“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” Film Reviews: Tom Cruise’s Last Flight with a “Well-Oiled” Sequel
According to cinemadrame news agency, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” received positive reviews after its premiere at the 78th Cannes Film Festival. This sequel, directed by Christopher McQuarrie, has achieved an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on over 50 reviews to date.
Ethan Hunt and his old allies in “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” strive to prevent a massive global explosion. The search for keys continues, and the team will travel to the far corners of the Earth to successfully complete this mission. Shea Whigham, Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Vanessa Kirby, and Ving Rhames reprise their previous roles. New additions to the franchise include Holt McCallany, Nick Offerman, Janet McTeer, Katy O’Brian, and Hannah Waddingham. “Mission: Impossible 8,” at 2 hours and 49 minutes, is the longest installment in the series.
The critic from Deadline writes that this film has an independent nature from previous sequels: “References to the past and inside jokes require some familiarity with the franchise, as they have unexpectedly expanded its narrative scope, but once it starts moving, it’s easy to put all the pieces together, and instantly forget everything else.”
The critic adds that it’s difficult to imagine Cruise’s high-risk stunts in his seventies: “But the doors remain open, and the challenge remains; perhaps another actor will take on this role.”
The Telegraph critic gives the film five stars and writes that Cruise has performed the “craziest stunts” in the franchise’s history: “This brilliantly ambitious final installment sees Ethan Hunt taking on an apocalyptic challenge – and he doesn’t disappoint.”
The Guardian, another British publication, also gives “Mission: Impossible 8” five stars, writing: “It’s a fun and incredible adventure.”
Empire states that the film has a “vast” scale and is full of “tense, rich, and anxiety-inducing” sequences. The magazine expresses doubt about Cruise’s farewell to the franchise: “If this film is undoubtedly his last mission, it is a fitting swansong – but let’s hope the doors are still open, and he accepts a return once more.”
The New York Times writes that the “Mission: Impossible 8” machine is “well-oiled and runs smoothly.” However, IndieWire questions the effectiveness of “Hollywood’s biggest action franchise”: “‘The Final Reckoning’ is presented as a consequence of Ethan’s past decisions, and although the result of this approach has been two of the most ingenious ‘retroactive continuities’ in this blockbuster’s history (both satisfyingly, if foolishly, tie the entire franchise together), its regrettable side effect is that the film disjointedly dramatizes and thereby diminishes the very tensions Tom Cruise imbued into every stunt, escape, and stare of the previous seven films.”
The Vulture critic describes the film as “a mess… but a delightful mess,” while Entertainment Weekly calls it “equally confusing and admirable.”
The film, which received a seven-minute standing ovation at Cannes on Wednesday night, will be released in the United States in two weeks.
