One of the most iconic film storylines has come to an end. The last Mission Impossible movie, “Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning” was released May 23 and is the ultimate installment in the eight-part series.
The franchise began with a television series lasting from 1966 – 1973, eventually releasing the first movie in 1996. Over the years, it has coined phrases such as “Your mission, should you choose to accept it,” and created one of the most recognizable theme songs of all time. It has featured a slew of directors and actors, each rotating out with each new film with the exception of a few faces.
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, “Final Reckoning” stars big names such as Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, Hayley Atwell as Grace, Pom Klementieff as Paris, Angela Bassett as President Erika Sloan, Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, Esai Morales as Gabriel and several others. Grossing $63 million in the opening weekend alone, the movie achieved the most successful box office debut of any movie in the series.
The action movie, traveling from London to a remote island in the Arctic to South Africa, jumps from place to place seemingly in no time. The characters board planes, dog-pulled sleds, ships, helicopters and submarines in order to fulfill their mission and stop the Entity, an AI-like algorithm introduced in the seventh film.
As far as the storyline goes, it was interesting yet rather predictable. As is common in the Mission Impossible series, the movie featured several fight scenes, jaw-dropping stunts performed by Cruise himself and unbelievable action sequences. Although the scenes were undoubtedly entertaining, the plot was easy to anticipate.
Several hair-raising scenes relied on actions by the characters performed down to the millisecond. For example, during a particular segment when Cruise had less than 20 seconds to run from a ticking bomb while being forced to sacrifice one of his oldest friends, there was an audible gasp in the theater. Another part, in which Cruise swims through frigid water without a wetsuit, risking his character’s life, kept viewers on the edge of their seats.
Due to the stellar performance of Cruise and his co-stars and the prestige which the series carries, the movie is worth watching. Even though the plot may be predictable, the action scenes and anticipation create a feeling unmatched by any other movie.
Lasting two hours and fifty minutes, the final movie was the longest of any in the series. However, it only earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 80%, falling behind four other movies in the collection: Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation, Dead Reckoning Part One and Fallout. (Photo/Roma Agarwal)
Cruise, known for executing his own stunts no matter how dangerous, held on to the wing of a plane as it took off in this movie. He was attached to the plane through a secure wire system, but performed the scene eight times to get a satisfactory clip. (Photo/Roma Agarwal)
