It would be impossible to overstate Tom Cruise's impact on Hollywood. A bona fide mega-star, one of the finest actors of his generation and a certifiable mad-man when it comes to the Mission: Impossible movies.

With "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning," we are now eight movies deep into this unlikely franchise...and it feels more like a long-winded farewell rather than going out with a bang. It was of course based on the popular TV series that aired in the late 1960s-early 1970s, but Tom Cruise and his undeniable drive, charisma and vision is what initially propelled the first film in the franchise into a box office smash...propelling the rest of the films to push the boundaries of what an action movie is capable of.

The first seven films have grossed over 4 billion dollars at the box office, and we arrive at "The Final Reckoning" with the loftiest of expectations both financially and creatively. Can it possibly live up to the previous chapters? Will Tom Cruise - like he did with "Top Gun: Maverick" back in 2022 - rejuvenate the movie business and instill a boost of much-needed confidence into a once-again struggling industry?

"Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" is a difficult movie to assign a letter grade to. It's by no means a bad movie, although it may be the weakest entry in the series. Its third act is exhilarating and on par with anything the franchise has given us to date, but those first two hours are a slog. 

I can deal with "implausible"...let's face it...implausibility has been baked into the formula of this series from the very beginning. But the choppy, overcomplicated first two hours feels like a missed opportunity.

There's little question that "Thunderbolts*" is one of the better Marvel films of the past few years...but that's a very low bar to clear.

Taking a cue from the legendary film critic Roger Ebert, all movies should be judged "relative to genre," meaning we shouldn't, say, put "The Minecraft Movie" on the same grading scale as "The Godfather."

With that in mind, "Thunderbolts*" may feel a bit more inspired than recent Marvel movies. But even accepting it for what it is - a teen-targeted superhero team movie - any praise quickly crumbles when you hold up against nearly any other film in the same category. I'll explain.