Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

 Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the second part of Dead Reckoning Part One, which released in 2023. Part One was solid—it did a good job of setting the stage for this continuation. I won’t go into the storyline here since that’s easily available online anyway.

Tom Cruise is a true superstar. As someone who follows the Telugu film industry, I understand the power of star pull—and Cruise absolutely has it. Unlike Indian cinema, where stars drive the box office, Hollywood tends to be more studio- and director-driven. In recent years, it’s been dominated by superhero franchises, where the idea of a “star” gets overshadowed by capes and CGI. But Tom Cruise, along with a few others like Brad Pitt and Hugh Jackman (yes, he’s also technically a superhero), still stands out. Just look at Top Gun: Maverick—it made a staggering $1.4 billion. Yes, it had strong direction, music, and a solid story, but it was Cruise’s star power that made it a massive hit.

The Mission: Impossible films are Cruise’s signature action-packed spy thrillers. Audiences flock to them not just for the story or action, but to watch Tom Cruise perform those heart-racing stunts for real. In the last movie, he pulled off one of his wildest stunts yet—riding a motorbike off a cliff. I saw the behind-the-scenes footage, and it was mind-blowing how many times they rehearsed that one-minute scene. That kind of dedication shows he never takes the audience for granted. It’s why he’s one of the last true stars in Hollywood.

Coming to Part Two—this film picks up where Part One left off. For the first several minutes, it’s mostly story and dialogue with very little action. I honestly felt a bit bored. We already know who the villain is—an AI called "The Entity"—so the rest of the plot becomes fairly predictable. We've seen AI villains before, and there’s not much freshness to the idea. It’s hard to build emotional tension with a faceless enemy, even though they try to bring in a human element through the character Gabriel.

There’s a long underwater sequence where Ethan tries to retrieve the “Podkova” module, which is central to the plot. It has its tense moments, but it felt overly stretched. And the much-talked-about airplane stunt with biplanes? While it’s impressive that Cruise did those stunts himself, it didn’t quite match the thrill of his earlier work—either from previous Mission: Impossible films or Top Gun: Maverick.

Honestly, the film feels unnecessarily long. I think the entire story could’ve been told in one movie without dragging so many scenes. That said, there are a few interesting character additions and some loose ends from earlier films that are tied up cleverly.

I also heard this is the most expensive Mission: Impossible film ever made. I really hope it does well financially, because movies like this are important—especially when the film industry is going through a tough phase.

The cast is solid. Ving Rhames shows a different side of his character, which I liked. Simon Pegg is excellent as always. Hayley Atwell’s character felt inconsistent, and her relationship with Ethan isn’t clearly developed. The editing could have been tighter—several scenes needed trimming.

In short, if you're expecting back-to-back action, you might come away disappointed. But if you're okay with a more emotional and story-heavy spy film, this one might work for you.

My rating: 7/10.