Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning has started its life with a disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score, but this is a reminder of how great the last 14 years have been for Tom Cruise’s action franchise. The Mission: Impossible series is considered to be one of the best action franchises of all time, with the Tom Cruise movies managing to maintain a shocking level of quality since it started in 1996. This makes Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning‘s Rotten Tomatoes performance more disappointing, with it not comparing favorably to some of the franchise’s recent entries.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the direct continuation of 2023’s Mission: Impossible – ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning Part One, with it expected to be Tom Cruise’s final outing as Ethan Hunt. After the critical successes of the previous films, especially those directed by Christopher McQuarrie, fans of the franchise were hoping for an excellent conclusion to the series. First reactions to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning are out now, and while they don’t favorably compare to the previous films, they highlight one of the franchise’s greatest strengths.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Is The Lowest Of Tom Cruise & Christopher McQuarrie’s Installments

With 80% On Rotten Tomatoes

One of the oddest things about the Mission: Impossible series is that the later films are typically considered far better than the original films. The first four movies were directed by Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, and Brad Bird respectively, establishing the Mission: Impossible franchise as a directorial showcase. After working with Tom Cruise on Jack Reacher, Christopher McQuarrie was brought on to direct Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. The film was such a critical success that McQuarrie returned for the sixth Mission: Impossible film. Then the seventh. Then the eighth.

After four Mission: Impossible films, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is unfortunately the lowest-rated of Christopher McQuarrie’s installments on Rotten Tomatoes. The eighth Mission: Impossible movie has 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, falling behind Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation‘s 94%, Mission: Impossible – ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning Part One‘s 96%, and Mission: Impossible – Fallout‘s 98%. Interestingly, Mission: Impossible 8 also falls below Brad Bird’s outing, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which has 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Why Mission: Impossible 8’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Lower Than Cruise & McQuarrie’s Previous Films

What The Critics Have Said So Far

While Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning‘s 80% is still impressive, it does have more negative reviews than its predecessor. Some critics are calling the film clunkier than the others, with NYC Movie Guru’s Avi Offer saying it is “Clunky, bloated and meandering with lazy, excessive exposition and ephemeral thrills.” Joonatan Itkonen of Toisto.net points out that the film is “nearly three hours in length,” with this being a sentiment echoed in many of the movie’s negative reviews.

TIME Magazine’s Stephanie Zacharek believes that the film has story problems, saying “The story is the problem: packed with expository dialogue, it feels as if it were written to be digested in 10- or 15-minute bites.” The movie’s action is still being praised by most, but it seems to be a bit too bloated for the tastes of many critics.

The Final Reckoning’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Continues Cruise & McQuarrie’s Franchise H๏τ Streak

It Is Still Rated Higher Than The Original Trilogy

Although Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning‘s Rotten Tomatoes score is comparatively low, it proves that Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie are still continuing their streak of successes. The eighth film’s 80% means that it is Certified Fresh. This is a trait shared by all of McQuarrie’s films, meaning that Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is still better than most action movies.

McQuarrie’s latest movie still has a higher score than the first three Mission: Impossible movies, which have 65%, 57%, and 71% respectively. This means that, according to critics, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning still far exceeds the quality of the original trilogy, meaning that it may be a successful end for Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes