The Final Exposition
An underwhelming finale to an otherwise great run
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One really hit that sweet spot between build up and payoffs. It gave me the impression that we were in for something comparable in the follow-up. I loved the non-stop action from beginning to end, with no dramatic scene taking away from the pacing, providing enough (bathroom) breaks in the action. The introduction of new characters, such as Grace (Hayley Atwell) and Paris (Pom Klementieff), brought fresh energy to the cast (compensation for the removal of Rebecca Ferguson).
Within the first five minutes of Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, I knew it was going to be a disappointment. There's no reason this should have been two hours and forty-nine minutes long. The mission briefing managed to be the least interesting I've seen. It manages to summarize the previous film to a degree unnecessary, while also providing uninspired plot elements, like an always online death cult (which goes nowhere meaningful). I am aware that the Mission Impossible films are not meant to be anything other than set-up for action set pieces. Looking at the poster of the film, it gives the purest representation of what these films are: Tom Cruise's Stunt Extravaganza. While the movie does deliver on this, it decidedly takes the laziest routes to its set-pieces compared to the previous entries.
"Final" entries like this are always at risk of feeling like a limp last gasp. The feeling of completion can't help but be euphoric for those making the entry, but it's easy to take the hands off the wheel. It feels like there was less investment in maintaining prior standards, and it also feels like there were too many cooks in the kitchen on how to "end" the story. The film desperately wants the audience to connect the film to previous entries with multiple call-backs. Tactics used to force continuity include: showing clips from previous films, connecting McGuffins that were never intended to be reused (like M:I:III’s Rabbit's Foot), and bringing back one-off characters. While this could have been fun, these attempts feel half-hearted and last minute. I would have liked to have seen Christopher McQuarrie have more confidence in the momentum of the previous film and start with a focus on simply continuing its action.
The action set-pieces are ultimately what makes or break a Mission Impossible. This entry also disappoints in that regard, but it doesn't lack in effort. Despite the greater runtime, there are only two major set pieces: an underwater fetch quest and a midair brawl between dueling planes. Both are excellent on their own, but what they lack is the active involvement of the other cast members. What made the action sequences fun in the last entry was Atwell's ability to play off Cruise. Cruise, at this point in the films (and his career) is really playing a hollow version of himself. Ethan Hunt had peak character development between Mission: Impossible (1996) and Mission: Impossible III. The character since has become increasingly devoid of depth, largely there to move the action forward. Cruise's performances as Hunt increasingly matches this shift, with a feeling of growing disengagement. The best thing about it is that he does step aside for other performers. This does make me wish that they got rid of Hunt much earlier. At this point, it feels like the films have been held back by Cruise, buoyed by his willingness to go to extremes for stunts and the box office draw he provides. Hopefully, by him now stepping back, they take more chances to reinvent the franchise.