Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning: Tom Cruise Still Has It

Is This Really the End?

I walked into the theater skeptical. The Mission: Impossible franchise has been running for 30 years, and while the last two entries—Fallout and Dead Reckoning—were excellent, I wondered if Tom Cruise had one more great movie in him. The answer, it turns out, is a resounding yes.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is being marketed as the final chapter in Ethan Hunt’s story. I don’t know if I believe that—Hollywood never really ends anything—but if this is the end, it’s a spectacular one.

The plot is classic Mission: Impossible. The Entity, an AI villain introduced in Dead Reckoning, is now a global threat. Ethan Hunt and his team must destroy it before it controls every nuclear weapon on Earth. There are double-crosses, fake deaths, and a scene where Tom Cruise hangs off the side of a space shuttle. Yes, a space shuttle.

The Stunts Are Insane

Let’s talk about the stunts, because that’s why we go to these movies. The opening sequence has Cruise doing a HALO jump from 30,000 feet into a lightning storm. It’s filmed in real time, and you can see the fear in his eyes. Later, there’s a chase through the streets of Rome that involves a tricked-out Fiat 500 and a helicopter. But the centerpiece is a sequence set on a moving train in the Swiss Alps. Cruise runs across the roof while the train goes through a tunnel. It’s terrifying to watch.

What makes these stunts work is that Cruise does them himself. There’s no CGI safety net. The tension is real because the danger is real.

The Cast Shines

Hayley Atwell returns as Grace, the thief from Dead Reckoning, and she’s given more to do this time. She holds her own in the action scenes and has genuine chemistry with Cruise. Esai Morales is back as Gabriel, the villain, and he’s menacing without being cartoonish. And of course, the core team—Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Rebecca Ferguson—are all excellent.

The movie runs 2 hours and 45 minutes, which is long, but it never drags. The pacing is relentless. You’ll be breathless by the end.

Final Verdict

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the best action movie of the year so far. It’s fun, thrilling, and emotionally satisfying. If this really is the end for Ethan Hunt, he goes out on top. 8.5/10.