JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Box Office: Tom Cruise’s final Mission Impossible impresses early critics, outpaces first three films in reviews
Tom Cruise’s final Mission: Impossible film earns early acclaim after its Cannes debut, outpacing the original trilogy ahead of its massive box office launch on May 23.
Tom Cruise’s final outing as Ethan Hunt is making waves everywhere, setting the stage for a blockbuster close to the decades-spanning Mission: Impossible saga. MI – The Final Reckoning, the eighth installment in the franchise, lifted its review embargo following a high‑profile debut at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on May 14. With an early critics’ approval rating of 88 percent, the film is off to a promising start, surpassing the reception of the franchise’s original trilogy.
While it’s still early days, The Final Reckoning is faring better than Mission: Impossible (65 percent), Mission: Impossible 2 (57 percent), and Mission: Impossible 3 (71 percent). However, it currently falls short of the franchise’s critical high points from the post-revival era—Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation (both 94 percent), Dead Reckoning Part One (96 percent), and the near-universally acclaimed Fallout (98 percent).
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who co‑wrote the script with Erik Jendresen, the film continues the story two months after Dead Reckoning Part One (2023). Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must stop rogue agent Gabriel from harnessing an AI program known as The Entity.
The returning cast includes Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, and Angela Bassett, while the score is composed by Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey, following the departure of previous composer Lorne Balfe.
Originally announced in 2019 as part of a two‑film arc, The Final Reckoning underwent several changes. It was initially slated to be filmed back‑to‑back with Part One, but the schedule was adjusted in 2021. Filming began in March 2022 across the UK, Malta, Norway, and South Africa. The SAG‑Aftra strike in mid-2023 paused production, which resumed in March 2024 and wrapped in November that year.
The film, originally subtitled Dead Reckoning Part Two, was retitled The Final Reckoning in November 2024. With a production budget reportedly between USD 300 million and USD 400 million, it stands as one of the most expensive films ever made.
After a world premiere in Tokyo on May 5 and a Cannes screening yesterday, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning is set to hit US theaters on May 23. It shall release in India on May 17, that is 6 days before its domestic release. As Tom Cruise gears up for his final mission, early reactions suggest a thrilling and satisfying send‑off for one of cinema’s most enduring action heroes.
Latest Articles
