‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ review: Tom Cruise delivers a high-octane farewell

The final chapter of the saga sees Ethan Hunt face off against a dangerously powerful AI in a spectacular, full-throttle adventure.

In ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’, Tom Cruise signs off from the franchise that redefined the modern action genre — and he does so on his own terms. This eighth instalment sees Ethan Hunt embark on his most perilous mission yet: to stop an all-powerful AI known as The Entity, capable of manipulating truth, igniting conflict between nations, and threatening global annihilation through misinformation and deepfakes.

The film picks up where the last one left off, with Hunt and his loyal IMF team — Grace (Hayley Atwell), Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg) — racing to retrieve a cruciform key that, when used on the sunken Podkova device aboard a wrecked Russian submarine, could destroy the AI from within. It’s a thrillingly absurd concept, delivered with such earnest commitment and technical brilliance that it becomes impossible not to enjoy the ride.

Director Christopher McQuarrie delivers a visually arresting spectacle filled with callbacks to earlier films — including the obligatory Cruise sprint — and introduces a standout new character in Captain Bledsoe, played with magnetic charm by Tramell Tillman.

And yes, Cruise once again defies gravity, this time clinging to a vintage propeller plane in a dizzying aerial sequence that reminds us why the Mission: Impossible films are made for the big screen.

Far more than a standard action sequel, ‘The Final Reckoning’ is a love letter to physical cinema in an increasingly digital age. If this truly is Cruise’s farewell to Ethan Hunt, he leaves on a high — still sprinting, still leaping, and still holding the clock at bay. A fitting, breathtaking end to a cinematic legacy.