Last Action Hero: Tom Cruise's Last Mission Impossible in Home Cinema Test
The double feature of parts 7 and 8 is now also available on UHD. Whether the action hero delivers a flawless finale on stream and disc, our test reveals.
(Image: Paramount)
- Timo Wolters
Did Brian De Palma realize almost 30 years ago what he was unleashing with the first cinematic adaptation of the popular series "Mission: Impossible"? For the home cinema release of the final, eighth film in the Mission: Impossible series, we're revisiting the two-part conclusion of the franchise and also looking at the picture and sound quality of the Blu-ray Disc, Ultra HD Blu-ray (UHD), and streams. Spoiler: We're dealing with reference material here, where even the streams prove to have excellent quality.
But one thing at a time: Anyone who only saw the eighth part in the cinema will be puzzled by the initial confusion. Therefore, we'll briefly touch upon the plot and production before delving into the technical details.
Exciting Prelude
Ever since De Palma launched the first impossible mission in 1996, Ethan Hunt has been racing through disguises, double-crosses, and stunts on the verge of self-destruction for the "Impossible Mission Force" (IMF) of the USA. Dead Reckoning and The Final Reckoning are now pushing this principle to its digital endgame. A novel AI, the Entity, which has infiltrated everywhere, sinks a Russian submarine at the beginning, leaving behind a two-part, cross-shaped key as the only access. Hunt is tasked by Eugene Kittridge to find the submerged Ilsa Faust to secure one half of the key. In Rome, the cunning thief Grace also crosses his plans, and soon half the shadow world is chasing the same key, while Benji and Luther, as always, provide support and conscience.
(Image:Â Paramount)
The trail leads from the airport via a train to that wreck which promises answers. And the closer the team gets, the more porous and endangered reality becomes: messages, financial flows, orders, everything is manipulated. A sect even glorifies the Entity, saviors and governments warn of the great unplugging. Where previous missions defused bombs, bioweapons, or traitors, the infrastructure of modernity itself is now at stake, and Ethan must make the slowest decision of his career at the greatest speed: How do you stop something that is everywhere without shutting down the world as well?
Dead Reckoning begins with a real nail-biter in the submarine and quickly finds the tone that has made the series so smooth lately. The pacing is right, the visuals are spot on, the humor lands precisely rather than overstaying its welcome. The chase in Rome (a Fiat 500 against rolling war machines) is not only choreographed at breakneck speed but also thrives on the great chemistry between Hayley Atwell and Tom Cruise. The airport sequence at the beginning cleverly uses camera angles and drama, and the train finale has the rare mix of retro adventure and gripping stunt coordination.
(Image:Â Paramount)
Even if fans of the console game Uncharted might suspect plagiarism here, not without reason. The fact that the AI motif isn't just decoration helps: voice imitations, overly intrusive autopilots, data floods – all of this taps into our nerves very contemporaneously and even allows itself to be amused by itself from time to time. Deductions are made because too many parties are pulling at the key and the story occasionally feels like a sleight of hand that lasts a bit too long. Nevertheless, a very well-rounded, very entertaining action thriller.
