Michael Scott
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Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:
Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:
Mission Impossible has been in my life for the better part of 30 years, and frankly, longer than that if you include watching a few episodes of the original show when I was 6 years old. I still remember watching the VHS of the 1996 film back on vacation at Lake Roosevelt with my family and childhood best friend and getting hooked for life. The franchise bounced around all over the place with the John Woo sequel, then settled down for what we all considered the series' end with MI:3. But it was Christopher McQuarrie who took the series up once more and started serializing it with a trilogy of films that would define the series in a trilogy for the age, ending in Mission Impossible: Fallout. Personally, I think that was the absolute peak of the series, ending on what would have been the absolute best-case scenario for the franchise. But to satiate fans and have one gigantic going-away party, Cruise and McQuarrie got the band back together for a one-two punch extravaganza in Dead Reckoning and The Final Reckoning to retire the series once and for all (both Cruise and the powers that be actually want to put it to rest, but we all know how that goes).
I enjoyed Dead Reckoning, but felt the villain a tad weak. But I was willing to give The Final Reckoning a chance since Dead Reckoning was technically just Part One of a singular story. Well, we pick up right after the events of the first film, with Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) in hiding with the cruciform key that would give access to the source code of the AI entity that is taking over the world. Not sure who to give this much power to, Ethan’s hand is forced when the Entity kills his friend Luthor (Ving Rhames) with an impossible task.
But that’s not all. In typical Mission Impossible fashion, there is a litany of plots and sub machinations as Ethan Hunt and his crew battle the ever-expanding Entity, which is slowly taking over all of the world's capable countries in an effort to wipe the world clean and start anew. Desperate to gain an advantage, Ethan does the one thing that the entity wouldn’t expect. Give himself up to the U.S. Government and go on an impossible mission to get the source code and upload a virus into cyberspace that would effectively cripple the AI just long enough to capture it. That is, if the all-powerful worldwide intelligence doesn’t wipe him and his team off the face of the planet first.
There are throwbacks to every single film in the series, including plot points from the 3rd film (the Anti-god device Ethan steals just so happens to be connected to the Entity), characters from previous films, as well as characters CONNECTED to characters from previous films. Simply put, The Final Reckoning is not just a Mission Impossible film. It is an event. A gigantic send-off party for 29 years of Tom Cruise playing Ethan Hunt. If viewed through that lens, some of the bulk and unwieldy nature of the nearly 3-hour film makes perfect sense. It's as if McQuarrie set up a gigantic buffet for the audience to gorge on, mingle about in, and generally enjoy bits of nostalgia from the last 3 decades of the series. And in that role, he does a fantastic job. But on the flip side, the narrative is a bit lackluster and suffers from being the same old thing over and over again as Ethan Hunt laughs his way through a million life-or-death situations.
The plus side is that Tom Cruise knows Ethan Hunt so well that he can just slip into the character like a well-worn suit. Ethan may be a bit tired and beleaguered after being an IMF agent for the last 35 years, but he still knows how to kick butt and take names. McQuarrie turns this into a big-budget extravaganza with death-defying stunts, wisecracks, and some really cool cameos from the original films sort of tie everything together. The other side of that coin is that the stunts feel a bit “been there, done that” and make the IMF team into Superheroes rivaling the likes of Thor and Iron Man, rather than just “ok, this is over the top, but semi-believable” like the previous films. It’s all a bit ridiculous at the end of the day, and I think that even Cruise and McQuarrie understood that as well, just reveling in the fun of ending it all with this finale.
Rating:
Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence and action, bloody images, and brief language.
4K Video:
Video: 
Audio:
Extras:
-- Taking Flight—Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie take you through the biplanes stunt. Witness them push things to the next level to capture these incredible flight sequences.
-- To The Depths—Dive in with Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie to explore every detail of the water tank/moving gimbal, the special masks/water suits, and the rigorous planning and execution of this one-of-a-kind stunt.
-- To The North—Journey with the cast and crew to see how they filmed in extreme conditions to create the breathtaking sequence in the high Arctic of Svalbard.
-- Through the Mine—Explore the Middleton Mine as the team highlights the risks, challenges, and practical elements to pull off this incredible action sequence.
-- The Score—A behind-the-scenes look at the original music composed for the film.
• EDITORIAL CONTENT
-- Deleted Footage Montage with Optional Commentary by Director Christopher McQuarrie—Director Christopher McQuarrie shares some of the stunning, never-before-seen deleted shots that did not make the final film.
-- Olifants River Canyon with Optional Commentary by Director Christopher McQuarrie—Director Christopher McQuarrie details the difficulties of shooting the dangerous, low level flying sequence through the Olifants River Canyon in South Africa.
-- Biplane Transfer with Optional Commentary by Director Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise—Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie discuss the challenges of filming the highly technical and extremely dangerous biplane transfer stunt at high altitudes.
• COMMENTARIES
-- Commentary by Director Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise—Enjoy a compelling, in-depth discussion with Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise.
-- Commentary by Director Christopher McQuarrie, Editor Eddie Hamilton, and First Assistant Director Mary Boulding—Experience the film with riveting insights and analysis from these acclaimed filmmakers.
-- Commentary by Composers Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey, and Score Producer Cécile Tournesac—Hear from the artists who enhance the action with thrilling music.
• PROMO SPOTS
-- Parachute Burn— Watch Tom Cruise earn a Guinness World Record for the most burning parachute jumps by an individual.
-- Snorri Rig Camera— Survival is in the details. See the unique camera set up for Tom as he does his parachute jump.
-- Jump Flip— Witness Tom's epic jump.
-- Long Wing— See Tom hang on to the wing of the biplane mid-flight.
• STILL GALLERIES
-- Tom Cruise (Biography included)
-- Christopher McQuarrie
-- Collaboration
-- Supporting Cast
• ISOLATED SCORE TRACK
Final Score:
Did I enjoy Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning? Absolutely. It was a fun film that had a lot going for it. But at the same time, I have this “looking back, you have 20/20 vision” scenario going on, where I have to admit that the series probably should have ended on Fallout when it wrapped up McQuarrie’s original trilogy. That being said, I do appreciate what they have done in order to intertwine and interconnect the previous 6 films to this end piece 2-parter in an effort to homage and give respect to what came before. At the very least, this is going to be the Demo disc of the year, with perfect audio/video and some amazing extras as well. Fans of the series will definitely want it to complete their set, and for long-time fans like myself, we sort of mist up realizing that this is the last time (probably) that Tom Cruise will ever grace us with Ethan Hunt again. My final recommendation for the film is “fun watch”. And “Goodbye Ethan”
Technical Specifications:
Starring: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Haley Atwell, Henry Czerny, Ving Rhames, Angela Bassett
Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Written by: Christopher McQuarrie, Erik Jendresen
Aspect Ratio: 2.391 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French Dolby Atmos, Spanish, French (Canada) DD 5.1, English DVS
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 169 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 14th, 2025
Recommendation: Fun Watch
