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I’m a relative newcomer to the Mission: Impossible movies. The first one I ever saw was 2023’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (at the time called Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One), and it blew me away. It instantly became one of my favorite action films of all time, so from the moment the credits began to roll, I couldn’t wait for part two (now simply subtitled The Final Reckoning). Since then, I’ve checked out the other six Mission: Impossible movies to hold me over, but it’s still been a long two years. I’ve been dying to know how this story ends, and thankfully, the wait is finally over. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is here, and I’m happy to report that it does not disappoint.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning was directed and co-written by Christopher McQuarrie, and it stars a massive cast, including Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, and Angela Bassett. In the film, an artificial intelligence program known as the Entity is causing global chaos and threatening to destroy the human race. It’s even gained a cult-like following of deranged individuals who think mankind should be wiped out, and the only people who can stop it are the Impossible Mission Force, an elite group of spies led by Ethan Hunt. At the same time, the Entity’s former lackey, a man named Gabriel, wants to take control of the AI system for his own benefit, so Ethan and his IMF agents essentially have to fight a two-front war to save humanity. Before we get to the real meat of this review, I want to address a question some of you are probably asking–Can you watch The Final Reckoning if you haven’t seen the other Mission: Impossible movies? Yes, you can. Granted, the emotional moments will hit harder if you’re familiar with the characters and the adventures they’ve shared, but the film explains everything you need to know to understand the story. It leaves no man behind, so to speak, so even if you’re a complete newcomer to the franchise like I was two years ago, you’ll still be able to enjoy every second of this amazing movie. With that down, let’s get to the good stuff. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning has all the breathtaking, white-knuckle action that fans of these films have come to expect. We get guns, hand-to-hand combat, fast cars, and, of course, a death-defying Tom Cruise stunt that further cements him as quite possibly the craziest man on the planet. It involves him literally hanging off a plane in mid-air, and it’ll make your jaw hit the floor at record speed. All of this action is an absolute joy to behold, but surprisingly, it doesn’t make for the kind of fun, lighthearted experience we typically expect from this genre. More so than even the other Mission: Impossible movies, every step of Ethan’s plan here has to be executed with pinpoint precision and perfect timing, so all the crazy fights and stunts are saturated with a nearly palpable sense of tension and dread. If any of these IMF agents makes the slightest mistake, the entire world will burn, so when the pace picks up, you’re more likely to leave grip marks on your chair than gleefully stuff your face with popcorn. On top of that great action, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning also features amazing characters…well, mostly. Gabriel is a generic, mustache-twirling villain with no depth beyond his evil aspirations, but the good guys are super likable. They were the first thing that won me over when I saw Dead Reckoning two years ago, and I’m sure they’ll have a similar effect on franchise newcomers this time around as well. Ethan’s team is brought to life by excellent performances that make them incredibly fun to watch, but what really takes this crew to the next level is the love they have for one another. You can just about feel the deep bonds these agents share, and that camaraderie is contagious. Even if you’ve never seen a Mission: Impossible film before, you’ll quickly come to realize how much these characters truly care about each other, and that collective concern imbues their story with the kind of heart and soul that irresistibly hooks you and draws you in. Last but not least, I want to talk about some of the deeper themes of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Most obviously, it tackles the tremendously timely topic of artificial intelligence, and even though the story is pretty fantastical, it still manages to highlight some of the very real dangers this technology poses. For example, when the film begins, the Entity is manipulating images and flat-out fabricating evidence of things that never happened, and as I’m sure you know, this has already become a problem, especially on the internet. Similarly, the program’s desire to wipe out the human race also raises concerns about the wisdom of letting artificial intelligence control our weapons of war, especially our nuclear weapons. Sure, this tech is never going to develop consciousness and free will (it would need a soul to do that), but it could still malfunction in disastrous ways. On a more human level, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning deals with the perennial ethical question of whether we can ever sacrifice human lives for the greater good. It asks if we should kill thousands or even millions in order to save billions, and to my great delight, the answer is a resounding no. To be fair, I can’t quite say I was surprised, as Ethan Hunt has always been adamant about protecting each and every one of his agents even if it means compromising his mission, but it still made me happy to see this movie unwaveringly uphold that timeless moral truth. It’s the thematic cherry on top of this wonderful film, so when the credits began to roll and my theater broke into grateful applause, I was glad to join in. I don’t think Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the best Mission: Impossible movie, but it’s a worthy continuation of this all-time-great action franchise. It’s hands down one of the best experiences I’ve had in a theater all year, so if you’re a film fan, I highly recommend that you give this one a watch.
