There aren’t many movie franchises that grow up with you. For me, Mission: Impossible has always been there—spanning from childhood curiosity to adult nostalgia, from the first time I saw Tom Cruise hang from a ceiling to the thrill of seeing him leap from buildings, planes, and mountains, again and again.
With The Final Reckoning, the last chapter has officially landed. And while it didn’t quite reach the storytelling heights of its predecessors, it still gave me one last ride with characters I’ve come to care about—and reminded me of just how much this farewell to the Mission: Impossible franchise means to me.
Why This One Missed the Mark
Let’s get it out of the way: the story in The Final Reckoning didn’t hit home for me. my wife and I liked the movie, as it seems most people do, but It felt less like its own self-contained mission and more like a stitched-together epilogue.
The villain was relatively new, introduced only in the film prior, yet the plot leaned heavily on events and characters from the franchise’s earliest days. We were expected to invest deeply in connections that hadn’t been built up in a meaningful way.
Flashbacks were used often, sometimes multiple times, and older characters suddenly became pivotal in jarring, almost random ways—like the CIA agent shipped off to Siberia years ago who’s now the only one that can save the day. The result was a finale that didn’t quite earn its emotional weight the way previous entries did.
The acting was awesome, but the story just felt like a shell of what Mission: Impossible used to be. But maybe that was the point, as it may have been that we should have felt like the franchise itself was passing away.
But here’s the thing: I wouldn’t be this bothered if the franchise hadn’t usually done it so well.
A Legacy of Precision and Heart
What makes this ending bittersweet is how consistently Mission: Impossible raised the bar over the years. The series always took its time crafting intricate, suspenseful plots filled with twists, betrayals, impossible odds, and the occasional well-earned sentiment.
It’s why Mission: Impossible – Fallout remains a personal favorite. That film had everything: perfectly-paced action, striking cinematography, and Henry Cavill’s legendary arm reload (seriously—iconic).
The tension in Ghost Protocol’s Dubai tower scene still makes my palms sweat. The cool complexity of Rogue Nation’s opera house mission is still so entrancing. Even MI:3, with its heart-pounding bridge assault and emotional core, left a lasting impression. These films weren’t just action flicks—they were experiences. Smart, stylish, and full of flair.
And of course, there’s Tom Cruise. Whether he was holding onto a plane at takeoff or jumping across rooftops with a broken ankle (my wife loves this fact), the man has poured his entire being into this franchise.
In The Final Reckoning, the sunken submarine sequence and the plane acrobatics reminded me why he’s been the face of this saga. His stunts weren’t just impressive—they were immersive.
High Stakes and Familiar Faces
Say what you will about the story, but Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning absolutely still delivers when it comes to action. Tom Cruise continues to defy age, gravity, and basic self-preservation for the sake of a thrilling shot.
That super-hyped plane sequence? Way more intense than I expected. I assumed it was marketing bluster, trying to match the buzz of the previous film’s mountain jump—but this one eclipsed it in both scale and execution.
Early on, I was thrown by the movie opening with an offscreen action scene, where the focus was placed instead on Hailey Atwell’s reaction rather than the fight itself. At first, it felt like a strange choice, but any doubts I had vanished as the film ramped up.
Cruise once again throws himself—literally—into the action, doing things on screen that I can’t imagine most actors even attempting.
The supporting cast also deserves some love. While some characters didn’t get a ton of screen time, the performances were strong across the board. Angela Bassett only shares one scene with Cruise, yet the tension between their characters was palpable thanks to a smartly placed opening voicemail.
The film leans on dynamics built in previous entries, and while that might limit character development here, the chemistry still works.
I do wish we’d gotten at least one scene between Hayley Atwell and Shea Whigham—ever since Agent Carter Season 1, I’ve wanted more from that pairing. It felt like a missed opportunity to reunite two actors with such grounded chemistry, but that’s just me blabbing about Marvel TV.
Also, shoutout to some surprise casting choices that made me smile—Nick Offerman (aka my beloved Ron Swanson) and Tramell Tillman (aka Mr. Milchick from Severance) both show up, and it was a delight to see them in the mix.
Memories Tied to Missions
Maybe part of the magic of Mission: Impossible is how much of my own life I’ve mapped alongside it.
I recently had a similar revelation with the Fast & furious franchise, where it was really more about who I was watching the movies with that made me enjoy them so much (see my Fast February blog post for some filthy self-discovery that I didn’t fully discover till I reached the farewell of that franchise, either).
but the Mission: Impossible franchise means more to me than that.
I remember seeing Ghost Protocol with my eighth-grade girlfriend and her parents, which is one of the earliest times I realized I may have a greater love for movies than I do for most people. I thought it was so cool that they were finally making another movie based on the ones I grew up with. It was so satisfying when the movie actually measured up to its predecessors.
I also discovered Jeremy Renner in that film—to me, he was just a side character from Thor at the time, since we hadn’t yet been graced with the masterpiece that is The Avengers.
I saw Fallout three times in Summer 2018 with three different groups of friends. I was so excited to share it—so eager to see how each person would react to that bathroom fight or that helicopter chase.
When Dead Reckoning Part One came out, I went with my family. I still remember seeing my mom nearly jump out of her seat during the collapsing train sequence, even from five seats away.
My wife nearly did the same thing when we saw The Final Reckoning, during the sequence where Ethan Hunt explored the ocean floor. The film may not have had the strongest story, but it still delivered moments like that—moments I’ll remember not just for the action, but for who I was with and how they reacted.
Saying Goodbye
That’s what’s hard about this. Not that the last film fumbled the story a bit—but that it’s over. This franchise has been a constant. Through different phases of life, it’s been there. And somehow, it never stopped evolving, even if the last lap stumbled.
Even the way I wear my hair now? I’d be lying if I said Mission: Impossible 2 didn’t have something to do with that. I’m mature enough to admit it now.
Like I realized during my Fast February marathon, sometimes the joy of a franchise isn’t just in the movies themselves—it’s in the memories we make around them. The friends we watch with. The conversations after the credits roll. The way a favorite scene stays with you long after the theater lights come up.
That reminds me of when I went to see Avengers: Infinity War opening night with my youngest brother. Those movie credits are cursed. Talk about emotional damage.
One Last Mission
So no, The Final Reckoning wasn’t perfect. But the franchise as a whole? It pulled off the impossible more times than I can count. It gave us incredible stories, unforgettable stunts, and characters who surprised us, scared us, and stuck with us.
I’m sad to see it go. But more than anything, I’m grateful.
Thank you, Mission: Impossible, for being a part of my life for so long.
Thank you, Ethan Hunt—for never slowing down.
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