MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING TRAILER 1

Tom Cruise returns as daredevil super-spy Ethan Hunt, in the 8^th (potentially final?) installment of the franchise that cemented him as one of Hollywood’s most iconic action superstars. This is the 1^st teaser for Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning.

In typical Mission Impossible fashion, the atmospheric teaser revolves around Hunt’s inability to sacrifice one life for the sake of millions. Visually, the trailer offers brief glimpses at the film’s big setpieces, most notably a nuke-filled submarine in the Arctic somehow ending in Hunt under a frozen lake, and a sequence where Hunt hangs off a biplane mid-barrel roll.

In addition to the main players, the film also signifies the lead villain Gabriel (Esai Morales) will be returning from Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning. The trailer ends with a wearied Hunt telling an offscreen character, “I need you to trust me, one last time.”.

Tom Cruise. The last movie star of his kind. A one-man action machine who, despite his questionable religious background, has devoted his life to the art of film. The 1^st teaser for the possibly final Mission Impossible film feels almost about Tom Cruise’s legacy as the characters themselves. Never before has a franchise become so synonymous with its lead star’s performance. When Hunt says the final lines of the trailer, it feels like Cruise is speaking to the audience. And you know what? He’s earned it. I’ll trust you Tom, one last time.

The teaser itself takes on a more nostalgic tone, displaying past films with a more melancholy version of the franchise’s iconic theme. It feels like they’re playing up the “end of an era” vibe more than usual, and it works to startling effect. In an age of CG clutter, the Mission Impossible films have felt like one of the last saviors of a bygone action era, and they will truly be missed when they’re gone.

Character-wise, the teaser doesn’t have the opportunity to delve deeply into anyone besides Hunt. I’m concerned that the film’s theme of Hunt’s inability to give up may not hold as much weight with audiences given they’ve done versions of this same character beat in every movie since Rogue Nation.

But, then again, these films have never been about the story – the story has always been a bridge to the action. And, by god, the action in this teaser delivers. Dead Reckoning definitely saw a little more stylization in the action’s presentation on-screen, and this film looks to continue that trend. One specific shot of Hunt lying prone underwater could be framed and hung in the Louvre.

All in all, the 1^st teaser did exactly what it needed to do: give audiences a taste of the action, re-establish the players involved since Dead Reckoning, and leave them wanting more. The hype train is a-rollin, folks!

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning will be released theatrically in the US on May 23, 2025. The movie stars an ensemble cast led by Tom Cruise.