After 8 films and nearly 30 years, the Mission: Impossible film franchise starring Tom Cruise has finally come to a close. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the eighth installment of the franchise, and picks up right where Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning left off. The movie was filmed at the same time as the previous film, and was originally supposed to be titled “Dead Reckoning – Part Two), but had several delays in the release, that the “Part One” was dropped from the name of the previous film after it it home video, and this second half renamed.

A dangerous rogue A.I. known as The Entity has infiltrated global intelligence systems, and plans to destroy the world. In Dead Reckoning, it was discovered that the A.I.’s source code—and the ability to either control or destroy the A.I.—was contained in a Russian stealth submarine that had sunk somewhere deep in the ocean. Various world powers were looking for the location of the sub and the 2-part key to access the hard drive sealed within, in hopes of gaining control of The Entity to utilize it as a weapon. Former IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) was being hunted by government agents Briggs (Shea Whigham) & Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis) as well as The Entity’s earthy emissary Gabriel (Esai Morales), but he ultimately managed to evade them and obtain both halves of the key. Now his goal is to find the submarine, obtain the Entity’s source code, and eliminate the A.I. threat before it can either destroy the world, or any government can gain control of it. However, it’s not as simple as destroying the Entity, as doing so could annihilate all of cyberspace. Assisting Ethan in this rogue mission are teammates Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg), and as well as former assassin-turned-ally Paris (Pom Klementieff) and master thief Grace (Haley Atwel), whom Hunt met in the previous film. However, this is not going to be an easy task as Gabriel still has some tricks up his sleeve, and time is quickly counting down until the end of the world. But if there’s anyone who can complete this impossible mission, it’s Ethan Hunt!

This final Mission: Impossible installment is quite solid. The writers have done a nice job of taking the story full circle, integrating (aka retconning) characters and events from the first 6 films to make it feel like they were part of this overall master plan the whole time. This makes it feel like Hunt’s previous missions over the past 30 years were all part of one larger story that ultimately leads to this final mission. This eighth film also has several more big, exciting action sequences that allow 63-year-old Tom Cruise to showcase his amazing abilities when it comes to daredevil stunts. From fast-paced fight sequences, to dangerous deep water dives, to high-flying biplane maneuvers, and high-speed underground car chases, there is quite a lot going on in this film, and Cruise always delivers. While I did quite enjoy the action of Final Reckoning, it also was a bit of a letdown after waiting years for the follow-up to Dead Reckoning (which I thought was possibly the strongest film of the franchise). This eighth film clocks in at nearly 3 hours, and it definitely didn’t need to be—the first 40 minutes could have easily been chopped. And while the film does ultimately provide closure for the franchise, it does so in a bit of an anti-climactic way. Also, I wish there had been a better villain to close things out with. The Entity is more of a concept and less of an actual villain for Hunt to face off against. While there is the human emissary of Gabriel, there still feels like something missing.

Paramount’s 4K disc of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning looks and sounds fantastic—this is pretty much reference material. The picture looks flawless, with beautiful, natural looking tones and colors, and an excellent level of detail throughout. The fast-paced action sequences really pop, and the darker sequences—such as the deep sea dive into the submarine—look stunning. The film makes use of a mix of aspect rations, sometimes switching from 2.39:1 to 1.90:1 to better fill the screen—likely for scenes specifically shot for IMAX. But the transition feels seamless and I didn’t find the changing aspect ratios to be distracting at all. The Atmos audio track puts the viewer right in the middle of all the action. Whether it’s the roar of the biplane engines, or the sounds of explosions and gunfire filling the room, it is always an immersive experience. Dialogue remains clear throughout, the the film’s score sounds amazing.

The 4K disc is packed in a standard 4K keepcase along with a cardboard slipcover and an insert with instructions on how to redeem a 4K digital copy of the movie. The 4K disc only offers the choice of three audio commentaries and an isolated score track for bonus material. However, the release also includes a Blu-ray bonus disc containing over 40 minutes of entertaining behind-the-scenes featurettes/footage as well as some photo galleries.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:49:35)

4K Ultra HD:

• 2160p / Widescreen 2.39:1, 1.90:1
• HDR-10 / Dolby Vision
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Audio Description, Spanish (Latin America) 5.1 Dolby Digital, French Dolby Atmos, French (Canadian) 5.1 Dolby Digital

Blu-ray:

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1, 1.90:1
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Audio Description, Spanish (Latin America) 5.1 Dolby Digital, French Dolby Atmos, French (Canadian) 5.1 Dolby Digital
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, Danish, Spanish (Latin America), French, French (Canadian), Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish
• Subtitles (Extras): English, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, German, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), French, French (Canadian), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Hungarian, Mandarin, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Slovak, Finnish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish

Digital:

• 4K Digital Copy redeemable via Apple TV or Fandango at Home (not Movies Anywhere compatible)
• Code subject to expiration, may not be valid after 10/14/2027

Extras :
The majority of the bonus material can be found on Blu-ray bonus disc and digital copy. Just the commentary and score tracks appear on the film discs.

