Watching Tom Cruise in the Mission: Impossible movies is like watching a hyperactive, daredevil kid. “Daddy, look what I can do!” Then they proceed to pull a somersault or mini-jump that almost gives you a heart attack. For years, Cruise has used his popular film series to flaunt to us his ability to pull off different kinds of stunts. He enjoys it, and we do, too. And as expected, The Final Reckoning has a few moments that leave audiences shouting, “Holy heavens! How did he do that?”
A notable aspect of the final installment is that, despite its massive running time of 170 minutes, it features less action compared to the previous installments. This is understandable, considering that Cruise and McQuarrie needed to tie up all loose ends. Dialogue takes up a huge portion of the time, but you’ll love every bit of it. And whenever the action finally unfolds, it sure feels like it was worth the foreplay.
Here is every stunt and fight scene, ranked from average to best.
7
The Confrontation at the South African Digital Bunker
After retrieving the Entity’s source code stored on a hard drive called the podkova (later revealed to be Rabbit’s Foot) from the sunken Russian submarine, the Sevastopol, Ethan devises a plan to use a “Poison Pill” device developed by his late teammate Luther to trap the sentient AI system, isolating it from all major global networks.
Since Gabriel is in a bunker in South Africa with the “Poison Pill,” Ethan and his team head there. Once they arrive, Gabriel reveals a timed nuclear device with a 20-minute countdown and demands the podkova in exchange for disarming the bomb. A gunfight ensues when CIA operatives led by Kittridge and Briggs arrive, wanting to secure the Entity for the U.S. government.
Messy Indoor Shootout
The stakes are massive, but the action is a little underwhelming because it’s the standout indoor shootout kind where everyone takes cover and tries their best not to get hit. Unfortunately, Benji isn’t so lucky. He catches a bullet, resulting in some hilarious moments where he keeps passing out just when his teammates are depending on him for crucial information.
The bunker moment could have been better if it featured fewer players and more creative ways for people to attack each other, rather than guns. On a positive note, this sequence serves as an ideal setup for the bi-plane tussle that happens shortly after.
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6
The Prison Break
The enemy of your enemy is your friend. At the end of Dead Reckoning, Gabriel stabs Paris and leaves her for dead, fearing she might betray him. At the start of The Final Reckoning, it’s revealed that she is now at the notorious Graz-Karlau prison in Austria.
Since Ethan and his team are eager to get Gabriel, they figure they could use Paris. They thus infiltrate the prison and break her out, but before that happens, she fights them, believing they are attackers (because they are in disguise).
A New Ally
Here, Paris makes a case for herself for why she deserves her female-led action spin-off. The IMF members almost get beaten to submission before they reveal their true identities.
However, the scene’s appeal doesn’t lie in the hand-to-hand combat only. The stealth and disguise elements are also beautifully executed, reminding fans of the famous Kremlin infiltration in Ghost Protocol. Regrettably, the prison break doesn’t last long enough. Just as audiences are beginning to enjoy it, the camera cuts to the next agenda.
5
Obliterating Gabriel’s Lackeys
Early in the movie, Ethan and Grace are captured by Gabriel. The villain wants the protagonist to retrieve the Entity’s source code from the Sevastopol in exchange for releasing Grace. But Ethan has been doing this long enough to know that men like Gabriel cannot be trusted. Ethan thus pretends to swallow a cyanide capsule, and when Gabriel’s men try to revive him, he massacres them all.
One-Man-Army… Briefly
This is a “lest you forget” reminding everyone that Ethan is one of the best at dashing through holes whenever he has been cornered. He has been in such situations many times before, and he has always found ways to get out.
The scene’s wow factor stems from its horror-style barbarity, suggesting that, at this point in the saga, Ethan has had enough. Whoever has to die will die so that the world isn’t destroyed. Unfortunately, a great chunk of the action happens off-screen and then gets played for gags. We see the aftermath, one lackey crushed beneath a metal box, and another lying on top of the box, with a cleaver jammed into his back. Understandably, Grace is shocked. “Is this the Ethan I know?” she wonders. As expected, the protagonist plays it all down.
4
The USS Ohio Fight
Ethan is granted permission to use a Virginia-class submarine as part of his mission to reach the sunken Sevastopol. The sub is meant to take him behind enemy lines to the Sevastopol‘s location once the coordinates are transmitted. While he is inside it, he is attacked by a rogue crew member who’s secretly loyal to the Entity.
“You gave him an aircraft carrier?”
The fight brings back memories of another incredible moment — the bathroom fight in Fallout. There’s no dull moment in the close-quarters hand-to-hand combat in the sub’s tight spaces. With little room to maneuver, the two parties are left with no option but to engage again and again.
Even better, the attack begins as a jump scare. Ethan doesn’t expect anyone to harm him. Neither does the audience. In a rare moment, the movie acknowledges that the IMF member cannot always handle everything by himself. Ethan almost gets beaten to death until he is saved by one of his buddies.
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3
Ethan’s Team Versus the Russians at St. Matthew Island
Ethan’s team travels to St. Matthew Island in the Bering Sea, the location of a Cold War–era naval sonar array that was the first to detect Sevastopol‘s sinking. There, they find the disgraced CIA analyst William Donloe (from the 1996 Mission: Impossible), who was banished to the island years after a break-in at Langley. He happens to have memorized the Sevastopol‘s coordinates, but a Russian special forces unit also shows up looking for the coordinates, resulting in a deadly battle.
Mayhem at the Cabin
It’s always nice when every team member participates. That’s what happens here. Benji, Degas, and Paris all fend off the attackers in different ways. Meanwhile, Grace and Tapeesa flee to meet Ethan with a decompression chamber after he retrieves the podkova from the Sevastopol.
The sequence keeps audiences on the edge because it’s not just about the fight. The coordinates need to be transmitted, and the cabin has also caught fire. Will this mission be completed? And, thank God for that fire because we get to witness some incredible visuals.
2
Exploring the Sevastopol Wreck
The film’s longest sequence is dedicated to Ethan exploring the Sevastopol wreck in search of the module. Predictably, things got worse. The sub’s interior starts flooding, causing the wreckage to start down to deeper levels of the ocean bed. The sequence plays out for over 10 minutes, and every moment is golden.
Aqua-Tom
James Cameron might secretly be wishing he had directed the Sevastopol exploration. It’s one of the most visually striking scenes ever witnessed in cinema. Fans are treated to various incredible shots from both inside the sub and out. Cruise must have enjoyed every moment here. There are also some terrifying shots of crew members who never made it out of the sub and have remained frozen ever since. Most importantly, the tension is maintained. For the longest time, it feels like Ethan won’t make it out of the water. Luckily, he does.
1
The Bi-Plane Tussle
Talk of saving the best for last. After the shootout at the South African digital bunker, Gabriel escapes on a plane with the Poison Pill, so Ethan pursues him on another plane. After much struggle, he manages to climb onto Gabriel’s plane midair. Shortly after, Gabriel is thrown from the cockpit, and as he attempts to activate his parachute, his skull gets split open by the rudder. Ethan then finds a second parachute and lands with the Poison Pill.
Adios Gabriel
Cinema is filled with numerous aerial stunts, but few top this, probably even none. Everything about it is stunning, from close-up shots of the two adversaries to stunning views of the ground below. Like the underwater mission, the bi-plane sequence isn’t hurried. Ethan takes a long time to get to Gabriel’s plane, a reflection of how the situation would play out if it happened in the real world. And it’s refreshing for Gabriel to be given a cartoonish Bond-villain-like death instead of Ethan killing him. You have to watch the entire sequence to fully appreciate it.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
