Is this it for Ethan Hunt? Will Tom Cruise’s endless run through countless cities finally come to an end? The last Mission: Impossible film was subtitled Dead Reckoning Part One, which was an awkward mouthful, but suggested a Part Two to follow. Instead, installment eight is called The Final Reckoning, which may or may not mean this series is coming to a close. Or maybe it’s just the final moment for Ethan Hunt; there are plenty of other players who could take on the Mission: Impossible mantle.
That said, The Hollywood Reporter notes that, “While Cruise has been open about wanting to keep making Mission: Impossible movies into his 80s, The Hollywood Reporter revealed earlier this month that Paramount wanted to promote the eighth film as the ‘final’ entry in the franchise, to boost audience interest.”
Good old misleading marketing! Neat! At any rate, Ethan Hunt is back, and all his choices—naturally!—have led to this. What this is, well, it’s not quite clear just yet, except that the gang is still on the hunt for the terrifying rogue AI that’s going to destroy the world if the wrong people get their hands on it, or maybe just for funsies. There is a very elaborate key to the AI that reminds me very much of Vin Diesel’s special necklace in the Fast & Furious films, which is not distracting at all.
Dead Reckoning Part One was, I am sorry to say, a bit of a letdown after Fallout, which was a perfect piece of action filmmaking by Christopher McQuarrie. (I’m not just saying this because of the poorly written death of [redacted], though that was certainly not my favorite choice.) The Final Reckoning is still so far off that it’s hard to even know what sort of expectations to have, and the trailer is very much a reminder of how we got here, not so much where we’re going.
Except that of course there are outrageous stunts. Tom Cruise hanging off an airplane! Tom Cruise fighting in his underwear! Tom Cruise freezing to death underwater! And, as ever, Tom Cruise running very, very fast.
Tom Cruise is joined by returning cast members Angela Bassett, Esai Morales, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, Henry Czerny, Greg Tarzan Davis, Mariela Garriga, and Indira Varma. For this probably-not-so-final entry into the series, McQuarrie and team have brought on a frankly absurdly good lineup of new faces: Hannah Waddingham, Janet McTeer, Holt McCallany, Katy O’Brian, Nick Offerman, and Tramell Tillman. McQuarrie, Bruce Geller, and Erik Jendresen wrote the screenplay.
Mission: Imposible—The Final Reckoning is in theaters May 23, 2025.
