cruise, the actor – is palpable. Returning Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie (Rogue Nation, 2015; Fallout, 2018; Dead Reckoning) makes sure Cruise’s send-off stunts are both spectacular and intimate - in the shots, Hunt is desperately alone, beyond the help of his teammates.

Supporting cast members – especially English-American actress Hayley Atwell as Grace, the pickpocket-turned-agent – deliver strong performances, tinged with the poignancy of it being their last outing with Cruise.

Fallout, Rogue Nation and Ghost Protocol (2011), as well as the first film, remain the franchise’s high points, but The Final Reckoning makes for a solid send-off.

Hot take: Cruise’s Mission: Impossible swansong struggles with sentimentality, but the movie redeems itself with strong action set pieces and solid supporting performances.