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I have a confession to make–I’ve never seen the original animated Lilo & Stitch. Disney movies have just never been my thing, so despite all the love that film gets, I never had much of a desire to watch it. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever have any interest in this IP, but that all changed when I saw the trailer for the live-action remake. I thought it actually looked pretty good, so I decided to finally give this beloved story a shot. I bought a ticket for opening weekend as soon as I got the chance, and I hoped I’d like this new movie just as much as most people like the first one.
Lilo & Stitch was directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, and it stars Maia Kealoha, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, Hannah Waddingham, Courtney B. Vance, Zach Galifianakis, and Chris Sanders. In the film, Lilo is a young girl who leads a somewhat troubled life. Her parents died some time ago, so now, the only family she has left is her sister, Nani. To make matters worse, Lilo doesn’t have any friends, and a lot of her schoolmates like to pick on her. All of that stress leads the poor girl to act out, so in the minds of many, she’s a bit of a problem child. But that begins to change when she meets a furry creature named Stitch. Stitch is a genetic experiment from outer space, and he’s on the run from the alien that made him. Through sheer luck, the little guy’s flight brings him to the island where Lilo resides, and when the two titular characters meet, they become instant friends. They learn to mend their deep wounds through an even deeper love, but before they can live happily ever after, they have to outrun the galactic scientist who wants nothing more than to bring his creation back to his home planet. Like I said before, I’ve never seen the original Lilo & Stitch, so I can’t tell you how this new version of the story stacks up against its predecessor. All I can do is judge the movie as its own unique work of art, and from that perspective, it’s a very mixed bag at best. Let’s start with the good. As I’m sure many of you know, this film is essentially a tale of two troubled individuals who learn that you don’t need to be perfect to be worthy of love. Despite the bad things they do, Lilo and Stitch still deserve a family that will love them and accept them for who they are, and as a Christian, I love that. It’s a beautiful allegory for the way God loves us and the way He calls us to love one another, so on a thematic level, this is easily one of the best movies of the year. But as I’ve said in other reviews, a film can’t get by on its message alone. It has to bring that message to life in an enjoyable way, and that’s where Lilo & Stitch falls short. Take the plot, for instance. It’s the same “person befriends an alien who’s being hunted” story we’ve seen numerous times before in movies like E. T., Sonic the Hedgehog, and Bumblebee, so even if this wasn’t a remake, the plot still wouldn’t win any points for originality. That being said, a cliched story doesn’t automatically doom a film to failure. It can still win us over if it executes its familiar plot well, but unfortunately, Lilo & Stitch doesn’t do that. See, this movie isn’t just a heartwarming sci-fi adventure. It’s also a gag-a-minute comedy, and in my opinion, it’s simply not very funny. Sure, there are a handful of truly knee-slapping moments–like an early scene where Nani tries to secretly coach Lilo through a brief conversation with a social worker–but the vast majority of the jokes just don’t land. To be fair, I think young children will probably find this brand of humor absolutely hilarious, but as an adult, I found myself yawning and rolling my eyes way more often than I would’ve liked. In fact, the unfunny comedy is so pervasive it makes Lilo & Stitch feel like a chore you have to endure with clenched teeth, and that’s a real shame. Like I said, at its core this story is really touching, and when the titular characters aren’t trying to make you laugh, they’re actually quite likable. But for me, the unamusing humor completely overpowered those good elements and kept me from enjoying them, so at the end of the day, I’m sad to report that I wouldn’t recommend Disney’s latest live-action remake. The Old Woman with the Knife is the rare film that completely came out of nowhere for me. I had never even heard of this movie until I looked at my local theater’s weekend slate, but when I learned it was a Korean action thriller, I was instantly intrigued. Foreign films that get even limited theatrical releases here in the states tend to be pretty good, so as a big action fan, I figured I’d give this one a shot. I bought a ticket for the earliest screening I could make, and I walked into the theater excited to see what this movie had in store.
