Mission: Impossible 8 – the return of the sexless show-off

Photo by Paramount
James Bond has appeared in seven different incarnations so far. His scion, Ethan Hunt, however, has only taken one form over the last 30 years: Tom Cruise. Cruise was 33 when the first Mission: Impossible appeared in 1996. Now, in this eighth outing, he is 62, remarkably little altered after three decades.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, clocking in at 169 minutes, is a direct sequel to 2023's Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (163 minutes). In the previous film, Ethan is attempting to get hold of a key, which is the only way of stopping a malevolent kind of self-aware AI, called 'the Entity', taking over the world.
Ethan pursues this wee key in the Arabian Desert, Abu Dhabi International Airport, Rome, Venice and then, in a bravura, vintage-style action sequence emulating Buster Keaton's The General, on the Orient Express. Sadly, Ethan's fetching sidekick from previous episodes, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), dies in the first film, but she is capably replaced by alluring pickpocket Grace (Hayley Atwell) and exotic assassin Paris (Pom Klementieff), both won over by his charm and decency.
This new film picks up the story a few weeks later. The Entity, 'a godless, stateless, immoral enemy', is rapidly commandeering all the nuclear weapons in the world, planning to eliminate humankind altogether. Ethan has the crucial key, but he refuses to hand it over to the US government, because he knows they want the Entity as a weapon, whereas he is determined to 'kill' it, such power being too much of a temptation for any person to wield, save one so thoroughly decent, so selflessly devoted to his friends, as himself.
So the stakes are high. There are just hours, minutes, milliseconds to go, and Ethan is the only possible saviour of all humanity. 'The whole world is in trouble, Ethan. You're the only one I trust to save it. So what's the play?' says Grace, straightforwardly. As before, events proceed in a peculiar combination of static, verbose exposition and hectic, wordless action sequences that contribute surprisingly little to the narrative. Sometimes you suspect they are there just to show off.
One big set-piece is aerial, another submarine. Ethan dives deep into Arctic waters to retrieve the kit the key operates from a sunken Russian sub, rolling around on the ocean floor. For the climax, he battles a human villain in the skies above South Africa, wing-walking over a vintage Stearman biplane (the explanation being that since the Entity controls everything digital, only analogue antiques can be relied upon).
These exploits go on far too long and seem more to serve Cruise's determination to be the most prodigious daredevil in the movies than any audience demand. Once again, Cruise has no doubt performed these stunning stunts himself – but hundreds of CGI and special-effects artists are credited too. The film's production budget is said to be some $400m, a stretch even for this franchise to recover.
Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe
And Peter Pan has finally aged a bit. Cruise sports longer, darker hair – 'You know, I like the longer hair,' says Grace – to set off an older countenance. At first I couldn't think who the new look reminded me of and then it came: Ronnie Wood. The energy is still there, though, including another demonstration of his slash-handed, knee-pumping running, as he races over Westminster Bridge and right through London to reach his imperilled bestie, Luther (grizzled colossus Ving Rhames) – an eccentric transport choice, especially when he's old enough for a 60+ Oyster.
He gets his kit off as much as ever, too. Ethan has a nasty knife-fight wearing just his pants, and then, in the sunken sub, boldly strips down to his trunks to squeeze through a torpedo tube. Cruise may be in spiffy shape for his age: quite the reassurance for fellow boomers. But can cinema-goers 40 or more years younger sincerely relish so senior a torso? For how long? Cruise has said that he doesn't see why he should not go on as long as Harrison Ford (82). He may. It is noteworthy that Ethan's team includes spirited women but never any other challengingly attractive young men. Vast Luther and nerdy Benji (Simon Pegg) do not offer much competition for Ethan. Nor, for that matter, does the prime villain here, Gabriel (Esai Morales), said to be a 'dark messiah' but is more like a tetchy maître d'.
So Tom Cruise has produced yet another thumping vehicle for himself, our great action hero, the would-be saviour of marquee cinema and the world. Yet he remains peculiarly unrelatable, sexless, strange.
'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' is in cinemas now
[See also: Modernity has killed the private life]
Related

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Mail​

9 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

Common cruise cost-saving hack backfires as woman gets BANNED for life

A woman has been banned for life from a popular cruise line after sharing a video of her smuggling alcohol on board a ship. Courtney Murley posted a video detailing how to avoid paying for a costly drinks package on a cruise. She captioned the video, which got over 400k views on TikTok, 'Def waited until after I got home to post this! Hahahaha but it worked.' But it seems the video was brought to the attention of Carnival Cruise Lines who have now banned her from travelling with them again. In the viral video Ms Murley demonstrated how she was able to sneak alcohol on board the Carnival Conquest at the end of March. She said: 'Forget a drink package lol….okay we ended up drinking probably what we would of paid for a drink package anyways but still was fun to try and see if the rum runners would work.' Followers took to the comments to warn Ms Murley that there could be consequences. One user wrote: 'Wow. The last thing to do is post this and when you get banned whine about it not being alcohol. You ratted yourself out.' Ms Murley later shared a screenshot of a letter that she received from Carnival Cruise Lines banning her from future travel. It read: 'This letter is to inform you that you will not be able to sail onboard any Carnival Cruise Line vessel in the future due to the smuggling of alcohol onboard the Carnival Conquest on March 31st, 2025, and subsequently posting about it on social media platforms. 'Your attempt to book a future cruise will result in cancellation and a possible loss of deposit monies.' However, in a follow-up video, Ms Murley then claimed that she never actually smuggled alcohol onboard. Instead, she made up the story in what became a successful attempt to go viral. She said: 'What I'm mad about is that they are banning me for something that didn't happen,' she claimed. 'They said for smuggling alcohol. I did not smuggle alcohol. 'Not one ounce of alcohol was smuggled onto the ship.'

