Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning's first reactions are as big and bold as Tom Cruise's stunts: "Kind of a beautiful chaotic mess"

Given how it's been framed as Ethan Hunt's grand send-off to the Mission: Impossible franchise, The Final Reckoning was always going to elicit big, bold reactions from critics and early audiences. But even The Entity itself might not have foreseen just how mixed the response would be to the eighth Mission: Impossible instalment.

Inverse's Hoai-Tran Bui captured the general mood of critics and audiences who were lucky enough to watch The Final Reckoning early, commenting that the M:I sendoff was "kind of a big, beautiful, chaotic mess. But it’s got a sequence so nerve-shreddingly tense I almost threw up, and Tom Cruise in peak Buster Keaton mode. Looney Tunes antics. I loved it."

Gizmodo's Germain Lussier echoed the mixed response. He wrote: "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."

Also on the more positive side of responses so far, critic Zach Pope wrote, "#MissionImpossibleTheFinalReckoning is an emotional, riveting, & perfect Mission impossible finale. That feels the most visceral of them all. With pound for pound punches, exhilarating stunts (that might be the best of the franchise), & incredible performances throughout."

Among The Final Reckoning's biggest cheerleaders was Courtney Howard, who praised the stuntwork. "#MissionImpossibleTheFinalReckoning rips! Loved it," Howard wrote. "An exhilarating adrenaline rush for the head & heart & immersive, awe-inducing stuntacular of the highest order. McQ, @TomCruise & Co have crafted the gold standard - a brilliant, bold actioner for the ages. See it BIG & LOUD."

"Bigger doesn’t always mean better," writes Next Best Picture's Matt Neglia, who is part of a small – but not insignificant – portion of critics who didn't quite gel with Ethan Hunt's (potential) final Mission. "As the culmination of a nearly 30-year saga, the film sometimes buckles under the weight of its ambition, bogged down by excessive callbacks, overstuffed exposition, unnecessary tie-ins, and forced revelations. Despite its flaws, this supposed final mission for the IMF team, should we choose to accept it, serves as a satisfactory conclusion to what was started with Dead Reckoning."

"This does not feel like a 'grand finale' at all," Discussing Film's Andrew Salazar lamented. "Even when trying to look at the positives, this comes nowhere near the highs of the last 4 movies combined. I'm really disappointed, first time I've seen an M:I movie and felt nothing."

Finally, Reyna Cervantes wasn't a fan, writing, "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING has some of the same biggest sins that modern blockbusters can have. Its action is very good but good lord I can’t justify any of the other creative choices in it."

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Vanessa Kirby, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, and Pom Klementieff, hits cinemas on May 23, 2025.

For more, check out our rankings of the best Mission: Impossible movies.