MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING feels just a little too long, but that’s okay. It’s as though all involved were not quite ready to say goodbye in what may or may not be the last foray by Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. To be honest, neither are we, and by we, of course, I mean me. This is a series that has always delivered its raison d’etre, which is to say the wow factor that gets us sitting up in our seats wondering how they did that and how did they make it look so cool. When it comes to pure entertainment, there is nothing better. This time out is no exception.
We pick up a few months after the events of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING, and don’t worry if you are a little shaky on what went on before. It opens with a montage, visual and aural, that neatly recaps where we left off, where we are now, and, for good measure, the President of the United States (Angela Bassett) summarizing how Ethan has saved the world so many times by not following orders. How the President got the VHS tape with her recap to Ethan is not explained, nor does it need to be. It’s not that kind of film. All we need to know is that Ethan has been incommunicado for six months, and the President wants him to come back to save the world from the Entity. That would be the AI that became sentient and decided that the world would be a better place without human beings on it, and, in a poetic justice twist, to use our very own nuclear arsenals against us. As though confirming the Entity’s conclusion about humankind, the world has fallen into chaos and martial law after the Entity has created deep fakes across cyberspace, corrupting data and leaving the population unsure of what is true and what is a lie.
As I may have mentioned in my review of DEAD RECKONING, using our own paranoia about AI and the ephemeral nature of stored data as a villain was and is a stroke of genius. As Ethan points out while displaying considerable negotiating skills with those out to get him, it’s not about ideology or politics, worn tropes that inevitably date themselves. We almost don’t need Esai Morales as Gabriel, the villain of the piece determined to bend the Entity to his will and rule the planet, but Morales has such fun and exhibits such a malevolent presence we’re happy to have him along. Also, having a human opponent is somehow comforting. And discovering that our hero has new skill set is another delight here.
Of course, Ethan returns to fight the Entity, and he has no trouble getting the team back together along with Paris (Pom Klementieff), a converted Francophone nemesis, and his love, Grace (Hayley Atwell). There is the de rigeur glamour of an embassy gala in London, the inevitable arrest by old nemesis, IMF agent Briggs (Shea Whigham), and a tense meeting with the President and her advisors during which Ethan has to convince her to let him save the world again before the world’s politicians and the military do something stupid. Outrage ensues as she overrides her advisors who are aghast at, among other things, turning over an aircraft carrier to Ethan and Co. as they are off prevent The Entity, and Gabriel, from ruining it for the rest of us.
The action is superb, from the set pieces of Ethan hornswoggling his captors with his wits before getting physical, to exploring a sunken sub in the icy depths of the Bering Sea. There are skirmishes along the way, and the signature MI masks that conceal identity to infiltrate and then skirmish some more. And just when you think, well, this is all well and good, but where is the dazzler? The set piece that is destined to be iconic, that makes us wonder how they did it while keeping us on the edge of our ci-mentioned seats. Never fear, it’s there and it’s more than worth the wait, involving as it does a dogfight between biplanes that would make William Wellman proud (look it up if you don’t get it and then check out WINGS). Even better, it takes place during a finale that intercuts three, ahem, impossible situations each are counting down to zero with only minutes to go.
Yeah. Dazzler.
And yet, what elevates this popcorn flick is the characters that populate it, starting with Ethan, who can think on the, further ahem, fly, but still has that quiver of hesitation that his plan is only 90% sound. Or 10%. Cruise at over 60 still has a touch of boyishness about him, especially nice when Ethan interacts with Grace. He also has the most cinematic running style to date. In profile he evokes the Olympic perfection of athletes as depicted on ancient Greek vases, and the intensity of someone who needs to be somewhere fast and refuses to believe he can’t outrun a plane. He is aesthetic kinesis at its finest and embodies the urgency that underscores all the action. As for the supporting players, Ving Rhames as computer hacker extraordinaire Luther gets some fine moments, as does Simon Pegg as techie Benji. He also proves that exposition delivered with his lilting accent and ironic anxiety is painless. No doubt that’s why he is the one in the script tasked with saying that whatever the current operation is, it’s crazy. As for Angela Bassett, she is the president we need, Holt McCallany is spot-on as the Secretary of Defense we all fear most (as in sounding reasonable about mega-death), and Nick Offerman as the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff makes a small role memorable with some deft thespian legerdemain.
The writing also offers us a few intriguing morsels to chew on between action sequences: the conundrum of saving the world at the expense of destroying cyberspace, a graphic description of what the bends does to the human body, and the importance of both the proper footwear and safety belts in unsafe situations. I also like that the script reaches back into the archives to tie in the previous films this one and the light sprinkling of spiritual allusions. Characters named Grace and Gabriel, cults that form around fear (and too much time on the internet), McGuffins that are cruciform, a St Christopher’s medal used as a token, and what can only be described as a hi-tech Ark of the Covenant.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING is a terrific time at the movies. It understands exactly what it wants to do and does so with style and aplomb to the benefit of us all. If it takes too long to get us to its laconically sentimental ending, it’s more than worth the time.
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