Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is expected to be the end of the line for Tom Cruise's iconic IMF agent, Ethan Hunt, and the first critic reactions have been shared on X following screenings across the globe last night.
The response is largely very positive, though it does sound like you'll need to do your homework and rewatch each of the previous instalments to get the most out of this conclusion. Some seem to feel it's a little self-indulgent, comparing Hunt to the Fast & Furious franchise's Dominic Toretto.
Overall, though, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning sounds like a fun time at the movies, with plenty of edge-of-your-seat action and a story that does right by Cruise's most iconic silver screen role.
Of course, we know better by now than to put too much stock into social media reactions like these. Ultimately, it will be the reviews that paint a clearer picture of what to expect from a movie that may end the long-running franchise that began in 1996.
Paramount Pictures decided to ditch the "Dead Reckoning Part Two" subtitle from the sequel a while ago - likely because Dead Reckoning Part One wasn't the hit it expected - and The Final Reckoning title has been used to suggest that Hunt's time is up (making this more of a must-see event, in the process).
Earlier this year, Cruise was asked whether this movie marks the end for his IMF agent and replied, "You gotta see the movie [Laughs]. It’s a hard thing for me to discuss at the moment, because it really is something that you have to experience." He'd add that The Final Reckoning is "an epic, emotional journey of the entire franchise... It’s Homeric."
Filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie was also reluctant to confirm or deny anything. "It is, I hope, the satisfying conclusion to a 30-year story arc," he explained. "I’m pretty confident that people are going to feel that the title was appropriate."
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One was widely considered a financial disappointment in 2023, despite earning $570.6 million worldwide (unfortunately, it underperformed domestically with just $172.6 million). However, The Final Reckoning is eyeing a franchise-best debut in North America over Memorial Day weekend.
"Our lives are the sum of our choices. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning," reads the brief synopsis for the movie.
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning stars Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Tramell Tillman and Angela Bassett, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, Mark Gatiss, with Rolf Saxon, Lucy Tulugarjuk.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning arrives in theaters on May 23, 2025.