Warning: Slight spoilers for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning are in play, should you choose to accept them.
For an event as massive as Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the fun doesn’t end after one viewing. As our latest 2025 movie schedule blockbuster says goodbye to Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, there are a lot of details to discuss, which makes the film so easy to revisit. Of course, as a premium format fan, one of the subjects I was eager to dive into was how this last dance with Mr. Hunt was going to play in 4DX.
While I expected this to be a fun and thrilling adventure, the results were so good that they left me questioning which major set piece was my favorite. And after heading in with what I thought was a clear winner in mind, I’m now questioning that choice.
Mission: Impossible 8 review, I went into my second viewing still holding the Sevastopol dive as my top-tier Final Reckoning set piece. That very well could be thanks to how my views on Sean Connery’s James Bond movies have changed over time, allowing Thunderball’s underwater action to truly impress me the last time I saw it.
Much like that 007 adventure, Ethan Hunt’s journey through the sunken Russian sub that’s literally key to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’s ending is a slow burn that ratchets up the tension through a sequence that never lets up. The momentum keeps things moving at a steady pace, and I valued that over the still impressive, but much showier biplane stunt advertised all over.
Alien: Romulus’ 4DX variant as the movie that let me safely experience airlock decompression, the technical wizards who converted Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning for 4DX deserve credit for upping the game on this last dash for digital supremacy.
Christopher McQuarrie’s fourth entry at the helm was all about Tom Cruise actually hanging on for dear life up in the air. Everything from CinemaCon teases to posters and BTS featurettes talked this scene up in a way similar to Cruise’s Dead Reckoning bike jump.
Being bombarded by that sort of messaging kind of takes away the fun, and my own love of submarine thrillers like Crimson Tide may have helped influence me to enjoy this feat at a distance. Having the 4DX format present certainly changed my mind, because of actually feeling the rise and fall of the planes in action.
So instead of playing like a moment I had on my checklist of moments included in the trailer, it was an actual experience. It certainly wasn’t as painful as The Final Reckoning’s featurette on this stunt made it look, but it was thrilling enough that I’m still pondering which showstopper I prefer.
Any Format That Shakes The Seats In Time With The Mission: Impossible Theme Is A Winner To Me
Ok, Mission fans, there’s one last factor I want to throw out there for you to consider when choosing formats. As we all know, the 4DX formula includes some vibrating seat pads that hit from head to toe. So when Tom Cruise is being thrown against walls in an impromptu torture scene in the first act, prepare for a bit of a back massage.
But what is even more impressive is how Mission: Impossible 8’s opening credits used this format in an unconventional, but welcome way. Your seat literally vibrates to the tune of Lalo Schiffrin’s iconic theme tune from the original TV show. And if you’re in theaters to see The Final Reckoning, you’re probably someone who loves that song as well.
That right there should be the clincher for any arguments as to which format you’d like to experience Ethan Hunt’s final adventure – unless, of course, you really want to see those clever ratio shifts. Once again, there are no bad answers, as Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is in theaters now, waiting to help fans self-destruct with excitement.