Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Early Reactions Are Not What You Expect

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Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning may not hit theaters until next Friday, but the verdict is in from critics who saw the movie at early screenings, and their reactions are not exactly the overwhelming outpour of love you’d hope for to an epic conclusion.

READ: Where You Can Stream All Mission Impossible Films

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning First Reactions

Discussing Film’s Andrew J. Salazar says, “Didn’t really enjoy The Final Reckoning,” listing his reasons as “stunning visuals bogged down by an overtly complex script that introduces so much that goes nowhere.”

In a follow-up post, Salazar expresses that the film “does not feel like a ‘grand finale’ at all” and that he was “really disappointed”, even going as far to say, “first time I’ve seen an M:I movie and felt nothing.”

Those are ruthless words, and sentiments Salazar isn’t alone in feeling.

James Preston Poole, who also writes for Discussing Film, says, “Sadly, it gets bogged down in so much nostalgia and needless retcons that it reflects the worst of franchise filmmaking.”

Didn’t really enjoy THE FINAL RECKONING :(It’s got McQ’s best and worst tendencies, i.e. stunning visuals bogged down by an overtly complex script that introduces so much that goes nowhere. Obviously feels like they were filming this without a script. pic.twitter.com/6wcfksJdac

— Andrew J. Salazar (@AndrewJ626) May 13, 2025

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING can sometimes be M:I at its best, massive stunts and dense spycraft included. Sadly, it gets bogged down in so much nostalgia and needless retcons that it reflects the worst of franchise filmmaking. Full review coming to @DiscussingFilm. pic.twitter.com/roKGYf7tsk

— James Preston Poole (@JamesPPoole) May 13, 2025

David Ehrlich at IndieWire has perhaps one of the harshest reactions, calling Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning “dull and dysfunctional” and says “as someone so supportive of Cruise’s crusade to save the movies and whatnot this was a massive heartbreaker.”

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning is dull and dysfunctional in a way i didn’t think this franchise was capable of. setpieces are obviously incredible, but as someone so supportive of Cruise’s crusade to save the movies and whatnot this was a massive heartbreaker.

— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) May 13, 2025

Germain Lussier, Senior Reporter for Gizmodo, says Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning “is oddly the least action forward entry in the franchise” and that “It’s long, it’s plotty, it’s repetitive”.

However, Lussier says that when the action scenes arrive, “They’re incredible.”

Entertainment Reporter, Jonathan Sim, echoes Lussier, saying, the movie “starts more as a dark, grim sci-fi thriller before eventually delivering the action-adventure you expect.”

Sim does praise Tom Cruise, calling him “as fantastic as ever.”

#MissionImpossible: The Final Reckoning is oddly the least action forward entry in the franchise. It’s long, it’s plotty, it’s repetitive, but when those scenes do hit? Holy shit. They’re incredible. So i’m pretty mixed on it overall. High highs, low lows. pic.twitter.com/JRemUcjsVh

— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) May 13, 2025

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING is stunning.It starts more as a dark, grim sci-fi thriller before eventually delivering the action-adventure you expect. Cruise is as fantastic as ever.It uses WAY too many flashbacks and the pace is imperfect, but the finale OWNS.… pic.twitter.com/jkHpfNf5xw

— Jonathan Sim (@TheJonathanSim) May 13, 2025

Matt Neglia of Next Best Picture says, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the biggest film in the franchise yet” and he praises the “sound design, score, and tension” but echoes the concerns others have, saying, “the film sometimes buckles under the weight of its ambition, bogged down by excessive callbacks, overstuffed exposition, unnecessary tie-ins, and forced revelations.”

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING is the biggest film in the franchise yet as it plays like one extended climax stretched across nearly three action-packed, emotional hours. With a more somber tone, the stakes have never been higher and the action set pieces are… pic.twitter.com/eS5numoyl8

— Matt Neglia (@NextBestPicture) May 13, 2025

Positive Reactions to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

However, among the lukewarm reactions are some overwhelmingly positive ones.

Like Neglia, Collider’s Perri Nemiroff says she “struggled with some of the mission details and callbacks to past installments” but overall the film “is a solid addition to the franchise”, and that while “there are occasional lulls in the film’s 2 hour and 49 minute running time…Tom Cruise’s conviction while playing Ethan is always powerful enough to reel you back in.

#MissionImpossible – The Final Reckoning is a solid addition to the franchise! I struggled with some of the mission details and callbacks to past installments, but that didn’t stop the movie from successfully sparking one heck of a build that culminates in a super tense big… pic.twitter.com/kAwp5RKh0h

— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) May 13, 2025

Another standout elements of The Final Reckoning? That score. Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey knew just the right way to bolster every beat of the movie – whether it be via booming horns, or by pulling back and letting the sound design take hold.There are occasional lulls in the… pic.twitter.com/OQCKVUQnQB

— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) May 13, 2025

Jillian Chilingerian of Offscreen Central had one of the most positive reactions, saying, “Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning is a high octane global farewell to the importance of friendship that is everything that makes you fall in love with movies” and that it’s “peak Tom Cruise chaos”.

Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning is a high octane global farewell to the importance of friendship that is everything that makes you fall in love with movies through Tom Cruise breaking stunt boundaries by plane, sea, and roads leaving no terrain unturned in chilling set pieces pic.twitter.com/9K1Ko9XiSS

— Jillian (@JillianChili) May 13, 2025

Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning is peak Tom Cruise chaos with every flawed fumble of Ethan Hunt saving the fate of humanity with his inner circle in an emotional conclusion that had me shrieking and shutting my eyes for his most daring stunts in the air and under the sea pic.twitter.com/iDPYStDQ7A

— Jillian (@JillianChili) May 13, 2025

More positivity comes from Fandango’s Erik Davis, who says, “Director Chris McQuarrie and star Tom Cruise truly take Mission: Impossible to the next level with The Final Reckoning.”

Davis says it’s “the biggest, wildest and most consequential Mission movie yet.”

“When I was a kid, my dad would tell me Tom Cruise is a guy who gives you your money’s worth at the movies,” says Davis. “I’ve always agreed with that sentiment, and I definitely still do after watching The Final Reckoning.”

Director Chris McQuarrie and star Tom Cruise truly take #MissionImpossible to the next level with #TheFinalReckoning. Absolutely astonishing action moments meet a sprawling story w/ many nods to past MI films. It’s the biggest, wildest and most consequential Mission movie yet.… pic.twitter.com/ocHkxwcv7P

— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) May 13, 2025

Those are just a handful of the many reactions from critics who saw Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning early.

More reactions will pour in over the coming days as it makes its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and travels through its press tour.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning hits theaters and IMAX on May 23, 2025.

READ: Tom Cruise Spotted on Top of the BFI IMAX in London

More Early Reactions to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Other first reactions call Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning “the most emotional & tense Mission yet” and “an exhilarating finale”.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Early Reactions Are Not What You Expect

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