For those who love buttered popcorn and Milk Duds in front of the big screen, Memorial Day weekend was a good weekend. It also was good for AMC Entertainment (AMC), which operates 10,000 screens in 900 theaters across the globe.
Category: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
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Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning action scenes, ranked
When you think of Mission: Impossible, the first thing you probably think about is the action that has defined the franchise since its inception. That’s become especially true in later installments, which have been defined by Tom Cruise doing increasingly insane things to entertain audiences.
The Final Reckoning has arrived, and it may or may not be the last installment in this franchise. We’ve ranked the five best major action sequences in The Final Reckoning to commemorate this film and its memorable set pieces.
5. The opening pursuit
The Final Reckoning is less action-forward than some previous installments in the franchise. The movie’s opening pursuit is indicative of that, as Ethan and Grace try to hunt down Gabriel and the Entity following the events of Dead Reckoning.
It’s not the most inspiring stuff, but seeing Benji, Paris, and Theo rescue Ethan and Grace is a lovely subversion of how the action in these movies usually goes.
4. The showdown at the bunker
Paramount Pictures and Skydance This is a fairly conventional gunfight between the CIA and Gabriel’s forces, and one that Ethan only shows up for near the end.
It’s followed by much more electrifying stuff, but even this relatively standard set piece is a reminder of Christopher McQuarrie’s unique flair for action, even if it’s not as inventive as some of what we’ve seen in previous installments.
3. The firefight with the Russians
Paramount Pictures The best of the more minor action sequences in The Final Reckoning involves Grace and William Donloe’s wife exchanging fire with Russian special forces as they try to get the coordinates for the Sevastopol, which he has memorized.
It’s yet another set piece that doesn’t feel all that inventive. However, it’s executed basically to perfection. It’s also an important reminder of how good Haley Atwell is at the action part of the Mission formula.
2. The biplane chase
Paramount Pictures / Paramount Pictures Although the other entries on this list are notable, the two most important set pieces in The Final Reckoning occupy the top spots on this list. McQuarrie and Cruise have spent plenty of time discussing all the ways the actor’s work outside of the biplane was dangerous. Let me tell you, it looks spectacular.
As Ethan and Gabriel battle while flying over South Africa, we get to see just how much danger Cruise was willing to put himself in for the sake of a good shot. It’s not quite as great as the helicopter fight at the end of Fallout, but it’s definitely covering similar terrain and might feel even more perilous.
1. The Sevastopol extraction
Paramount Pictures One of the greatest set pieces in the history of this entire franchise. The underwater work done by Ethan, who travels to the bottom of the ocean to extract the rabbit’s foot from the Sevastopol, is simply stunning. Underwater cinematography is very easy to do wrong, but McQuarrie nails the ocean’s beauty and its perilous nature.
There have only been a handful of water stunts in Mission: Impossible’s history. This is by far the best. Every obstacle Ethan encounters, right up until he’s forced to swim back up to the surface with nothing but his underwear to protect him, makes the sequence more tense and alive. Like all of the best action sequences, I have no idea how they pulled it off.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning is now in theaters.
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Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning ending, explained
Was that the end for Ethan Hunt? Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning was definitely pitched as the conclusion of Tom Cruise’s 30-year saga with Ethan Hunt, and The Final Reckoning has an ending that does feel quite definitive. There are some major character deaths and plenty of the action that fans of this franchise have come to love. Let’s break it all down.
What happens in The Final Reckoning?
The Final Reckoning is, more than most Mission: Impossible movies, a direct sequel to its predecessor. As a result, it follows Ethan and his team as they attempt to stop Gabriel and the AI system known as The Entity from taking over the world by controlling various nuclear stockpiles. To take down The Entity, Ethan and his team have to hack the source code from inside the sonarsphere at the bottom of the sunken Sevastopol submarine. Then, they must use Luther’s poison pill to take it down.
This leads to Hunt swimming down into the submarine and briefly losing consciousness before ultimately being revived by Grace. After confronting Gabriel, the team is flanked by Jim Phelps Jr. and the team from the CIA. Gabriel flees in a biplane, which leads to the most thrilling set piece of the movie as Hunt chases him down and hangs from the wing of the plane. The two battle in mid-air, with Hunt eventually emerging victorious and securing both the poison pill and the source code.
How does the movie end?
Paramount Pictures and Skydance Needless to say, Hunt and the team complete their mission and save the world from the Entity. Ethan’s parachute catches on fire as he attempts to put the poison pill in the podkova. He ultimately makes it to the ground intact. All those people concerned that Cruise would kill off his most well-known character turned out to be overreacting. Ethan survives this mission alive.
He and the rest of the team briefly reunite in London at the end before dispersing back into the crowd, satisfied that their mission is now complete.
Who lives and who dies?
Paramount Pictures Although you might expect a climactic installment like this to be filled with deaths, only one major character bites the dust in The Final Reckoning. Luther, who has been with Ethan since the beginning, dies in this chapter, a signal that Ving Rhames can no longer do the required action scenes and that this franchise might truly be coming to a close. Luther’s death comes fairly early on in the movie, when a bomb planted by Gabriel and his men under the streets of London explodes.
Nick Offerman’s General Sidney also bites the dust thanks to a bullet from an Entity spy, but he is a new character to the franchise in this installment.
Is this the end of Mission: Impossible?
