Thrill fatigue sets in as the franchise leans too hard on spectacle over substance.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️ (2 / 5)
By Mayur Lookhar
Originally called Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 2, the film was renamed The Final Reckoning by Paramount, hinting that this could be the last chapter in the franchise. And while nothing ever seems truly final with Tom Cruise, at 62, these high-stakes stunts aren’t getting any easier. Framing it as the “final reckoning ” adds an emotional weight — making it feel like a real farewell for fans who’ve followed Ethan Hunt’s wild ride for decades.
Though I’m a fan of the genre, I’m not an Ethanite. For many Indian viewers, hearing “IMF” in the theatre might hit a nerve, especially with the International Monetary Fund recently granting Pakistan a $2.3 billion bailout. Pakistan, often seen as a safe haven for terrorism, is hardly a country most Indians feel comfortable supporting financially. While in the Mission: Impossible world, IMF stands for Impossible Mission Force, the real-world comparison isn’t without reason. In Dead Reckoning Part 1, a U.S. plot to plant an AI tool in a Russian submarine Sevestopol went horribly wrong. Similarly, it’s not hard to imagine that some of this bailout money could end up funding terror activities against India, something even a U.S. government under Donald Trump would likely be aware of.
Story
Is your Indian reviewer sneaking in some geopolitics? Maybe — but to be fair, this Hollywood franchise has always been steeped in it. The Final Reckoning ramps things up with a global crisis: a rogue AI known as The Entity has taken control of several countries’ nuclear arsenals and is threatening total destruction. Among the first to lose control are Pakistan, India, North Korea, and Israel. As usual, the fate of the world rests in America’s hands — specifically, Ethan Hunt and his trusted crew. Can he stop The Entity in time? Let’s just say, this mission is like trying to put a genie back in the bottle — and doing it in the blink of an eye.
Screenplay
Much of this conflict was set up in the previous film, and expectations were high for a fast-paced, action-packed finale. Unfortunately, director Christopher McQuarrie and co-writer Eric Jendresen don’t deliver a tight enough screenplay to match that promise. At 169 minutes, the film feels long and drawn-out.
Gabriel (Esai Morales) serves as the human face of evil, trying to gain control of The Entity, a rogue AI. But as often happens with stories that rely heavily on an AI antagonist, the plot gets bogged down in tech-heavy dialogue. The constant technical chatter feels excessive and, for many regular viewers — myself included — just too much to follow.
Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) had a similar theme but handled it better. Ultron had a chilling voice and a big suit, which made him a memorable and threatening villain. In contrast, The Entity in The Final Reckoning doesn’t have a face, barely has a voice, and when it does speak, it sounds more like a soft-spoken life coach than an existential threat. Oddly enough, that kind of makes sense, considering how it manipulates the world.
The film tries to sound the alarm on the dangers of AI, but beneath all the chaos, there’s also a subtle call for nuclear disarmament. Because while The Entity may be artificial, the real threat is still human — and there are plenty of characters itching to get their hands on it, or press the nuclear button.
With Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025) positioned as a possible end to the series, McQuarrie and Jendresen lean heavily on nostalgia. The film brings in familiar elements from nearly three decades of the franchise, offering a sentimental look back at Ethan Hunt’s journey. While it definitely triggers nostalgia, it also feels a bit disjointed at times.
A special screening, mainly attended by influencers and possibly some corporate beneficiaries, gives a sense of how this crowd responds — mostly during the high-octane action scenes. But with little depth in its storytelling, has Mission: Impossible now been reduced to just edge-of-the-seat action? Some might argue it’s becoming repetitive.
Hunt’s underwater action sequence has its thrilling moments, but even the most devoted IMF or Ethan Hunt fan might say, “That’s not possible.” In the scene, Hunt removes his suit and mask and swims upward toward the ice-covered surface. Naturally, hypothermia sets in, and his body floats to the to a point, where Grace (Hayley Atwell) steps out of her high-tech decompression pod and pulls him out. Maybe experts are better equipped to weigh in, but it just didn’t sit right with us.
For all the film’s promise of blink-of-an-eye action, the lead-up vital Hunt act isn’t even shown. Similarly, we don’t get to see the quick, 10-second run sequence involving returning CIA analyst William Donloe (Rolf Saxon), who first appeared in the original 1996 film, Paris (Pom Klementieff) and Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis).
Acting
Tom Cruise brings his trademark dedication to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and at 62, he’s still incredibly agile, pulling off high-stakes stunts with impressive energy. A visible pimple makes an unexpected appearance — possibly left in as a nod to his everyman appeal or lingering sex symbol status. His chemistry with Grace (Hayley Atwell), feels a bit staged and lacks real spark. While Cruise delivers a solid performance, he’s ultimately let down by a poor plot and an uneven screenplay that fail to give his efforts the support they deserve. Maybe even Cruise needs to give Ethan Hunt a break.
Ving Rhames continues to embody Luther Stickell with his signature calm and reliability, providing a steady presence in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Despite limited screen time, his portrayal remains grounded and dependable, reinforcing his role as Ethan Hunt’s steadfast ally.
Simon Pegg reprises his role as Benji Dunn, the tech-savvy field agent known for his humor and enthusiasm. While Pegg’s performance adds a layer of levity to the film, some viewers may find his antics less impactful this time around, as the character’s quirks begin to feel more routine than refreshing.
Pasha D. Lychnikoff delivers a chilling performance as the cold and indifferent Captain Koltsov. In a standout scene, when Benji and Grace try to warn him about the global danger at hand, Koltsov dismisses them without a second thought, shrugging them off with a chilling line about having no family and no belief in God, showing just how detached and ruthless he truly is.
Russians and Germans have long been the go-to villains in Hollywood films, but it might be time for the industry to diversify and explore new regions for its antagonists.
Final verdict
The global threat may be contained in the movie, but the opening line of The Final Reckoning — ‘truth is vanishing, and a war is coming’ — feels all too real for the world we live in. As AI continues to advance, we might soon see it weaponized, if we haven’t already. Who knows, maybe Paramount Pictures will introduce a new threat in the future, but hopefully, it’ll come with a better plot. Perhaps there’ll be another reckoning for Ethan Hunt.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is currently running in theatres.