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When you have the word “final” in the title as Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning does, it would suggest the last entry in a franchise. But does Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt sail off into the sunset?
Warning: Spoilers ahead for Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning
Explaining the ending of Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning
The trailers for The Final Reckoning show one of Cruise's most insane stunts yet. He hangs off the side of a tiny airplane that is being flown by Gabriel (Esai Morales).
Before we get there, though, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has to get the Entity's source code. Remember, it is submerged hundreds of feet below the surface somewhere in the ocean.
The U.S. government is stressing out while watching Ethan's mission. President Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett) granted Ethan four days to save the world.
However, time is drawing to an end. Ethan and IMF are running out of time to save the day, and countries across the globe are surrendering their defense systems.
Going underwater
Luckily, Ethan and IMF win the race to find the exact coordinates with the help of William Donloe (Rolf Saxon), who was last seen in the first Mission: Impossible. He was transferred to Alaska by the CIA following the events of the first film.
As fate would have it, he was involved with the submarine accident that the Entity spawned from. He helps the IMF team get the coordinates — which were flipped to throw bad guys off the course — and Grace (Hayley Atwell) is able to save Ethan after he loses consciousness underwater.
The mission then becomes rocky. They still have to go to South Africa, where Gabriel is expecting them, in an effort to destroy the Entity.
Gabriel and the IMF team are interrupted by Jasper Briggs (Shea Whigham) and Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny). A shootout ensues, and Ethan chases after Gabriel, who he handed the device with the Entity's source code to.
Tom Cruise's crazy plane stunt
That leads Ethan to the high-octane plane stunt. He originally hops onto a different plane before taking over it. He slowly gains on Gabriel and eventually finds himself in his small airplane.
Meanwhile, Grace, Benji (Simon Pegg), Paris (Pom Klementieff), and Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis) are still in the mines. William and his wife offer to shut down the bomb that Gabriel set off, and Degas accompanies them.
Grace, Paris, and Benji — who has been shot — need to get to the server room. If Ethan is able to retrieve the device from Gabriel, he will have to combine it with the device given to him earlier in the film by Luther (Ving Rhames).
While Paris operates on Benji, Grace awaits the green light. She has the blink of an eye to trap the Entity into the flash drive, trapping the proverbial genie in a bottle.
Does Ethan Hunt save the world again in Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning?
Back in the air, Ethan and Gabriel wrestle for control of the plane. Ethan eventually wins, throwing Gabriel over, who meets his demise. He hits his head on the plane after initially escaping Ethan's grasp.
Ethan still has a big problem — the plane is turning into flames, and he doesn't have a parachute. In a scramble, he finds one, jumping out while trying to give the Entity Luther's creation.
In the control room, Grace sees it and pulls the trigger. She is able to contain the Entity in the flash drive, and Ethan is still in the air, tumbling down to Earth.
Luckily, he survives his crash landing. Ethan then receives a message from Luther, indicating that he has once again saved the world. Luther reminds Ethan of what's really important, saying something along the lines of, “The world still needs you; they might not know it,” reaffirming how IMF lives in the shadows.
Eugene and Jasper find him in a field. Finally, Jasper shakes Ethan's hand, forgiving him for everything they have been through. They then take him home on an aircraft.
One last IMF team reunion
Sometime later, the team reunites in Trafalgar Square in Paris, France. It harkens back to the older Mission: Impossible movies as everyone shares a reassuring nod with Ethan.
Even Benji is there. Things looked dire for him in the control room, but he survived the gunshot and appears to be back in full strength at the end of The Final Reckoning.
It is unclear what is next. Could there be another Mission: Impossible movie after The Final Reckoning? Absolutely. The only major character to die was Luther, but Grace, Paris, and Degas' stories are all just getting started.
Plus, Ethan Hunt appears to be invincible. Cruise may continue to play this character until he no longer can. So, expect The Final Reckoning to be another chapter in Ethan's story, not the final.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning is in theaters.
