Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning – Why the movie struggles under the weight of Ethan’s legacy

Ethan Hunt is an IMF agent and the main protagonist of the Mission Impossible franchise. Tom Cruise recently portrayed the character, reportedly for the last time, in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning. Here's the official synopsis:

Ethan Hunt and the IMF team continue their search for the terrifying AI known as the Entity — which has infiltrated intelligence networks all over the globe — with the world’s governments and a mysterious ghost from Ethan’s past on their trail. Joined by new allies and armed with the means to shut the Entity down for good, Hunt is in a race against time to prevent the world as we know it from changing forever.

Disclaimer: This article contains the personal opinion of its writer.

Ethan Hunt is the center point of Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning

Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning focuses on Ethan Hunt trying to stop an AI known as Entity that is trying to start a nuclear war. But the makers don't really go into the depth of this problem, or discuss its motivations. They have focused the entire story on his hero's journey. The film, directed by Christopher McQuarrie, relies heavily on Ethan reflecting on his past. The first hour is filled with his flashbacks from the entire franchise.

Unlike the previous installments, Final Reckoning struggles to become epic as it revolves solely around Ethan Hunt. The franchise had entered a serialized way of storytelling since McQuarrie started directing. The death of Luther is also used merely as a plot device and does not really become an emotional moment of sacrifice.

The franchise began as an action-packed drama, and every film showcased Hunt going on a dangerous mission. This took a backseat once McQuarrie became the director. The recent, and possibly the last, entry in the franchise fails to match the charm of the previous entries.

In an interview with People, Cruise spoke about the film.

"I did the best you can, and it's representing all the efforts of everyone involved at that particular moment. I looked at it and I really see what it takes to make these movies and what I've learned about storytelling [in] this particular genre."

The film features several dangerous stunts that were performed by Cruise himself as Ethan Hunt. One of them showcases him hanging from an airplane for real. Christopher McQuarrie spoke to Collider about the same and said,

"What you're seeing in this movie is that. We've been talking about a biplane sequence for years. We've been talking about a submarine for years. The ending of the movie, the last scene in Trafalgar Square, is a concept Tom and I have been talking about since the first Mission: Impossible I worked on. They find their way in there eventually."

While the above commments showcase their passion for their craft, for me, it did not seem to reflect in the recent installment of the franchise, which seemed to be hogtied around the protagonist. Had the makers opened the world and gone beyond Hunt's flashbacks and his journey, the story would have worked well. It's quite possible that they did not want to take a risk in the final entry by doing something out of the blue. So on that level, it's justified. But as an audience and as a fan, I feel the film under-delivered.

What do you think of the recent entry in the franchise?