A bloated finale that (just about) sticks its landing.

So here we are then. After seven films and countless hours of Tom Cruise running, jumping, climbing, running again, and generally saving the world from total annihilation, we’ve arrived at the final leg – not necessarily for the Mission: Impossible franchise itself – but almost certainly for the series’ star Ethan Hunt.

If he is to be believed (and, honestly, it’s hard to tell at this point), this will be the last ride for Tom Cruise’s indestructible IMF agent. While far from perfect, the Mission: Impossible series has undoubtedly been a true Hollywood success story and, over the course of almost thirty years, has grown to become one of the most reliable franchise’s around.

As the film’s title quite aptly suggests, this really is the final reckoning, not only for Ethan Hunt, but for Tom Cruise himself. However, with three decade’s worth of Mission: Impossible stories leading to this moment, can The Final Reckoning handle the pressure and deliver a satisfying finale?

The Entity, a sentient AI with control over global digital infrastructure, poses a catastrophic threat to world security. In one final mission, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), together with his IMF team – Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames), and Grace (Hayley Atwell) – must embark on their most perilous mission yet to retrieve the AI’s source code hidden within a sunken Russian submarine in order to prevent a global catastrophe.

Despite what your thoughts are on Tom Cruise the man (and trust me, I have plenty), it’s hard to knock Tom Cruise as the torch-barer of both cinema and the Mission: Impossible name. Away from the screen, Cruise has done plenty of questionable things, yet, when he’s in cinema mode, there are few bigger champions of the medium; and his commitment to the part with this particular franchise has been quite incredible.

Quite simply, the Mission: Impossible franchise just wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for Tom Cruise and his absolute commitment to the cause. Through stuttering box office returns, on set injuries, and even a whole ass pandemic, Cruise has been there to steadfastly keep this franchise going; however, if The Final Reckoning is anything to go by, he’s probably taken the whole thing as far as he possibly can.

Arriving almost three decades on from the very first Mission: Impossible instalment, The Final Reckoning couldn’t be more unrecognisable from the franchise’s beginnings if it tried. Clocking in at a bloated 170 minutes and dealing with the highest stakes imaginable, this is a film that dwarfs every one of its Mission: Impossible predecessors in both scope and scale, however, in setting itself such lofty ambitions, it struggles to reach any of them.

While the franchise has certainly come a long way over the past thirty years, with entries like the bulky and uneven Dead Reckoning and now The Final Reckoning, it’s fair to say the evolution hasn’t entirely been for the better. As with its predecessor, something has gone missing along the way with this eighth entry in the series, and as it awkwardly overloads itself, it’s ended things with more of a thud than a bang.

Taking an absolute age to get going, for the first two acts, The Final Reckoning is a messy, plodding disappointment. Littered with laughably bad writing, endless reams of clunky exposition, unnecessary flashbacks, aimless conversations, the nauseating deification of Ethan Hunt, and some rather listless action, it isn’t until way past the film’s halfway point that anything of any real note happens.

Of course, it’s been a couple of years since the last film and some degree of recap is always useful to jog the memory, yet the way The Final Reckoning approaches this feels way off the mark. Seemingly under the assumption that we all have the memory of a goldfish, the film’s script forces flashback after flashback down our throats for what feels like eternity, a move that kills all momentum and energy in what should be a triumphant victory lap for one of the most successful franchises in modern cinema.

As supporting characters and Ethan Hunt play exposition tennis ad nauseam, it all gets very tiresome, very quickly. For over half the film’s bloated run time, there isn’t even any action of significance to alleviate the poor writing, and it’s really not until the first of the film’s big action set pieces deep into its second act that things really pick up the pace.

Thankfully, it’s from this submarine-centric set piece onwards that The Final Reckoning finally kicks into gear and we get the gripping Mission: Impossible finale we’d been promised. Who knows why exactly it takes so long for the film to get going, however, from the moment Ethan takes the plunge to stop The Entity, it delivers the kinds of high stakes, white-knuckle thrills we demand of this franchise.

Whether it’s a breathless dive to the icy Arctic depths or a high-risk plane chase over South Africa, The Final Reckoning’s third act delivers some absolutely textbook Mission: Impossible action, and while it doesn’t entirely override the awfulness of the film’s first half, Tom Cruise’s utter commitment to ensuring his baby sticks its landing means that it does just that.

And, of course, it’s this full-blooded commitment to authentic action from our Mission: Impossible main man that sees the film through even its rockiest patches. It’s quite telling that the moments where The Final Reckoning really falters are the ones where Tom Cruise isn’t throwing himself about in utterly ridiculous high risk action sequences, and while he can’t do much in the film’s earlier stages to mask the terrible writing, once the man straps himself in for the ride, things really start to fly.

Together with director Christopher McQuarrie, in this closing act, Cruise has once again crafted some high octane, high risk, high reward action cinema made for the biggest screen possible. Through superb editing, fantastic camerawork, and unbelievable (and unbelievably dangerous) stunt work from Cruise, we’re treated to an incredibly gripping finale that very nearly overrides the poor quality of the film’s first half. Unfortunately, however, the final act’s successes don’t quite atone for The Final Reckoning’s failings, especially when so much surrounding the movie’s star and his antics feels so disappointingly off key.

While Tom Cruise does his stuff and does it well, something just doesn’t quite click with the ensemble around him. Regulars like Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames do what they do and Pom Klementieff remains a fun watch, however, Hayley Atwell feels painfully side-lined, while Esai Morales’ Gabriel is an increasingly one-note bad guy and The Entity is an absolute nonentity villain. Around them, everyone else in the cast, barring the wonderful Tramell Tillman, is woefully underserved with truly terrible dialogue that makes them all look like they’d rather not be there at all.

All of this is a crying shame as there’s such a buzz to The Final Reckoning once it actually gets going and when both Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise click into gear together, that it’s hard not to think about what could’ve been. As gripping and enrapturing as the film’s final act is, the star and the director’s late heroics only work to highlight how poor The Final Reckoning is in its first half, as the wear and tear of the pandemic and the impact of two industry strikes on the film’s final product are laid bare for all to see. Get through all this, however, and there’s plenty in The Final Reckoning to appreciate, as Tom Cruise (just about) brings his big Mission: Impossible baby in to land safely.

Bloated, disjointed, and laughably written though it may be, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is, for the most part, a thoroughly gripping, white-knuckle ride. As ever, the film’s action is fantastic and - combined with a brilliantly breathless third act - just about saves the day after an awful first half threatens to hobble the entire thing. While not quite the triumphant swansong for Tom and his Mission: Impossible baby we were all hoping for, The Final Reckoning remains thoroughly enjoyable, nonetheless.

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is in cinemas now.