Let me just come out and say it—Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, the eighth entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise and the direct sequel to Dead Reckoning Part One, is the worst film in the entire Mission: Impossible series.

Before diving into the reasons, I want to talk about something that’s become really important to me lately: context of the viewing experience. I watched the film at 8:30 in the morning on its second screening during the Cannes Film Festival, in a seat that wasn’t great, surrounded by a packed, noisy, and frankly uncomfortable setting.

Another piece of context: I watched the film the day after Christopher McQuarrie’s panel which Tom Cruise himself crashed. It was an absolutely fantastic session—fun, insightful, full of energy. It got me incredibly hyped for the movie and sent my expectations through the roof.

Now, if you end up liking the movie—full respect, and if you think my opinion is too negative because I saw the film in less-than-ideal conditions, that’s totally fair and I accept that.

Our the story picks up where the last one left off. The threat of the self-aware AI—The Entity—has grown. It’s now fully evolved and determined to pit nations against one another, pushing the world closer to the edge of total nuclear war. Many powerful forces are trying to control The Entity. Meanwhile, Ethan Hunt and his team are trying to destroy it, putting them at odds with their own government and leading to a direct confrontation with their old nemesis, Gabriel. As always with Ethan Hunt, the mission takes him across a series of impossible tasks

So what went wrong?

Let’s start with the most obvious reason: the film is dumb. Like, genuinely dumb when it comes to decisions and logic. First of all, it abandons many of the signature elements that define the Mission: Impossible series. The Impossible Mission Force, led by Ethan Hunt, used to rely on high-tech gadgets, smart disguises, elaborate masks, and clever twists mid-mission. All of that is barely there—reduced to a shadow of what it once was. The classic “spy intelligence” flair that was the heart of the previous stories? Completely gone.

And let’s talk about the thing that always elevated these movies: the dramatic buildup. I’m not talking about the team preparing physically for a mission. I’m talking about narrative preparation—the build-up that shows us why the mission matters, why it’s impossible, and why there’s no other way out. That storytelling thread has been declining over the past few films, and while it used to be balanced out by strong emotional stakes, even that is missing here.

Sure, there are emotional motives in this one too—but like the last film, they aren’t given time to breathe. Actually, no—this is worse than the last one. And I don’t mean just romantic emotions—I’m talking about emotional stakes tied to friendship and character history.

The film makes what initially seems like a clever decision: it goes all the way back to the beginning of the franchise, reintroducing characters from the first Mission Impossible. On paper, that sounds smart. In practice, it feels almost comical. Not in a good way—just awkward and unnecessary.

As for romantic stakes? They’re basically nonexistent. Ethan Hunt’s emotional and romantic history feels like a storyline that’s been cut off mid-sentence. Even his wife, who’s been referenced since part three, is barely acknowledged here.

The result? What’s left from the Mission Impossible DNA feels like a checklist. “Here’s this element… here’s that one…”—just so no one like me can say they were completely missing. Take comedy for example. One or two scenes had a tiny injection of humor, but that’s it.

And it’s baffling, especially considering Simon Pegg is in the cast! You’d think he’d be the comedic anchor. But no—even Tom Cruise doesn’t seem to want anyone to have a comedic influence other than himself. Even the mask element—usually one of the franchise’s most iconic features—shows up once, quickly, almost like the filmmakers said, “Let’s throw it in so no one complains we didn’t.”

So yeah: the film is dumb, it’s cold, and it’s trying to scam us with nostalgia. Anything else?

Absolutely.

There’s also a heavy dose of political messaging—completely unrealistic and, frankly, quite irritating. Sure, we initially praised the decision to center the plot around an AI threat. It’s timely, relevant, and very much a global conversation. But is that the only thing happening in the world worth talking about? I’m not saying they need to tackle everything—but at the very least, don’t insult our intelligence with the way they handle it. The political war room scenes for the American government were a joke. Some of the dialogue was so absurd, the entire audience in the theater laughed out loud.

Speaking of dialogue—it’s easily one of the film’s weakest points.

Are we done with the negatives? Not yet.

There’s a noticeable lack of variety in the action scenes. The fight sequences are few and far between—and when they do show up, they’re weak. And if my memory serves me correctly (and I hope it does), there wasn’t even a single proper chase scene.

Villain problems? Oh yes.

In the last film, I let it slide. I thought maybe the AI threat could carry the weight of the villain role. But now, we’re back with the same threat and, basically, the same villain—only dumber and more annoying. Remember I said this when you watch the final showdown: it’s laughable.

So why all this effort? Why go through all this?

Simple: to serve one purpose. One thing only.

Tom Cruise’s death-defying stunts.

Let’s be fair now—there are two “impossible mission” sequences in the movie that are absolutely massive and incredibly well-made. Not the best in the series, sure—but on their own, they’re impressive.

What makes them stand out is the obsessive focus on showing that Tom Cruise actually performed these stunts himself. Multiple angles. Long uninterrupted takes. Elaborate set-ups. There’s no way to watch them and not believe what you’re seeing is real. As if it wasn’t enough that he spent half an hour the day before the screening swearing to us he did all of it himself. That obsessive commitment to realism made the sequences long—very long. And as a result, the entire movie feels long. But to be fair: I didn’t feel bored. Not really.

While watching the film, I wasn’t exactly bored—but I have to say, compared to the previous approach used to shoot these kinds of sequences, this one felt less effective. Those older sequences used to generate real tension: you felt the danger, the suspense, the nerves. But here? I felt like I was watching Tom Cruise in a circus act, not Ethan Hunt on an impossible mission.

Let me be clear—technically, the scenes are outstanding. Beautiful cinematography, solid editing, and of course, the stunt work. And yes, Tom Cruise deserves full credit, but frankly, that’s the one area where he truly deserves to be recognized for his performance. But beyond that? Nobody else in the film gave a performance worth remembering. Not his team, not the villain, not the government suits. Honestly, if I try to count the characters, most of their faces probably passed right by you without leaving any impression—aside from the ones you already know.

Let’s be honest: didn’t you feel that the franchise has dimmed? This is the same series that once had Philip Seymour Hoffman… Henry Cavill… Rebecca Ferguson… Jeremy Renner… and so many others going all the way back to part one. How did we go from that to this?

Is it possible that Tom Cruise still thinks he’s enough to carry the whole thing alone? He keeps proving that idea wrong. Even Top Gun: Maverick—the film that reignited his superstardom—wasn’t just him. He had solid names around him, even from a younger generation.

From what I heard in the Christopher McQuarrie session I attended the day before the screening, and then what I saw on screen, I sense that even he is tired of this franchise. Not that it needs to end necessarily, but it definitely needs a shift—new energy, new flavor.

But not by sacrificing the very ingredients that made us fall in love with it in the first place: the spy games, the compelling villains, the strong ensemble cast, the inventive tech, and the impossible tactics. It could’ve benefited from a different kind of flexibility from Tom Cruise—not just the kind that lets him hang off planes or dive into submarines.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two is, in my view, the weakest film in the entire franchise. Yes—even weaker than Part Two. At least that one, for all its flaws, was still in an experimental phase. It was trying to figure out what this series could become and what its main character stood for. I rate the film at 4 out of 10.

=

التعليقات و المناقشة

التعليق