Our lives are the sum of our choices. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

The 8^th and final film in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ series (supposedly!) sees the conclusion of the story arc established in the previous film (‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’), where Ethan Hunt and crew are tasked with hunting down a powerful rogue AI known as ‘The Entity’. If you’re still going to see ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies at this stage in its 30 year run then you are clearly a fan, and this concluding movie has everything you’ve come to expect from this series over its history. The best way to describe it would be enjoyable nonsense, but by god, there isn’t anyone around even attempting, let alone pulling off, the kind of stunts Tom Cruise is doing, and it’s a thrill seeing what he’s going to do next. ‘The Final Reckoning’ does not let anyone down in that regard.

In the interests of fairness it is worth pointing out that the plot doesn’t really make sense, Esai Morales isn’t great as the main human villain, and the first act is cumbersome and bordering on slow and boring. That isn’t to say these things don’t matter, but this is a ‘Mission: Impossible’ movie, and by the time the action really kicks in you’ll be forgetting how you felt at the beginning or even frantically re-evaluating it in your mind. That is to say all the setup and all the nonsensical plotting and cheesy exposition is essentially just a framework to hang some of the highest quality action sequences you’ll see together and on that front, by god does this deliver. I’ll not spoil the details, but if you’re a fan of the series, you’ll find much to enjoy here.

The quality has dipped a bit since the high watermarks of the series between movies 4 and 6 (‘Ghost Protocol’, ‘Rogue Nation’ and ‘Fallout’), but the stunts have continued to get wilder and I did quite enjoy the casting in this one, with enjoyable supporting roles for the likes of Tramell Tillman, Nick Offerman and Hannah Waddingham amongst the numerous returning cast members. Does it need to be 3 hours long? No. Is the plot a load of nonsense that would stand up to scrutiny? Of course. Does it really matter? Not really. This was thoroughly entertaining and great viewing on an IMAX screen – it’s probably the right time to end the series but I can’t say I wouldn’t be back if they decide to make another one.

Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Christoper McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, Pom Klementieff, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Tramell Tillman, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, Mark Gatiss, Rolf Saxon, Lucy Tulugarjuk, Katy O’Brian and Pasha D. Lychnikoff 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt9603208/