Mission Impossible is one of those franchises where once you’ve seen one, you’ve basically seen them all. So if you’re not a fan of the genre, then you probably won’t like this one. For me personally, I could watch 10 more of these without getting tired. However, it seems we’ve reached the end of Ethan Hunt’s run with the IMF, so let’s talk about the lack-luster ending to this almost 30-year-old series.

My overall opinion of the movie can be summed up in two words: that’s it? This is the 8th Mission Impossible and Tom Cruise’s final run is honestly disappointing. The stunts are really the only thing worth watching and the rest seems like just filler. I found myself checking my watch between bigger scenes. I realize that’s how these stories are created, but this one seemed like the laziest attempt at hiding that fact. Sure, the stakes for the plot are high, but it somehow just comes off as boring. It also does the classic, “last film in the franchise” trope, by showing plenty of flashbacks and bringing back legacy characters from the earlier films.

The ending of the film is really not an ending at all. Spoilers: Ethan Hunt saves the day, does not get together with Grace (even though there were several moments hinting at the opposite), and they all just walk away at the end. There isn’t even a resolution. We don’t know where Ethan, Benji, Grace, or the others are going or what their plan is. Did they retire? Are they still in the IMF? Not answered at all. If you hadn’t told me that this was Tom Cruise’s last Mission Impossible, there would be nothing in the movie leading me to believe that he would not return.

What the Mission Impossible franchise always does best is the stunts and that’s no different here, yet it’s kind of, “been there, done that.” The two big ones are Ethan Hunt swimming through a submarine that’s rolling off of a cliff in the ocean and Ethan flying/hanging out of a plane. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed both sequences, especially the submarine scene with the eerie/uncomfortable music. But we’ve already had an underwater and plane stunt before. Granted, the submarine scene was different because of the rotating set and I still liked the scene. I’m just disappointed that we went from an inventive set piece in the previous film (Ethan and Grace handcuffed and driving a car) to basically recycled material.

As much as I like the Mission Impossible series, it pains me to say that the final film is definitely one of my least favorites. Does it stick the landing? Kind of, but it seems like it was too nervous to go out with a bang. Like with so many franchises ending poorly, it was too afraid to go as big as it could’ve. Tom Cruise recently mentioned in an interview that Glen Powell would be a perfect replacement, so hopefully we can move on pretty easily with the ending being as disappointing as it was.

To see what I rated the film, check out my Letterboxd.