The Old Woman with the Knife was written and directed by Min Kyu-dong, and it stars Hyeyeong Lee, Kim Sung-cheol, Yeon Woo-jin, Kim Moo-yul, and Shin Sia. The film follows Hornclaw, an aging assassin who’s basically a female John Wick. This woman is a legend in her field, but her age is finally starting to catch up to her. She's recently been experiencing some concerning health issues, so she doesn't have quite the same facility of movement she enjoyed in her younger years. One day, a promising up-and-comer named Bullfight joins Hornclaw’s organization and quickly positions himself as her heir apparent, but he has his sights set on a different prize. Unbeknownst to Hornclaw, she actually has a deep connection to this young buck, and as the truth about their relationship comes to light, the stakes of their high-risk business rise higher and higher. From that brief plot synopsis, you’re probably expecting The Old Woman with the Knife to feature a boatload of bloody action, and on that count, the movie totally delivers. We get everything from guns to blades to hand-to-hand combat, and it’s all executed with pinpoint precision. Granted, the idea of a sixty-something woman being able to go toe to toe with a man in the prime of his life stretches credulity a bit, but these actors and stunt performers are such excellent martial artists you won’t have a problem suspending your disbelief. They make you feel the weight of every stab, strike, and throw in the film, so you’ll be so caught up in the violent beauty of it all you won’t care how old Hornclaw is. On top of that great action, The Old Woman with the Knife also features a number of excellent performances. Everybody in this cast is 100% believable, but hands down the best of the bunch is Lee Hye-young. She’s the actress who plays Hornclaw, and she absolutely nails every emotion her character experiences. When Hornclaw is working, Lee exudes the calm confidence of a master practicing her craft, but when her declining health rears its ugly head, you can tell that the woman is in genuine distress. There are also a handful of times when Lee has to display a nurturing, almost motherly compassion, and to the surprise of no one, she knocks those scenes out of the park as well. Simply put, The Old Woman with the Knife is about as well-made as any American action flick, but that’s only half the story. If you dig beneath all the bloody action and the ugliness of these assassins’ lives, you’ll find a surprising moral core that’s nothing short of captivating. To be fair, I wouldn’t quite say the film has a particular message the way something like Oldboy does, but it manages to use its violent stylings to affirm the dignity of human life in a number of ways. For instance, Hornclaw’s organization is only supposed to carry out hits on the worst of the worst, and part of the old woman’s journey involves realizing that her boss has recently been losing sight of that important guiding principle. Along similar lines, when the credits begin to roll, Hornclaw herself isn’t the cold-hearted killer she once was, and her relationship with Bullfight ends up being unexpectedly moving. I can’t get much more specific than that without spoiling some of the movie’s surprises, but suffice it to say that The Old Woman with the Knife is a nearly perfect blend of brutal violence and moral substance. It’s just as wildly entertaining as it is touching and uplifting, so if you’re a fan of bloody action thrillers, I highly recommend that you put this film on your radar. NB: Most of you probably won’t be able to catch The Old Woman with the Knife right away, as it’s only been given a very limited theatrical release here in the states. But the movie should be hitting VOD in just a few short months, so if you want to check it out, you’ll get the chance to see it pretty soon. |
Jp Nunezis a longtime film buff and theology nerd with master's degrees in theology and philosophy from Franciscan University of Steubenville. His favorite movie genres are horror, superheroes, and giant monsters. Archives
June 2025
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