The Independent

3 days ago

• The Independent

The three Royal Caribbean mega cruise ships set for an upgrade in 2026

Three popular Royal Caribbean cruise ships are set for an upgrade next year to add features such as new suites, pools, bars and restaurants. The cruise line has announced that Ovation of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas, which will be sailing from Southampton next summer, will enter dry dock for improvements in early 2026. The revamp follows upgrades – or what Royal Caribbean describes as 'amplifications' – made to Allure of the Seas earlier this year, which the brand said has proved popular with passengers. Here is what passengers can expect. Ovation of the Seas Launched in 2016, the 4,182-capacity Ovation will have a refit in Singapore from early March 2026. The vessel is set for a revamped pool deck with private casitas and a new whirlpool spa. Popular venues from other vessels, such as Giovanni's Italian Kitchen, Izumi Teppanyaki, the tiki-themed Pesky Parrot bar, and a new nightlife venue called Sound Cellar, will also be added to the Quantum-class ship. A new Ultimate Family Suite and Panoramic Suite will also be added. The ship is due to operate Alaska sailings from spring 2026. Harmony of the Seas The 5,479-capacity Harmony will enter dry dock in Navantia, Cadiz, from early March 2026. Harmony, which launched in May 2016 and ranks among the largest cruise ships in the world, will also get a new Ultimate Family Suite and will welcome a Caribbean-inspired pool deck with tropical drinks available at the new The Lime & Coconut, as well as a refreshed adults-only Solarium. The Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade, Mexican restaurant El Loco Fresh and the new Samba Grill Brazilian Steakhouse are also being added. Royal Caribbean is also promising the largest Casino Royale on board. Harmony is due to return to service with sailings from Barcelona around the Mediterranean in May before heading to Port Canaveral for Caribbean cruises in winter 2026. Liberty of the Seas Liberty will be refurbished in Brest, France, from late April 2026. It is one of the oldest ships in the fleet, launched in 2007 with capacity for 3,798 passengers. The ship's last refit was in 2011. Changes will include a new pool deck with The Lime & Coconut and new casitas or wooden cabins by the pool. A Royal Escape Room is being added along with Japanese cuisine from Izumi Teppanyaki and tacos from El Loco Fresh. A Starbucks is also coming to the ship. Once complete, UK passengers will be able to enjoy the newly refurbished Liberty of the Seas during sailings from Southampton next summer. Jay Schneider, chief product innovation officer for Royal Caribbean, said: 'Royal Caribbean continues to raise the bar on delivering the best of every vacation with revolutionary ships and top-rated exclusive destinations. 'The 'Royal amplified' programme gives our guests the best of Royal Caribbean with new-to-class culinary options and experiences, entertainment and thrilling adventures, paired with the hospitality and service Royal Caribbean is known for. 'After seeing incredible success and guest satisfaction with the amplification of Allure of the Seas, we're excited to bring three new 'amplifications' to our fleet in 2026.'

Scotsman

3 days ago

• Scotsman

Neil Cowley Trio, Glasgow Jazz Festival review: 'full-on piano'

Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Neil Cowley Trio, St Luke's, Glasgow ★★★★ Following a seven-year hiatus after their wonderful Spacebound Apes album, the Neil Cowley Trio have a new album and are back on the road – with a vengeance, as manifested by their take-no-prisoners set on the opening night of Glasgow Jazz Festival. Neil Cowley Trio | Contributed The new album's title, Entity, certainly hints at the tightly organic interplay between Cowley on piano, double-bassist Rex Horan and drummer Evan Jenkins, right from their opener, Marble, the piano's stately ringing escorted by thrumming bass and drum mallets. The subsequent scampering keyboard hook of Lemon Meringue worked up a mighty groove, not least through Horan's bass reverberating through our seats. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Cowley had forsaken the ethereal electronica which can shimmer around his studio playing; instead this was full-on piano, as in the unremitting batter of Sharks of Competition, Jenkins cutting loose on drums, at times making you wonder whether they were being egged on by the toy T-Rex perched above Cowley's keyboard. In contrast, Cowley spelled out the spare, lyrical melody of Father Daughter, while numbers such as the title track from the new album, Entity, created expansively rippling arpeggios that the trio could whip into yet another bass and drums storm. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad They closed with a trio of tunes that opened with the beautifully meditative Grace, before cranking up yet more intense drive – jazz piano trio as rock band.