‘Mission: Impossible’ finale is a winner  

(News4usOnline) – The one sure thing about “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is that actor Tom Cruise knows how to close out a film with a bang. For the climactic conclusion to the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, that’s great. 

For actor Tom Cruise and his leading character, Ethan Hunt, the global spy with a flair for the big thrills and chills, this is a finale that is welcomed, but also saddled with lingering questions. The film, built for the IMAX experience, starts with hard-hitting action that races with pulse-grabbing adrenaline.

However, it slows down just enough during the second and third quarters of the movie before finishing out the final period with a rush that is bound to leave audiences wanting more by the time the credits roll around and the theater lights come on. 

With the world powers on a collision course toward nuclear annihilation, Hunt (Cruise) and his ever dependable teammates of Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), with some assistance from Grace (Hayley Atwell), must once again come to the rescue of all humanity. 

Hunt and his IMF bandmates are used to saving the world, but this time is a little different. There are enough twists, turns, explosions, and chases good enough to make five movies. 

The race against time for Hunt this time around is that he must ward off an old foe (Gabriel, played with dastardly conviction by Esai Morales) from his past, while at the same time, he goes up against an enemy he cannot physically confront. 

That presents a challenge in itself for Hunt.  It’s one thing to square off against an adversary that you can see. It’s quite another dilemma to try to battle against an invisible vapor trapped inside the human technology called AI (Artificial Intelligence). 

The Entity is wreaking mayhem everywhere and has driven mankind into near collapse with its impending force to destroy everything in its wake. This is where the race to save all of mankind comes into play. 

Without oversight by anyone or anything, The Entity would be able to do whatever it wants to do. Yes, this is a classic case of AI being on steroids, or for lack of a better word, uncontrollable. 

Thus, the time march by both Hunt and Gabriel to chase down The Entity. But of course, for different reasons and for different outcomes. Gabriel wants to bring The Entity under his thumb so that he can control the world as he would like, giving him the impression of possessing a God-like power. 

On the other hand, Hunt and friends are up against the clock to secure the access code that can control The Entity from running wild and loose.    

With time running out and The Entity causing collateral damage worldwide, Hunt and his IMF buddies go to work. At least they try to, with not only Gabriel’s own personal pursuits standing in the way, our group of protagonists has to take into account the other worldly factors that come into play, since this is a race to save humanity with high-stakes military tension across the globe.

Morales does a wonderful job of getting you to not like his Gabriel character. He’s a real bad guy with sleaze written up one side of him and treachery scribbled down the other. 

But as the chief antagonist to Cruise’s Hunt, Gabriel gives “Mission: Impossible -The Final Reckoning” its rivalry tug-of-war between good and evil. 

There is plenty of action in “Mission: Impossible – The Final Recokoning.” That’s not what makes this movie special. There are layered heartfelt moments throughout the film that allow for a more enjoyable moviegoing experience. Yes, some moments in the film allow tears to be shed. 

Those teardrops are not just for what takes place in the film. After eight incredible movies that span three decades, there’s a nostalgic message in Cruise’s swan song performance. 

And what better way to do it than with AI, which has taken the real world by storm, at the center of its storyline. Minus all those death-defying stunts shown throughout the film, this caveat shows that Cruise is still at the top of his game.  

Due to the nature of the line of work Hunt and his crew are in as spies, high rewards often come with high risks. This fact comes to fruition in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.”

Top Image: Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. | © 2025 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved