Mission Accomplished?
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to face your greatest reading session from The Rabbitte Perspective to date. Pursue us, you’ll be forced to read inadequate film reviews that don’t comply in making contextual and narrative links. Resist us…You’ll be tasked in facing your final reckoning…Good luck, Mr. Reader!…This is what happens when you’re someone like me who’s inherently become succumbed to the Mission: Impossible franchise since its near inception. While I personally don’t remark the first in the franchise to be an action/espionage feature that did anything remarkable to catch the eye, it’s the said series’ second-outing – in the form of John Woo’s Mission: Impossible II – that wholly bewildered yet attuned my own way of perceiving and enjoyment. Indeed, the outlandish formal elements that Woo proudly exhibits in sequences that are entertaining to watch (most notably with the way in which Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt stylistically kick-flips a gun from out of the sand to use against Dougray Scott’s character), is something which has transcended into Mission’s filmic legacy; a cinematic bequest where each subsequent feature of the aforementioned franchise delivers action set-pieces that have and will stand the test of cinema’s life-time. From Ghost Protocol’s grandiose sequence of the climbing of the Burj Khalifa, to the hair-raising moment in which we see Cruise’ notorious action-character clinging onto the side of a plane in Rogue Nation, these unbelievable action set-pieces – and many more that I could name – all correlate and coalesce the latest (and potentially last?) Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. After 30 years of saving the world with stunts, set-pieces, spy-craft and a substantial amount of sprinting, is Tom Cruise’s possibility-defying IMF agent Ethan Hunt finally hanging up his prosthetic mask? Or, is this simply the beginning of a resurgence that will pave the way for a new line of Mission films in the future?
Two months after the events that unfolded in Dead Reckoning, Ethan Hunt, along with the rest of his IMF team, face-off against a rogue AI cyberweapon known as the Entity and the villainous and calculated Gabriel who seeks to control the said AI for his own purposes. Infiltrating intelligence and government networks around the globe, the Entity plots a world-wide outcome that will cause a devastating nuclear apocalypse. Joined by new allies and armed with the means to shut the Entity down for good, Hunt is in a race against time to prevent the world as we know it from changing forever…
Whether or not Final Reckoning is to be the final outing for Ethan Hunt and his IMF crew, what is certain to behold from viewing the film – and even the build-up to its release – is how much there is a sense of an ending here; a much deserved action swansong for this most consistently thrilling of filmic franchises. The opening sequence eludes to this idea where we’re presented with a rather greatest hits montage of all seven preceding Mission films; showcasing the highs and lows of Ethan Hunts journey and how pivotal it is for the said character to carry-out this final endeavour. What was interesting to ponder upon this decision was the way in which these filmic nods rather served a purpose to the events of the Final Reckoning and potentially answered any unresolved queries from yesteryear. More specifically, one previous Mission than any other that is heavily linked and relevant than the rest is that of Mission: Impossible III and how a certain ‘Rabbit’s Foot’ MacGuffin makes itself known and relates to the existence of the Entity. While there are many more nods to the series glittered throughout the runtime, Final Reckoning is first and foremost a sequel to 2023’s Dead Reckoning and is a surmountable continuation that ambitiously pursues a narrative that relates to the anxieties of today. Indeed, whereas the earlier Mission cinematic outings grasp the ground-level espionage thrills, Final Reckoning rather ups-the-ante on its general scale and storytelling through its elaborate formalities and narrative pursuits; an avocation where our protagonists are not only faced-up against the ultimate cyber-baddie in the form of the Entity (who rather rivals the sinister yet calm natured H.A.L in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey), but are tasked in contending with a dire outcome which see’s “the total annihilation of human kind.” McQuarrie here, like his previous Mission endeavours, sticks to the franchises formulae/structure – in providing its central character with his mission, a grand-title opening that grabs your attention with the much beloved and iconic Mission: Impossible theme and grandiose set-pieces that are naturally tense and thrilling to watch on the big-screen. However, its the thematics of the films narrative that is most interesting, considering how extravagant it is to have its antagonist as A.I. cyber-baddie and how close this relates to a lot of other great sci-fi films of the past that revel in this idea of technology and this general idea of computers dominating society (something which is heavily explored in a film like Terminator or The Matrix). With the said, it goes to show that, unusually, this is one of the rare occasions within this consistent franchise where we have a Mission film that isn’t necessarily rich in its action sequences (apart from a couple of which we’ll discuss) and is instead relied-upon exposition and build-up for those said action set-pieces. This then presents a first-act that is arguably considered to be a measured one and takes its time in cementing its premise almost as if no one watched the preceding film. Yet, despite its creaks and cracks under the weight of its set-up, you always feel as though your in safe hands throughout the beginning as there are glimpses that grab your attention and certainly vault you forward on your seat when Cruise’s character finally lunges himself into the first of two resplendent moments.
With a rather slow and rather meandering set-up in place, Final Reckoning makes-up for this with a second half of the runtime with a splendour of action set-pieces that are truly a thrill to perceive. There’s truly an argument to be made that McQuarrie’s now-fourth involvement in the Mission franchise is meant to be tense, dense and stressful and this is executed within two pivotal sequences that will be renowned as among the best the said franchise has ever seen. The first is a true nail-biter and nerve-shredder, in which Ethan makes a daring, potentially deadly ocean dive to retrieve the Entity’s source code from a sunken submarine. It features one of the great rotating sets of cinema, equalling 2001: A Space Odyssey or Inception in its disorientating brilliance, its potent application of production design. The final showdown, in which all the chess pieces finally converge, sees Ethan engage in a jaw-dropping battle in the skies, Cruise hopping casually between two biplanes, with some of the most tumultuous, astonishing stunts he has ever achieved. There’s two things to consider with this specific stunt. The first, from a cinematic point of view, it’s truly breathtaking what is shown, but it’s even more impressive in how we are witnessing Cruise essentially spiral around a plane. The lens, more or less, follows Cruise’s movements very sharply and from different points of view which surmounts this feeling of dread when you’re watching it. The second thing to note is that of Cruise himself who is wholly committed to the spectacle and showmanship. Old enough to qualify for a pensioner’s bus pass, he has never been more game — and is still running, relentlessly, even when there are ample public-transport options available nearby. Running like his life depends on it. Running like cinema depends on it.
This is not to discourage from his committed performance in some of the more tamer sequences as well. Cruise, like in past Mission appearances, balances his vernacular with a plum; you get moments from him where you feel his anguish or his levity when he is a part of a more comical scene. Much of the same praise can be said of Esai Morales as Gabriel who truly embodies an antagonist that you want to see put to rest. His range of emotions from different circumstances of each moment is a joy to watch and this can be said for the rest of the cast who all do a similar job. If there’s one magnificent thing to credit Final Reckoning for, and indeed the whole Mission franchise, is its pursuit of acquiring actors/actresses from different backgrounds and integrating them seamlessly as though they thoroughly coalesce with the different scenarios that are playing out in each respective Mission film.
*Light the fuse* Whether it’s final or not, Final Reckoning carries on the Mission franchise formulae in ways that are both unprecedented and inherently curious. Whilst the initial half of the said film meanders into exposition and build-up, the second and third-acts make sure that McQuarrie’s filmic mission is accomplished. Despite the slow parts, I feel there’s enough intrigue and revelation to be had with the first-act that meticulously thrusts your point-of-view towards fast, tense sequences that not many other action films can boast to match. Then comes Cruise himself who doesn’t appear to be that much different from his debut as Ethan Hunt all the way back in 1996. He’s cinema as the madman dreamer’s paradise. What comes next? Who knows…Their mission, should they choose to accept, is to perhaps create something entirely new; something which hallmarks back to its days of yesteryear and shine a light on new acting arrivals just as the past films have proudly done…
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ – Alex Rabbitte