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Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
Score: A-/B+
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, et al
Running time: 170 minutes
Rated PG-13
The final (probably?) movie in the Mission Impossible series, begun almost thirty years ago, goes out on a high note stunt-wise but is otherwise a bit shaky. Whereas in most Missions, all we really know going in is that Ethan Hunt (Cruise) will lead a crack team of agents on a thrilling adventure to avert disaster, we already know a lot about what's likely to happen here, since it's the conclusion to Dead Reckoning's (2023) cliffhanger. We also know, from the title, that this is probably the last one. This leads to two elements that are mixed, at best. First, there is little mystery as to the bad guy's (er, AI's) plot, or even what it's all leading to. Not knowing those things in previous MIs was one of my favorite elements, so it felt strange and disappointing to know way more than usual about it. Second, the film pays plenty of homage to Hunt/Cruise, especially in the beginning (including a montage from past movies), and the character interactions are unusually emotional, even sentimental. At times, and to a certain degree, this is warranted, but I think it goes overboard. It results in the movie being far too long, the beginning is very clunky and out of character for the franchise, and it's occasionally cringey.
Still, I give the movie fairly high marks despite all that because the stunts are as tremendous as ever. There are two different extended, insanely gripping, well-choreographed/shot, and entertaining sequences. One is underwater in a sunken submarine; despite no villains or dialogue, it is amazing. Poor Hunt has to get past one obstacle after another, and you can deeply feel the danger and difficulty of his situation throughout. The sets are awesome and the fairly minimal CGI is seamless; the you feel like you're underwater with Cruise, and his final escape is sweet release. The second is quite a bit different, other than involving a vehicle: this time, Hunt is in midair hanging from and climbing between two vintage biplanes. This is all real stunt work, done by Cruise himself. I couldn't help but laugh a few times at the sheer ludicrousness of the action but you've never seen anything like it before. These two stunts sequences are worth the price of admission alone, and demand a trip to the theater. The parts in between you can put up with, and maybe say a fond farewell to this tireless group of actors, crew, and filmmakers who have entertained us for the last few decades.
Ballerina (from the World of John Wick)
Score: B+
Directed by Len Wiseman
Starring Ana de Armas, Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves et al
Running time: 125 minutes
Rated R
This is the rare spin-off movie that is really good, both appropriate to the original John Wick's tone and world but also adding something new and not just a retread. John Wick (2014) started an excellent new action franchise that stands way above most others in the genre thanks to its intriguing, detailed world building and, of course, the inventive, pulse-pounding, extremely well-choreographed battles. Ana de Armas is a great choice for a new character in this world, with her experience in other action movies. She is very convincing in the action scenes and, to my eyes, is about the ultimate femme fatale, quite gorgeous despite not being presented as such intentionally, and equally deadly. Her character, Eve, doesn't get quite as effective a story as Wick, but it works well enough. And as opposed to the new MI, the first third of the film is perhaps the best part, featuring an excellent sequence of training scenes that helps distinguish Eve from Wick and others like them. The Wick world elements are seamlessly incorporated and expanded here, from use of the assassins' dens in the civilized guise of Continental hotels to the crime families with historical yet tense truces. The action scenes are superbly done, pretty much on par with the other Wick movies, and Eve gets her own fighting style, separate from Wick's. Like his, though, the fights are not simply effortless mowing down of bad guys: Eve takes plenty of licks, too, and it feels all the more impressive that she keeps on ticking and taking out the astonished baddies. The only significant disappointment to me, in fact, was too much involvement from Reeves's Wick in the final part of the movie. A small (dialogue-based) scene with him at the beginning is fine and appropriate, but it's as if the filmmakers (more likely, the studio) believed they had to include their big star more to satisfy the audience. It's still a fun finale - especially with the flamethrowers, even if it's a bit overplayed - but it leans too much to the body count side, to my taste, whereas smaller scale, more intimate/intense fights would have better suited Eve. Still, this is a great success both on its own as an individual action movie, and as a continuation of John Wick's tremendous movie franchise.
***
I was very pleased to get to see new entries of two of my favorite action/adventure franchises in Mission Impossible and John Wick this summer. MI, bitter sweetly, is probably now (and should be) concluded - Tom Cruise is the franchise, his face and more importantly his astounding stunts that I doubt will ever be repeated. That's fine - but I certainly hope that ambitious actors and filmmakers in Hollywood will come up with something new to take its place. Something like Keanu Reeves's John Wick movies, which are my favorite new action franchise since, well, MI. Reeves's own role is also probably now over - but in this case, the franchise is well-suited to new characters, as Ana de Armas definitely proved in Ballerina. I would recommend going to see both of these movies in theaters - I encourage seeing all movies in theaters, but especially movies like these (and extra especially MI). You'll get a bit more enjoyment out of each if you've seen the previous movies in their respective series. But both are great by themselves, too (warning for Ballerina, though: it is quite a bit more violent than MI). Until next time!
* By source http://www.impawards.com/2025/mission_impossible__the_final_reckoning_ver2_xxlg.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78335261
* By source
