He runs, he hangs, he almost drowns, but most importantly, he has you every gripped every step of the way. Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning is (as you’d expect) the final instalment in the franchise that debuted back in 1996. Tom Cruise using wires to hang from the ceiling of the CIA headquarters in MI1 seems like child’s play when compared to the daring feats we have become used to seeing his Ethan Hunt character perform.
As a result, presented in this final feature is an Impossible Mission Force greatest hits tour. There’s a scene involving prosthetic masks, there’s a scene where Hunt sprints through London, and there’s multiple occasions where he asks those around him to trust him. Well, you would, wouldn’t you? In the process of attempting to protect the world from an increasingly destructive AI (somewhat on the nose?) known as the ‘Entity,’ Hunt deals with both friend and foe, old and new.
It’s silly. Of course it is. There’s a moment where I genuinely believed Cruise was going to catch up (and board) a moving plane on foot. But when Hunt asks others to trust him, Cruise is asking us to trust him with the film they are watching. The spectacular is what he has for breakfast.
Yes, this conclusion to the franchise has some misses. Its rather long and has some slightly random changes in pace. But the special feeling of watching this group of actors and characters pull off one last dance, with no decline in audacity or boldness after all these years, is one hard to find anywhere else in cinema.
When he asks you to trust him, you trust him.