4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Feature discs and digital:
• Commentaries
  The disc offers three different commentary tracks, providing different viewpoints on the film. The first features the director and star, the second the director and other filmmakers, and the third those responsible for the score. It’s great to see a star as big as Cruise participate in a commentary track, especially since this has been a franchise that’s been so dear to him. Select from:
  • Commentary by Director Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise (2:49:35)
    Included on 4K and Blu-ray film discs and digital.
  • Commentary by Director Christopher McQuarrie, Editor Eddie Hamilton, and First Assistant Director Mary Boulding (2:49:35)
    Included on 4K and Blu-ray film discs and digital.
  • Commentary by Composers Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey, and Score Producer Cécile Tournesac (2:49:35)
    Included on 4K film disc and digital.
• Isolated Score Track (2:49:35)
  Included on 4K and Blu-ray film discs and digital.

Blu-ray Bonus Feature disc and digital:

• Behind The Scenes (17:03)
  Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie narrates this 5-part behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film. Includes behind-the-scenes and pre-vis footage, and interviews with writer/director Christopher, stars Tom Cruise (“Ethan Hunt”), Hayley Atwell (“Grace”), Simon Pegg (“Benji”), Greg Tarzan Davis (“Degas”) & Pom Klementieff (“Paris”), and composers Max Aruj & Alfie Godfrey. Subtitles offered in English, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, German, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), French, French (Canadian), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Hungarian, Mandarin, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Slovak, Finnish, Swedish, Thai & Turkish. Play All, or select from:
  • Taking Flight (5:48)
    Designing and reinforcing the planes, choreographing, and filming the exciting biplane sequence.
  • To The Depths (3:17)
    Building a custom 8.5M liter deep dive tank for the submarine dive sequence, and the challenges of filming underwater.
  • To The North (3:36)
    Filming in the extreme arctic weather of Svalbard, Norway.
  • Through the Mine (2:44)
    Filming the underground car chase in Middleton Mine.
  • The Score (1:35)
    Composing the film’s score and the iconic theme.
• Editorial Content
  • Deleted Footage Montage (9:35)
    Director Christopher McQuarrie provides optional commentary over this montage of deleted footage. He explains how he doesn’t like providing deleted scenes, but put together this reel of unused footage, explaining how some scenes diverged from the final narrative, and how various scenes were shots or composed.
  • Olifants River Canyon (9:11)
    Director Christopher McQuarrie provides optional commentary over this montage of footage from the various filming attempts for the biplane sequence through the Olifants River Canyon in South Africa. He talks about the challenges of making everything look real (because it was) and not like CGI.
  • Biplane Transfer (4:03)
    Director Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise provide optional commentary, discussing filming the rehearsal of the sequence where Tom Cruise climbs from one biplane to the other.
• Promo Spots (3:23)
  Collection of promotional spots for the film featuring footage of Cruise and the filmmakers preparing for and performing some of the film’s dangerous and record-breaking stunt sequences. Play All, or select from:
  • Parachute Burn (1:21)
  • Snorri Rig Camera (1:17)
  • Jump Flip (:23)
  • Long Wing (:21)
• Galleries (13:51)
  Collection of behind-the-scenes photos from the film, with photos auto-advancing every 6 seconds. Play All, or select from:
  • Tom Cruise (Biography Included — English Only) (6:18)
  • Christopher McQuarrie (1:39)
  • Collaboration (2:46)
  • Supporting Cast (3:06)

Final Thoughts:

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is a solid conclusion to the nearly 30-year franchise. The writers have connected events and characters from the earlier films to make it feel like this was the overall plan all along, and Cruise once again performs some amazing stunt sequences. That said, the film is a bit longer than it needs to be, and isn’t quite on par with the pervious installment (which was my favorite of the franchise, and never had me looking at my watch). Paramount’s 4K disc looks and sounds amazing, and includes some entertaining bonus material. This is a must own for any fan of the franchise, and still highly recommended for anyone wanting to check out a great action film—though you may want to check out Dead Reckoning and/or some of the earlier films to fully appreciate this one.