In Review: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Synopsis: In Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025), Ethan Hunt and his team face their most dangerous mission yet as they race to stop a rogue AI known as The Entity from plunging the world into chaos. With old allies returning and secrets from past missions resurfacing, Hunt must confront the cost of loyalty and sacrifice to prevent global catastrophe.

The Story

Picking the story up a few months after Dead Reckoning, Ethan Hunt has gone dark, still in possession of the key that unlocks the hard disk containing the original code for The Entity. When he receives a message from President Erika Sloane urging him to surrender, Ethan reconnects with his team to finish the mission—but he soon crosses paths with Gabriel, who has been rejected by The Entity and now seeks to take control of the AI for himself. Gabriel threatens to kill Ethan’s teammate Grace unless Ethan cooperates. Though Ethan and Grace manage to escape Gabriel’s trap, it comes at the cost of a fellow team member’s life and leads to their capture by the authorities. With secrets from past missions starting to leak and The Entity playing a ruthless game of divide and conquer, Ethan convinces President Sloane to let his team go after it—with just three days to stop the AI before it gains control of the world’s nuclear arsenals and brings about humanity’s end.

The Acting

The Final Reckoning features solid performances across the board. As ever, Tom Cruise anchors the film with his signature mix of high-octane stunt work and charismatic screen presence. Hayley Atwell returns as Grace, who proves far more capable this time around—transitioning from skilled thief to emerging field agent. Her pickpocketing talents play a pivotal role in the film’s climactic moments. Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames also return, with Pegg delivering light comic relief, particularly in scenes shared with Pom Klementieff’s enigmatic and compelling Paris. Rhames, meanwhile, shares a heart-wrenching scene with Cruise, underscoring the emotional stakes as the team suffers the loss of a beloved member who sacrifices themselves to give humanity a fighting chance. There’s also a surprise appearance from Rolf Saxon, reprising his role as CIA analyst William Donloe from the very first Mission: Impossible film—only this time, Donloe plays a far more critical role in the unfolding narrative.

Overall

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning does a respectable job of closing out the film series, offering strong moments for many of the franchise’s key and recurring characters. I appreciated how the narrative wove in elements from Ethan Hunt’s past missions, using them to show just how deeply The Entity had come to understand his tactics and mindset. The film is bittersweet, marked by the emotional loss of an IMF team member who’s been with Hunt since the very beginning—driving home the sense that this really is the “final reckoning.” If it’s thrilling action you come for, you won’t be disappointed; the film delivers. However, one extended sequence—where Hunt dives underwater to break into the submarine first seen at the start of Dead Reckoning—runs about 15 to 20 minutes and felt overly long. My sister, who watched with me, became bored and distracted during this stretch, which was unfortunate as this scene is crucial: it shows Hunt retrieving the hard drive containing The Entity’s original source code. The soundtrack does a solid job throughout, enhancing the tension and emotion of key scenes—particularly those shared between Hunt and Luther Stickell. Ultimately, while the film works well as a finale, it also leaves the door ajar for future projects, with a final scene in London where the team checks in with each other before going their separate ways.