Even though Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is a celebration of the entire franchise, it has a significantly lower Rotten Tomatoes score than the last few movies in the series. This isn’t to suggest that the latest entry in the long-running spy series is bad. In fact, reviews for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning have been quite solid, with Screen Rant’s own Mary Kᴀssel giving it a score of 8 out of 10. Currently, the film has an 80% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes (via Rotten Tomatoes), which is very respectable.

However, it needs to be noted that The Final Reckoning has a lower score than many other Mission: Impossible movies. The latest film in the series is actually the lowest-rated entry since 2006’s Mission: Impossible III. To compare, 2011’s Ghost Protocol and 2015’s Rogue Nation both have 94%, 2018’s Fallout has a 98%, and 2023’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning, which sets up The Final Reckoning’s story, has a 96% (via Rotten Tomatoes). Therefore, here are six reasons why Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’s Rotten Tomatoes score is lower than the last few movies in the series:

6

The First Half Of Mission: Impossible 8 Is Much Weaker Than The Second Half

Mission: Impossible 8 Is Surprisingly Slow

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’s runtime of 2 hours and 50 minutes makes it the longest movie in the franchise. Because of this, it’s not ideal that the first half of the film is significantly slower than the second half. In reviews of the movie, several critics have voiced their frustrations that the first half of the movie isn’t engaging enough. As The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney notes, “we have to wait out roughly half the almost three-hour movie for much of the exhilarating action and fabulous locations that are the series’ lifeblood.“

It can’t be denied that the second half of the film is amazing. This is largely thanks to the submarine and biplane sequences, the two standout stunts in Mission: Impossible 8. However, even though the movie ends on a high, it can’t be forgotten that Ethan Hunt’s most recent mission takes a long time to find some momentum. Therefore, even though Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is a great film, several reviewers note that they struggled with the surprisingly slow first half of the action blockbuster.

5

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Has Too Much Exposition & Boring Dialogue

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’s Story Is Very Complex

Since Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning directly continues the story of the previous film, it needs to rely on a lot of exposition during certain scenes, which is something that a lot of critics have a problem with. In their review of the film, The Hollywood Reporter also claimed that it “spends a disproportionate amount of time trudging through recaps, reams of exposition and mind-numbing cyber-speak.” Including too much exposition and boring dialogue is another reason why The Final Reckoning’s first half feels so much slower than the second half.

The Final Reckoning is actually the first film in the Mission: Impossible franchise to continue the story of a previous movie. In addition to continuing ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning’s story, The Final Reckoning also connects to older films in the franchise, namely its first and third movies. Because of this, the recently released film also includes a lot of flashbacks to previous movies to remind viewers of important events. By incorporating flashbacks and a lot of exposition, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning holds the audience’s hand too much, making it a less enjoyable experience.

4

Mission: Impossible 8 Isn’t As Fun As The Last Few Movies

Mission: Impossible Movies Should Be Fun For Everyone

Since the first half of the film is very slow and includes far too many flashbacks and exposition-filled scenes, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is simply not as fun as the last few movies in the series. As IndieWire’s David Ehrlich points out in his review, this “change of pace feels deliberate.” After all, the latest Mission: Impossible movie is trying to show how dire of a situation the whole of humanity is in now that everyone is living in a world that is basically run by the Enтιтy.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning definitely depicts a more dystopian world than any other movie in the franchise, but it unfortunately loses all the charm of the series by doing so. It’s not necessarily a secret that Mission: Impossible fans care more about the stunts and crazy action sequences than the actual missions, but that is clearly not recognized by Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie in The Final Reckoning. By trying to focus too much on its (sometimes pretty sloppy) story, several reviewers have argued that The Final Reckoning is the least fun entry in the entire series.

3

Gabriel Isn’t A Very Effective Villain In Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Gabriel Was Set Up To Be Very Important To Ethan’s Backstory

It should be noted that Gabriel being an underwhelming villain was also a problem pointed out by many after the release of Mission: Impossible – ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning. As IndieWire’s review states, this was forgiven in ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning because most ᴀssumed that his past with Ethan would be explored more in The Final Reckoning. However, the latest movie in the series unfortunately doesn’t make an effort to flesh out this relationship. Therefore, according to Ehrlich, “Gabriel’s one-dimensional villainy” can no longer be excused and is one of the reasons why The Final Reckoning is one of the franchise’s weaker installments.

Obviously, the Enтιтy is technically the main villain in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. However, Gabriel is someone who constantly foils Ethan and his team’s plans throughout the movie. Therefore, he also needs to be an imposing figure. Unfortunately, many critics note that he is far too silly to be taken seriously as a major threat to Ethan. The New Yorker’s Justin Chang goes as far as describing Gabriel as “unspeakably boring.” Overall, it is clear that many believe Gabriel is a disappointing antagonist in what could potentially be the final Mission: Impossible movie.

2

Most Of Mission: Impossible 8’s Supporting Characters Aren’t Interesting Enough

Mission: Impossible 8 Has A Very Large Cast

In addition to Gabriel, critics have also argued that many other supporting characters in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning aren’t interesting at all. Mission: Impossible’s supporting characters are almost as important as Ethan Hunt, so this is a major issue. Many critics have pointed out that The Final Reckoning spends too much time on characters that we don’t really care that much about, such as Angela Bᴀssett’s President Sloane and her group of high-ranking United States government officials.

However, in addition to this group of characters, IndieWire’s Ehrlich points out that the core cast members barely act like themselves in The Final Reckoning. Ehrlich writes, “Luther is sullen where he used to be sly, Benji is shrill where he used to be frazzled, and Grace is a superhuman thief where she used to just be a skilled pickpocket.” Therefore, other than Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, there’s clearly an argument to be made that no characters are acting like themselves in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which is a shame since it’s potentially the last entry in the series.

1

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Needed More Action Set Pieces

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Includes Incredible Action, But Not Enough Of It

As is mentioned in the first entry on this list, the second half of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is much more entertaining than the first half. This is obviously because the second half includes both the submarine sequence and the intense biplane climax. Considering Mission: Impossible is a franchise that is known for its incredible action, it’s surprising that a few quick fight scenes are the only action sequences in the first half of the latest movie.

The lack of action in The Final Reckoning becomes even more evident when comparing it to ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning. The previous Mission: Impossible movie includes the exhilarating Rome car chase sequence, Cruise running through the alleys of Venice, Cruise riding a motorcycle off a cliff, and of course, the climactic train car sequence. ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning and the other recent Mission: Impossible movies all include many notable set pieces. Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning only includes two, which is another reason it has a lower Rotten Tomatoes score.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, The New Yorker