Mission: Impossible – Last Settlement: Has the Saga Gone on Too Long?
the Mission: Impossible saga,with its latest installment,The Last Settlement,premiering soon,has spanned nearly three decades. Originating from a television series in the late 1960s, the franchise has been redefined by Tom Cruise. With eight films and revenues exceeding $4 billion, it surpasses even James Bond in longevity with Tom Cruise as Agent Ethan Hunt. Though, some critics suggest the series may have run its course.
Reflecting a current Hollywood trend, the final part has been divided into two interconnected films.The production faced complications and delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic,and Cruise’s promotional tour for Top Gun 2.
Did you know? The original Mission: Impossible TV series aired from 1966 to 1973, winning several Emmy Awards.
The focus has shifted towards Cruise’s “solo” performances,intensifying since the first film. The deification of his character has reached an extreme, with characters viewing him as a savior.
In the film, the U.S. President, played by Angela Bassett, sees Hunt as a savior. hayley Atwell’s character, grace, views him as someone worth sacrificing her life for.
The review notes that “hour hangs Cruise from something,” summarizing the series’ reliance on Cruise’s stunts and persona.
The film introduces the son of the main villain from the first movie, who was abandoned at age seven.Ethan Hunt realizes his past actions have been leading to this moment, understanding that his choices had unforeseen consequences.
some plot twists are elaborate,but the film lacks exaggeration. A scene with a dog sled resembles a Steven Seagal film, unintentionally comedic.
The review compares the new Mission: Impossible to dark fate films like Tenet, but without the original ideas. Regrettably, without the original ideas of the creator, who always plays with the attention of the audience and at the end brings a big point, which forces the audience to look at his narrative trick again.
Despite Christopher McQuarrie and Cruise’s collaboration since the fifth episode in 2015,the film feels stuck. The last clearing is bothering with constant explanation, flashes into the past or slow farewell monologues over the ticking bombs.
While the seventh part was action-packed, this installment has only two major sequences: a submarine scene and a battle with old-fashioned biplanes.
Pro Tip: Pay attention to the timing and wit in the action sequences, as the hero must solve problems without online contact.
In both scenes, the hero relies on physical condition, timing, and wit, but they also feature unnecessary Tom Cruise stunts.
the review questions what made Mission: Impossible appealing: the complexity of events,the elegance of design,the different styles of directors,physical and spiritual victory over technology,playfulness,and team interplay.
As the stories became serious, they became ideologically problematic. the IMF operates without U.S. government approval,supposedly acting in the interest of higher good. We are fighting for our loved ones and for those we never meet,
is a recurring sentiment.
Ethan Hunt states that it is indeed no longer about politics or countries, but a clash between people and artificial intelligence.
The review critiques the simplistic idea of innocent humanity versus evil AI.The idea that on the one hand is an innocent humanity that deserves to save at all costs, and besides some evil and totally insensitive AI, is naive, simplistic.
The review concludes that the series may have unintentionally become political, and the message is that one perfectly physically and morally superior individual, scientologist Tom Cruise, will save us.
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film: Mission: Impossible – Last Settlement
Action, USA, 2025, 169 min
Direction: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff and more
