Breaktime News verdict: outstanding (five stars)
Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (12A) demands your attention – and your respect, writes Duncan Little. This is a cerebral film. Sure, there’s big bangs and big stunts. Afterall, that’s a key part of the franchise’s DNA.
But, at its’ heart, The Final Reckoning is an intellectual movie with an incredibly powerful and serious message. The plot follows neatly from its predecessor: Dead Reckoning. This was the movie where we bade adieu to Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson).
We were previously introduced to something called The Entity: an AI which is so, so advanced that it’s pretty much running the whole worldly shebang, albeit from behind the scenes. An omnipotent being. It can see everything. It knows everything. And it’s feeling ever so slightly threatened…
The Entity’s been very good at pitting the bad guys against the good guys. The bad guys have the upper hand so can Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team finally beat the villains and save the planet from nuclear annihilation?
Because, that’s what at stake. The AI is taking over all of the world’s nuclear warfare capabilities with a goal of launching each countries stockpile at each other.
In doing so, it’ll destroy all of humanity which it’s assessed as being a threat to its’ own existence. If there are no humans then no one can ‘pull the plug’ and The Entity’s survival is ensured.
DEFCON lights flick on and off as we watch President Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett) wrestle with the decisions she will have to make.
Which cities is she prepared to sacrifice if The Entity gains control of the US’ weapons’ arsenal? We’re introduced to ‘The Football’ and ‘The Biscuit.’ Armageddon is nearing.
And if you are questioning the believability of a plot focused on nuclear weapons then have a read of Mark Lynas’ sobering book, Six Minutes to Winter (published 2025).
WW3: a real possibility?
Its’ inner cover opening gambit pulls no punches as it grimly tells us that World War III is a ‘real possibility’ as more than half a dozen countries possess 12,000 warheads which means we are now ‘standing on a nuclear knife edge.’
And now type the words ‘dangers of AI’ into your friendly search engine – and what do you see? In short, The Final Reckoning’s plot really doesn’t seem that far-fetched.
Anyway, I digress. Back to the popcorn, coffee and the relative safety of a big screen in Plymouth. By the way, this picture should be seen on the biggest screen you can find. This is an IMAX movie in its absolute purity.
The Entity is skipping the coffee / popcorn combo as it’s worked out where it can safely house itself during the upcoming apocalypse which leads our hero to South Africa and the movie’s much heralded stunt sequence with two by-planes.
Angela Bassett attending the global premier of Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (12A) in London’s Leicester Square. Image: Fred Duval / Shutterstock.
And, by God, it’s good. This is heart in the mouth stuff. Tom Cruise is absolutely putting his life on the line so audiences can be truly entertained.
And I haven’t even mentioned the underwater sequences which sees him rescuing a key component of The Entity from The Sevastopol. The flooded set of the sunken sub is a marvel in its’ own right.
For the uninitiated, this is the submarine where The Entity became sentient, killed the crew and sank the boat before conducting its nefarious plans from the safety of being 500 feet below the Bering Sea. Only one man can reach it…
You need to keep up with the film’s pace. Slackers will get left behind. I needed a bathroom break and nipped to the loo half way through (the film’s runtime is nearly three hours).
‘Everything you were, everything you’ve done… has come to this’
This was a mistake and my return saw me a little perturbed as I tried to work out if I’d missed any major plot points (fortunately not).
If you’re planning to go (do) then I’d recommend swatting up on the other Mission Impossible films first – as this is the film that interlinks past stories with the present.
There is so much pathos in this movie. Did I cry (slightly) at the end of the film? Yes. Absolutely. It’s not just the (potential) end of an blockbuster era but it’s an era which has encompassed so much of all of our lives. Each release neatly marked the passing of time.
We got ‘to know’ the characters. Our fondness for Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). Our respect for Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). And our fear for the villains (which were Legion).
Think of all of the different people who’ve sat with you when you’ve watched these films over the past few decades. Quite a few.
In its’ lifespan, the films have successfully reflected many of the problems which have faced governments.
Let’s hope it’s latest message is received – and understood.
In the words of Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny): ‘Everything you were, everything you’ve done… has come to this.’
Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (12A) is on general release across the UK (including a number of screenings at MediCinema).
