The Final Reckoning carries the weight of a meaningful farewell but lacks the courage to commit. The eighth film in the series begins with a sincere American president (Angela Bassett) entreating IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) to take one last mission to save the world.

That’s just part of what bogs down The Final Reckoning. In fact the movie is slow out of the gate as it has to set up what has happened in the two months between the end of Dead Reckoning, the basics of the plot and a quick “best-of” clip from the franchise before things really get going.

The Final Reckoning,” out this weekend, picks up the story from 2023’s “Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One.” Read our critic’s review of that film here.“Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning” features a key in the form of a cross,