“Mission: Imp. – Final Reckoning” Reviews Are In

After the first reactions proved decidedly mixed the other day, the first proper reviews are now out for “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” the eighth and likely final film (for now anyway) in the action film franchise.

The result is definitely better than those reactions suggest, but even so they are still notably down on previous entries. On Rotten Tomatoes, where they got rid of their average rating score, the film has landed an 89% positive rating.

That puts it as the lowest score of the franchise since the third film back in 2006 and a far cry from the 94% of Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation, the 98% of Fallout and the 96% of Dead Reckoning.

On Metacritic, it’s the same story with the film landing a 71/100 compared to the 73 of Ghost Protocol, 75 of Rogue Nation, 87 of Fallout and 81 of Dead Reckoning. Here’s a sampling of reviews:

“Final Reckoning is flat-out ridiculous, but it’s a model example of blockbuster entertainment at its most highly polished, and I enjoyed it thoroughly, despite its clichés, extravagant violence and gung-ho militarism.” – Manohla Dargis, New York Times

“Yet the film is good enough to remind you how much fun it is when something is truly at stake in a high-flying, twisty-plotted, solemnly preposterous popcorn movie.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“If this is indeed the end of Cruise’s globetrotting and derring-do, Final Reckoning is a worthy send-off. It may not quite reach the vertiginous peaks of the series at its finest, but it scrapes fingers with greatness.” – Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair

“It’s fair to say that Final Reckoning delivers ever more thrills and spills, even though the links between the action are ever more frayed.” – Fionnuala Halligan
Screen International

“The good news is that Final Reckoning does eventually recover from the calamity of its first hour to give us an entertaining, if still messy, Mission: Impossible movie.” – Bilge Ebiri, Vulture

“If it’s going to be the last we see of one of the most consistently entertaining franchises to come out of Hollywood in the past few decades, it’s a disappointing farewell with a handful of high points courtesy of the indefatigable lead actor.” – David Rooney, THR

“If this is the end of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies, they ended on an adequate note.” – William Bibbiani, The Wrap

“A penchant for grandiosity over coherence defines ‘M:I 8’. Mr. Cruise should remember that his films work best when he’s more of a maverick than a messiah.” – Kyle Smith, Wall Street Journal

“For all of its focus on tying its franchise together, “The Final Reckoning” — irrevocably knocked off its axis by the act one decision to separate Ethan from the rest of his team — struggles to strike the right balance between context and conflict” – David Ehrlich, Indiewire

“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is in the midst of its world premeire at Cannes and is set to open in cinemas on May 23rd with several territories getting sneak peek screenings this Saturday.

The post “Mission: Imp. – Final Reckoning” Reviews Are In appeared first on Dark Horizons.