MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: The Final Reckoning

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, Erik Jendresen, Bruce Gellar, Skydance and Paramount Pictures is the mission of all missions with MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: The Final Reckoning.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is on the trail of Gabriel (Esai Morales) and the AI known as The Entity that is attempting to control the world. Gabriel wants it so that he can shape the world as he sees fit but when Hunt comes in contact with the Entity, he learns what it wants and how to get it. What it wants is the drive aboard the sunken submarine Sevastopol. Hunt, along with Benji (Simon Pegg), visit Luther (Ving Rhames) who has created something that could stop The Entity.

Gabriel is several steps ahead, as Hunt adds Paris (Pom Klementieff), Degas (Greg Davis) and Grace (Hayley Atwell) and they make a intense plan to stop the madness. One person who can destroy the plans is Kittridge (Henry Czemy) who will stop at nothing to nail Hunt along with Briggs (Shea Whigham). When Hunt is before President Sloane (Angela Bassett), he makes it clear that his one goal is to get what The Entity wants and asks for trust. Going against her counsel, President Sloane realizes there are only three days and places her trust in the man no one else trusts. The team makes there way to the coldest part of the world and with countries on high alert of one another, they know that The Entity is trying to gain control of nuclear weapons all over the world.

Each person on the team realizes that every step they take brings them closer to two possibilities of destruction and a slim chance of stopping it. Weaving between the two options with Gabriel and The Entity in the mix means Hunt is pushing everything to the limits as the seconds count down.

Cruise as Hunt definitely puts himself into this film. He has taken this role, beginning in 1996, through so many twists, turns and action to keep audiences riveted. Each has brought this Final Reckoning and Cruise has cemented this character in the sense that you can’t say Mission Impossible without Cruises’ name being mention. In this film, Cruise continues with the danger and action that will not disappoint.

Atwell as Grace is back with her five finger discount abilities and support of everything Hunt has planned – even if its frightening. She has shown her own abilities to be a strong member of this ‘outlaw’ team. Whigham as Briggs sees what Hunt is trying to accomplish and also supports it and willing to put himself in the middle of it all. Whigham gives his character strength and power needed to be on the team.

Pegg as Benji is seen by Hunt as a leader when there needs to be one and he understands him without having to say much out loud. I just love Pegg no matter what but was thrilled when he became part of the Mission Impossible franchise. Rhames as Luther is the mad genius behind what could be the answer to stopping the madness. Again, having Rhames on board is another character the franchise has counted on and he never disappoints.

Klementieff as Paris might not have a lot to say but she speaks volumes with her eyes. When the need arises, Paris isn’t about to let Gabriel off the hook for what he has done to her. Czemy as Kittridge has always irritated me and that’s what makes his performance so cool. He has managed throughout each film to be the thorn in Hunt’s side and it reaches the audience as well. Bassett as President Sloane is under the gun to try to save as many people as possible in the midst of the chaos. When it comes down to it, she puts her trust in Hunt down to the last second. I am a huge fan of Bassett and as she bounces between film and television, she does so flawlessly.

Morales as Gabriel is a twisted smile character that even when things go wrong, he doesn’t let it slow down the pace of the characters madness. There is a certain touch of lunacy that Morales brings to this character mixed with a grudge against the IMF and Hunt. He makes his plans very clear and Morales does a fantastic job of freaking me out.

Other cast includes Tramell Tillman as Captain Bledsoe, Mark Gatiss as Angstrom, Katy O’Brian as Kodiak, Tommie Earl Jenkins as Col. Burdick, Charles Parnell as Richards, Hannah Waddingham as Admiral Neely, Nick Offerman as General Sydney, Janet McTeer as Walters, Holy McCallany as Serling, and Pasha Lynchnikoff as Captain Koltsov.

Shout out to Rolf Saxon as William Donloe and Lucy Tulugarjuk as Tapeesa.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: The Final Reckoning is a film that doesn’t let off the gas! The beginning is Hunt hearing what is happening world wide and even with people after him, he is asked to do what he does best. It is a crazy duality placed on this character as one who people want to stop for their own personal reasons (mainly jealousy to my way of thinking) and wanting him to succeed at the missions.

Another aspect of the film is that each of the characters has such a tremendous story of their own to tell within the big picture. From the Commander of the carrier to the Commander of the submarine, watching the chain of events and those who go against the grain to help Hunt’s character added such layers to the story and action. There are easter-eggs here and there that were very cool and that’s all I will say about that.

Clocking in at two hours and forty-nine minutes, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: The Final Reckoning didn’t drag at all. It is difficult enough to keep an audience’s attention for that long and this film did it seamlessly. I never look before seeing a film at the running time because I want to be taken for a ride with no expectations. It is as if the film starts out at a deliberate pace and then grabs as if to say, ‘hang on, this is going to get good’ and I was all for it.

Well done cinematography, well done story and well-done action and adventure. That’s why we go to the movies in the first place right? We want to be swept away into a suspension of disbelief and Cruise and cast does exactly that with the words ‘our lives are the sum of our choices’. Every choice, every mission, has all led to this. Experience the most epic chapter yet of Ethan Hunt’s journey, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, on the largest screen in @IMAX for the ultimate adrenaline rush.

In the end – trust him one last time!

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About the Author

Jeri Jacquin

Jeri Jacquin covers film, television, DVD/Bluray releases, celebrity interviews, festivals and all things entertainment.