First viewing
Theater, opening weekend

This is a tough one. For a film that is meant to be a pair to Dead Reckoning, it's both better and worse. The direction is better this time. It doesn't display a voice, but it's also not copying someone else's voice which the previous film felt like it was trying to.

The cons - it was too long, due in large part to all of the flash backs and exposition holding the hands of viewers of didn't watch all seven of the previous films prior to watching this. Or those who didn't watch an explainer prior to watching this. It also did a lot of retroactive continuity building - such as the return (and expansion of) William Donloe. He saw his character elevated from a guy who worked in the server room to the guy who designed the server - a fact that I'm almost certain was present in MI:1. And the idea that the Rabbits Foot from MI:3 was the progenitor of The Entity - which honestly felt like the series was trying to tie that one up. The culmination of these felt like when the Bond franchise tried to do a 3rd quarter pivot into a connected franchise, albeit the Mission team did their homework first. Unlike Bond, Hunt lives at the end, leaving

The okays - the subtext of creativity versus AI was maintained. And honestly, I don't disagree with it. I still don't necessarily believe in free will, but the current AI is certainly not creative.

The pros - The biggest takeaway was this felt like a solid way to end the franchise. Or at least this iteration of it. It felt like they tried out a few times to find a replacement and ultimately came to the conclusion that there isn't another Tom Cruise. Maybe they'll figure something out later, but for now Tom's 62. He can't keep doing actual stunts - the draw for these films - much longer or else he risks ending up in a "13 cuts to get Liam Neeson over the fence in Taken" scenario. As a send off for a third franchise and as a love letter to film making, this stuck the landing far better than Star Wars.