JASON EVANS' 100-WORD REVIEWS: Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

Stunning stunts, but in need of restraint

Film critic Jason Evans has made it his mission to tell you about movies in less time than it takes to decode a secret message. His reviews are exactly 100 words long (99 is never enough and 101 is too much). Here is his 100-word review of Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning.

The Premise: After the events of Dead Reckoning, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is in possession of the cruciform key which will allow him to get access to the source code for the rogue AI known as The Entity. Gabriel (Esai Morales), who has broken with the Entity, as well as numerous governments want to control The Entity and its nearly unlimited power. The U.S. president (Angella Bassett) informs Ethan that The Entity knows the only way it can protect itself is to destroy mankind. It is slowly taking control of all the world’s nuclear weapons. Once it completes that task, it will hide away in a computer-filled bunker and launch the missiles. Perhaps the only way to save mankind is for Ethan and his team (Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Pom Klementieff, and Hayley Atwell) to find where The Entity source code is located and then destroy it with a computer virus. Doing so will require them to complete not one, but a series of seemingly impossible missions. If any of them fail, The Entity will end life on Earth.

The 100-Words: As that paragraph explaining the basic premise shows, the plot is complicated and requires numerous loooong exposition dumps. Frankly, everything about the movie is too long, even the incredible stunt sequences. The story often separates Ethan from his team, which is a pity because the team is fabulous, an emotional highlight. Despite its many flaws, this film is full of jaw-dropping spectacle and stunning action sequences. Are we sure Tom Cruise didn’t die while filming this??!?! The MI franchise has grown tired and needs a reset, but at least it goes out with Cruise giving his all to entertain us.

Reach out to Jason Evans on Twitter @JasonDukeEvans

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