Note: Tom Cruise fans may want to put this down now and move on to a more sympathetic review.
In this time of great political division, renewed threats of nuclear war and a general, social media-fueled breakdown in communication, we sometimes need a break. The summer blockbuster has traditionally offered a vital bit of escapism, a dash of fun, plenty of excitement and a chance to reset, as it were.
Not this one. If anything, it amplifies our fears, even depicting, more than once, total global nuclear destruction. Of course, you say, it can’t be all doom and gloom. There’s always some well-timed comic relief in these things. Wrong again.
I’ve said this before, so I won’t belabor it, Tom Cruise is a mediocre actor, a Scientology shill. That said, taken from a standpoint of precisely choreographed and thrilling stunts, these Mission: Impossible movies have no equal.
But this movie is nearly three hours long. So what you will see is 30 minutes, max, of unbelievable, exciting stunts and then two and a half hours of Cruise trying to act, along with flashes back to previous M:I movies and forward to the looming Armageddon. Hey, no one goes to M:I movies for the acting.
In addition, the already labyrinthine plot keeps getting more complex, requiring lots and lots of additional exposition between stunts. Explanation Incessant? If you should momentarily forget how important and self-sacrificing this mission is, it will remind you at least every 20 minutes. It’s a long walk to get to the biplane scene on the posters. Maybe sneak in two hours late.
Note: While the stunts are undeniably impressive, they’re moving toward superhero territory. And since Cruise’s chances of failure are nil (Who does he think he is? Vin Diesel?), that makes them kind of less exciting. There is, however, a scene where Tom fights in his underwear, so there’s that.
This is the eighth M:I movie, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, they say it’s the last, but if you believe that, I’ve got some oceanfront property in Arizona I’d like you to look at. I know a sequel setup when I see one. (169 min)
Will be released in Japan May 23 2025.
Curious about the prior M:I movie? Head to Don Morton’s review of it here.