Paramount Pictures / Paramount Pictures While it’s impossible to say for sure, the vibes certainly suggest that Cruise and McQuarrie are ready to walk away from this franchise following this installment. Ethan Hunt might still be around to save the day, but this movie’s ending suggests that we might not be privy to the rest of his adventures. He averted nuclear apocalypse, and he’s earned a long break.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning is now in theaters.
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Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning first reactions are mixed, and that’s disappointing
In the trailer for Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt asks someone to trust him one last time. Judging by the first reactions on social media, Cruise is now asking the audience to trust him that he still delivered an action spectacle.
The social media embargo lifted for Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning on May 12. The initial reactions are mixed, which comes as a surprise considering how much praise the last few entries have received.
Erik Davis of Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes said Cruise takes The Final Reckoning to the next level. “It’s the biggest, wildest, and most consequential Mission movie yet,” Davis wrote on X.
Good Day’s Chicago Jake Hamilton called the plane sequence “one of cinema’s greatest stunts.” Hamilton wrote, “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning is a love letter to fans who just rewatched the entire series.”
Indiewire’s David Ehrlich had a more negative reaction, calling it “dull and dysfunctional.” Despite praising the set pieces, Ehrlich was ultimately disappointed by The Final Reckoning, calling it a “massive heartbreaker.”
Griffin Schiller compared Final Reckoning to The Rise of Skywalker, saying it “plays like an egregious franchise greatest hits.”
Mission: Impossible is the gold standard for action franchises, so it’s disappointing to read about the mixed reactions. Cruise’s action sequences, including the death-defying plane stunt, will certainly be a highlight. However, the conflicting reception is not ideal, especially for a franchise that might have to disappear for the foreseeable future before Cruise returns or another actor steps in as the new lead.
Cruise headlines The Final Reckoning as Ethan Hun, the IMF agent who must race to find the Entity and destroy it before it gets into the wrong hands. The ensemble includes Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Mariela Garriga, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Tramell Tillman, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, Mark Gatiss, Rolf Saxon, Lucy Tulugarjuk and Angela Bassett.
Christopher McQuarrie directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning opens in theaters on May 23.
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Tom Cruise is human. Here’s the one stunt he couldn’t do in Mission: Impossible
Tom Cruise is Hollywood’s resident daredevil. The 62-year-old has become famous for completing death-defying stunts in his movies, notably the Mission: Impossible franchise. While playing Ethan Hunt, Cruise hung off the side of an airplane, performed a HALO jump at 25,000 feet, and drove a motorcycle off a cliff before skydiving to safety.
Cruise even scaled the Burj Khalifa, a feat initially deemed too dangerous by the “safety guy” on set. As Matt Damon famously recalled to Conan O’Brien, Cruise hired another safety guy to clear the stunt.
Knowing Cruise will do anything to achieve a stunt makes it even more surprising to hear that he turned down a physical feat in Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. While promoting the film in Japan, Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie explained the film’s upcoming action sequence featuring Ethan on the wing of a plane. When planning the stunt, McQuarrie wanted Cruise to complete a walk within a few seconds. For possibly the first time in his life, Cruise said no.
“And then we talked about story, and he was like, ‘Okay, I want you to go from here to here in a couple of seconds,’” Cruise said (via @thingstocarefor). “I was like, ‘I can’t do that.’ He’s like, ‘Okay, well, I want you to do this and this.’ I was like, ‘I really can’t do that.’”
Even McQuarrie was shocked to hear the word “can’t” come out of Cruise’s mouth. Due to the force of the air pushing up against his body, Cruise could not complete the walk in a matter of seconds. Instead of continuing to explain it, Cruise decided the best thing to do was have his director complete the stunt.
Cruise said, “So I just said, ‘Listen, I think the best thing is if you just do it. Go out, sit in the airplane, go out on the wing, and feel it. Feel the pressure.’ So, here I am, training him.”
After a 20-minute tutorial, McQuarrie walked on the wing of the plane and loved it. “It was great, actually,” McQuarrie said. “Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I would definitely do it again.”
See the entire plane sequence with Cruise in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, in theaters on May 23.
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One last ride for Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning trailer
Tom Cruise is choosing to accept his final assignment in the latest trailer for Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.
Is this the end for Cruise’s Ethan Hunt? The trailer emphasizes that Ethan needs his team to trust him “one last time.” The footage revisits some of Ethan’s most famous stunts, including the CIA vault break-in, the Kremlin bombing, and the gassing of the security briefing. Even though the government doesn’t fully trust Ethan, they know he’s necessary to keeping the peace. “If we want to bring the world back from the brink, we have to deal with him,” the voiceover states as Ethan prepares to save the world.
After the events of Dead Reckoning, Ethan has the cruciform key in his possession. Now, it’s a race to find The Entity, a powerful AI program on a sunken Russian submarine. The balance of power will shift to whoever controls the Entity, so it’s up to Ethan and his team to destroy it and make sure it never gets into the wrong hands.
Besides Cruise, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning stars Hayley Atwell as Grace, Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell, Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, Vanessa Kirby as Alanna Mitsopolis, Esai Morales as Gabriel, Pom Klementieff as Paris, Shea Whigham as Jasper Briggs, Greg Tarzan Davis as Degas, Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge, and Angela Bassett as Erika Sloane.
Paramount Pictures Newcomers include Hannah Waddingham, Nick Offerman, Lucy Tulugarjuk, Katy O’Brian, Holt McCallany, and Tramell Tillman.
Christopher McQuarrie returns to direct Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning from a screenplay he cowrote with Erik Jendresen. Before its May release, The Final Reckoning is rumored to premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
Paramount Pictures will release Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning on May 23, 2025.