If you haven't seen any of the previous films that started with Mission: Impossible (1996), which was the first of now eight entries, don't worry. The first hour of this film is basically a recap of all the major moments from the past seven installments till now. These films were adapted from the 1966 TV series, which is now almost 60 years old, only slightly younger than its star. Ironically, this film acts as if it's the season or possibly series finale to a TV show. Back in the day, TV shows would have finales that often took the form of a retrospective, looking back at the major moments from its beginning. This usually includes clips from those past entries. Director and co-writer Christopher McQuarrie is doing exactly that. This film spends an inordinate amount of time looking back. If you were unfamiliar or forgot a lot of the lore here, McQuarrie will remind you and certainly refresh your memory. For those who are die-hard fans, this film plays the hits and drops in Easter eggs to pull at your nostalgia strings. One could argue that this one of them all is the most derivative. Others could argue that it's a victory lap celebrating the whole franchise.
Tom Cruise (Jack Reacher and Top Gun) stars as Ethan Hunt, a spy who works for the IMF. His last mission had him battling not a person but an artificial intelligence that is trying to control humanity and then destroy it. In order to stop it, he needed a cruciform key, which he retrieved in the last film. Now, he needs a device called the "Podkova" that was stored on board a submarine that was sunk and lies at the bottom of the ocean. As usual, this requires Ethan to do a lot of running and performing death-defying tasks both on the ground, in the air and even under the water, the freezing water.
A lot of these stunts are spectacular because of how over-the-top they are and how Cruise is always the one doing them himself. They're bold and unbelievable from a technical level. They're incredibly well shot and edited with out-of-this-world close-ups that put you, as well as Cruise, right smack dab in the middle of the action. For that reason alone, they're always worth seeing on the big screen. However, if you've watched these movies over the past 30 years or so, some of it won't be too much of a surprise. We've seen Cruise run like the wind. We've seen him survive car crashes. We've seen him escape situations where he's been tied or handcuffed. We've seen him hang off the side of a plane. We've seen him do a free fall. We've even seen him hold his breath for a long time under water. He is our generation's Evel Knievel. Yes, he makes them compelling and enjoyable to watch, but there's not much new here. Every stunt has been done before to one degree or another. The film could be boring in that regard.
The one exception is the submarine sequence, which ups the ante in terms of under water stunts. Cruise has done under water stunts in these films before, but this one goes above and beyond. It probably pushes against anything James Cameron has done and he's a master when it comes to water or under water sequences in film. Earlier this year, there was a theatrical release called Last Breath (2025) that was also about an under water mission that goes wrong, but it was rather tame by comparison. Thanks to all this wet work, for those who might be titillated, there are numerous scenes where Cruise is in nothing but his underwear and showing off his very ripped and chiseled physique.
Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and What's Love Got to Do with It) reprises her role of Erika Sloane from Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018). She's now the President of the United States, which she also portrayed in Netflix's Zero Day (2025), a casting call that probably assumed the ascension of Kamala Harris. A good chunk of the film centers around her having to decide whether or not to launch a nuclear war in order to prevent the A.I. from doing so and wiping out all life on Earth. The A.I. has been taking over control of the nuclear weapons in all the major countries. The United States is the last holdout, but if the A.I. does take control, it will annihilate everyone. Erika has to balance a big decision and the film spends a good enough time with her to make that somewhat compelling as well.
A lot of the previous cast members who comprised Ethan's IMF team last time return. I have to give shout outs to Greg Tarzan Davis (Top Gun: Maverick) who plays Theo Degas, a spy who was sent to hunt down Ethan Hunt but who now is working for Ethan. Also, I have to mention Trammell Tillman (Severance) who plays Captain Bledsoe, the commander of the USS Ohio, the submarine that helps Ethan find the sunken submarine. In a sea of so many actors, he definitely made an impression and I hope to see him in more films and hopefully soon.
Rated PG-13 for strong violence and action, bloody images and brief language.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 49 mins.
In theaters.