By: Kimberly Grant
Let’s be honest, the cast of the Mission Impossible franchise isn’t getting any younger. Since 1996, Tom Cruise has been Ethan Hunt in eight movies over a 29-year run. That’s a long time by any measure. So, the fact that this franchise is coming to an end feels unfinished.
Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning is currently in theaters.
Eight & Done
What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this franchise? Cruise has somehow managed to be 62 years old and still doing death-defying stunts in a movie that has somehow gotten better with age. Yes, the second and third installments of Mission Impossible were not that great and felt formulaic, similarly Ghost Protocol. Then something happened. Maybe it was the change of director. Christopher McQuarrie has directed the movies from Rogue Nation to The Final Reckoning.
McQuarrie has brought the films from 1990s generic action to 21st century thriller with the stakes getting higher and higher in each film. Now, that may not make sense to a lot of people, but imagine the action films for the 20th century. You had a hero, a villain, a smoking hot love interest in barely any clothing, and a lot of things blew up. After seeing this trope time after time, you tend to get bored with it.
Like it’s main actor, the Mission Impossible franchise, which was a spinoff of a tv series that ran from 1966 to 1973, has matured like fine wine. Who would have thought that a movie franchise that seemed to end its run in 2006 (ten years after the first film) would have gotten a fresh start in 2015 and earned itself ten more years of audience love? And that same franchise would still have its three major actors still starring in it?
The Final Cast of Legend
Cruise is already at legend status. Not just because he’s still going hard in this latest Mission Impossible and still managed to be Maverick in the Top Gun franchise. Actually, those feats are what make him a legend. Full stop.
Ving Rhames is still going hard as well as Luther Stickell. He’s still sharp and a valuable member of the team. He’s another actor who has enjoyed a long successful career and still going strong at 66 years old. Simon Pegg continues to play well with this incredible spy trio as Benji Dunn. Angela Bassett as President Erika Sloane is a welcome visual of maternal strength when audiences need to see a strong black woman effectively leading the United States of America.
Henry Czerny continues to be half bad, half good as Kittridge, head of the IMF (Impossible Mission Force). After knowing the outcome of The Final Reckoning, I still don’t trust Kittridge. So the character hasn’t changed much. Likewise, Shea Whigham plays sniveling Briggs who still can’t seem to pick a side, causing problems for Ethan and his operation everywhere he goes.
There’s also some new-ish faces that helped bring the franchise to a great conclusion. Hannah Waddingham takes an unexpected turn as US Naval Admiral Neely who connects Ethan with a very dangerous mission; more on that in a minute. Nick Offerman (without his beard) takes one for the team as General Sidney.
Tramell Tillman plays Captain Bledsoe, who would have made a great addition to the Mission Impossible team, helps Ethan conduct a very dangerous, very surreal underwater mission. Pom Klementieff plays Paris, a badass villain turned badass hero. Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter herself) plays master pick pocket turned IMF spy Grace, who helps save the day. Lastly, there’s the newest member of Ethan’s team Degas, played by Greg Tarzan Davis, who also starred in Maverick. Speaking of Ethan’s team, even though this is being promoted as the last film in the franchise, it doesn’t feel like the characters have retired from missions. Just putting that out there.
The Making of A Final Film
With all of that said, I did want to point out that the script written by Bruce Geller (who created the tv series), Erik Jendresen, and McQuarrie has some plot holes. There are some aspects of the film that are explained in good detail and other aspects that are not. While they may not be needed to tell the story, it does leave questions unanswered, which shouldn’t be for the final film in a franchise.
Direction-wise, I can honestly write there is one long scene in this film that is total nail-biting, slow burn, suspense that is reminiscent of what made action movies so great to begin with. This scene involves a submarine at the bottom of the ocean and Ethan Hunt doing what Ethan Hunt does. It’s also movie magic in a way that gets people to enjoy sitting in a dark theater with a bunch of strangers and having a collective moment of awe.
You can read more reviews by Kimberly Grant (writing as K. A. Grant) in her Entertainment Blog.
