The eighth and purportedly last installment in the stunt-forward espionage film series, Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (B-) is a very late bloomer, with both extended exposition and also a soggy undersea sequence overstaying their welcome before the movie’s final hour finally delivers the goods with intersecting sequences of suspense and Tom Cruise in an amazing fight climbing between two mid-air biplanes. For Cruise, this film delivers all the tropes: maverick hero who is the only one with the right answers to save the world, extended risky business in underwear (this time on a submarine) and so much running through cities that a few good men would hardly be able to keep up the pace. The story is over-engineered, but the stakes are high. The ensemble doesn’t get much room to shine, except Angela Bassett who’s in the zone as a resolute American president. And alas few new gadgets are introduced to add to the novelty factor in a series often known for surprising disguises and inventions. The movie really rises to the occasion in the final act with Simon Pegg and Hayley Atwell adding aplomb to the climactic countdown; but by then many may have lost patience with it. Like the seven films before it in the series, it’s a film of impeccable crafts, mighty set pieces and globetrotting adventure. As a franchise it has eclipsed its TV origins to become its own sensation, and still producer Cruise is giving it his all to justify viewers choosing the big screen experience. There are some clever grace notes connecting the new film to prior outings, although this direct sequel to Dead Reckoning can certainly be watched standalone and will not be all that much more confusing. The villain being AI in these final two outings is prescient but also a little underwhelming. Fortunately what starts out as a snooze sticks the landing with Cruise’s control.