On May 22, Ukrainian cinemas will release the cult film by the director of the franchise «Mission Impossible» starring the same Tom Cruise as IMF agent Ethan Hunt. In particular, we are talking about the eighth episode of the series with the subtitle «Final Reckoning», which is a direct continuation of the previous film «Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One». Formally, the novelty aims to complete Hunt’s story, but who knows how it will turn out in reality. In the review below, we will tell you how the farewell to the tireless savior of the world is going, which may not be the final one.
Genre spy action
Director Christopher McQuarrie
Starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Cerny, Angela Bassett, Esai Morales, Pom Klementiev, Nick Offerman, Anna Waddingham
Premiere movie theaters
Year of release 2025
Website IMDb, official website
When malevolent artificial intelligence called «Entity» threatens to unleash a nuclear apocalypse, Ethan Hunt becomes humanity’s last hope for salvation. To do this, he must dive into the cold waters of the Bering Sea, visit the sunken submarine «Sevastopol», and engage in a kind of aerial duel on biplanes.
Tom Cruise has long since proved everything to everyone, but he can’t rest on his laurels not going to. His flagship brainchild «Mission Impossible» has long been working according to a well-established formula, proving once again that there are no impossible missions — which is all it takes to undermine the Kremlin.
In an era of endless franchises, perhaps this one has the least complaints because unlike superhero exploits or invincible street racers, the detachment from reality here seems the most down-to-earth, and that’s worth a lot. First and foremost, the appeal of «Mission» lies in its superstar Tom Cruise, who is always willing to do some crazy stunt for the camera.
In a sense, Ethan Hunt is the Dominic Toretto of a healthy man, and we are repeatedly told that he cares for his team (read: family) like a madman. This care exists more for show than for any sane drama, and the members of the IMF squad change rapidly from film to film — Ving Rhames from the old team stays here, and Simon Pegg from the slightly newer one. So there is no need to miss the members who have left for one reason or another, except for Rebecca Ferguson.
However, when it comes to superheroic abilities, and Ethan Hunt and Dom Toretto are nothing if not superheroes, the former wins over his on-screen counterpart by a considerable margin. This is mostly because of his dedication to the job rather than relying on stunt doubles or CGI magic. And this fierce professional passion completely offsets the absolute conventionality of what is happening on the screen, the abuse of rusty genre clichés, the repetition of the past and the overt self-flattery in the frame — hardly anyone on the planet has the authority to forbid the latter to Mr. Cruise.
His agent has become so cool and invincible that throwing an ordinary person against this dinosaur, whether it’s a good guy like Philip Seymour Hoffman or even former Superman Mr. Henry Cavill, is a futile and uninteresting endeavor. But to make an analog hero fight the digital plague from head to toe is a great way to raise the stakes, vital for a long-term project, and a message that is relevant to today. Most importantly, an equivalent antagonism. Who else but little John Connor can so categorically «hold Skynet by the balls»?
The authors of «The Final Reckoning», as befits a possible ending to a long-running story, do not shy away from referring to the previous installments, since we have already mentioned some characters from there. At the very beginning, the viewer will see a nostalgic cut from moments of all the films in the series. Here we will have to remember again about «Fast & Furious», the sixth part of which opened with a similar clip, though not to the voiceover of Angela Bassett, but to the incendiary «We Own It» by 2 Chainz and Wiz Khalifa.
The story will also feature another important date — May 22, 1996. It is not difficult to decipher its symbolism — it was on this day 29 years ago that the first «Mission» by Brian De Palma premiered.
If you recall, the opening scene was accompanied by a Russian transliteration of the title «Kiev» instead of the Ukrainian «Kyiv», which is not surprising, since the collapse of the Soviet Union took place only five years ago. In contrast, in «The Final Reckoning», you can see a map showing Ukraine in the form we are all familiar with — including Crimea and everything else, which is a rather telling gesture.
The eighth film lasts ten minutes and three hours, including the final credits: it seems that Tom Cruise and company simply do not want to let go of the story that is so dear to them and say goodbye to it. The local leisurely pace is definitely not good for the film because not only can a long-running time scare off some of the audience, which will negatively affect the box office. Also, marinating in a screening without much enthusiasm does not look like leisure time spent with benefit.
However, when the star of this show finally takes on the job he does best, the inner skeptic instantly shuts his mouth and humbly admires the outstanding work of a man of, for a moment, retirement age. That is, for Cruise, pulling off another T-1000 — like cross-country is just a warm-up. And the scene in the submarine sunk in the cold and dark Bering Sea, plus the miracles on the revolutions in sunny South Africa — is exactly what makes us all freeze at the screens in trembling expectation that Ethan will succeed again, no matter how hopeless the situation may seem.
It’s probably not the shiniest coin in the hoard, or even the previous «Dead Reckoning Part One» looked livelier, more intense, and more authentic, or something. But it’s a fitting end to a nearly 30-year journey at top speed, even if it’s here that the momentum slows down a bit. In the end, it’s a solid and honest summer blockbuster that, like its protagonist, feels confident, especially among the tired Marvel-Fast & Furious fairy tales.