It’s the finale of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the fourth film in the series, and superspy Ethan Hunt’s window to save the world is down to seconds. The bad guy du jour is no longer a threat (he just perished from a high jump off an automated multi-story parking lot) and Ethan (Tom Cruise) must slam the cancel button on a computerized nuclear launch briefcase to stop San Francisco being consumed in a mushroom cloud. Feeling cocky, he says “Mission accomplished!” before he hits the button — an uncharacteristic moment of hubris that’s immediately punished, as the cancellation does not work.
Panicked, he hits it again and again, while his team connects the right switches to provide him with a signal. With a second to spare, the cancellation button works, and a bruised-and-battered Ethan has once again stuck the landing, even if he waited really late to persuade us that hope wasn’t lost. This is basically the experience of watching The Final Reckoning; the longest, choppiest, and most frustrating chapter in the eight-film, 30-year series that, only when pressed, delivers the slick, propulsive thrills deserving of the franchise.
