We’re now a good couple of weeks into the summer blockbuster season and so far we’ve been presented with Thunderbolts*, Final Destination: Bloodlines, and a re-release of X-Men (with almost all of the X-sequels, prequels, and spin-offs set to follow). All-in-all, not a bad start indeed.
But do you fancy another blockbuster? Maybe an EPIC one this time around?!
OK, then how about Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning? Cruise brings the action-adventure series back to the big screen with a new instalment, and you can read all about it below.
Plus, in this week’s edition of Movie Reviews 2025 you’ll find reviews for Bad Influence, and He Never Left. And if that wasn’t enough, the largely forgotten 1995 thriller, Above Suspicion steps into the spotlight to mark the film’s 30th birthday.
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Now streaming…
Bad Influence (2025)
First up this week is the Spanish teen thriller, Bad Influence (aka Mala Influencia). Directed by Chloé Wallace, and now streaming on Netflix, the film stars Alberto Olmo, Eléa Rochera, and Enrique Arce, and follows the story of an ex-con who is hired to protect a young girl from a stalker.
In the movie, middle-aged father Bruce Russell is worried about his 17-year-old dancer daughter, Reese. Reese is being harassed by an unknown stalker, it’s causing a great deal of stress, and he wants to do something about it.
Keen to protect his daughter at all costs, Bruce goes to the local jail, speaks to sexy bad boy, Eros, and offers him a proposition. He’ll get Eros out of jail early if he’ll watch over Reese.
Eros accepts the job and becomes Reese’s unofficial bodyguard. But will he be able to protect her, and more importantly, will anyone watching this rubbish really care?
Just when you thought Netflix couldn’t serve up any more drivel, the streaming giant proves us all wrong and manages to find space on its servers for this tosh. And to be clear, Bad Influence is tosh.
The film uses every cliché in the book and then some! He’s hunky, she’s pretty. He’s poor, she’s rich. He’s a bad boy, she’s a brat. And so on, and so on.
There are many more clichés in this film, but you get the point. Bad Influence essentially spends the best part of two hours telling the audience what it already knows, before building up to a lacklustre and rather rushed ending.
You don’t need to watch Bad Influence to know you’ve already seen this movie or to predict where it’s going. It certainly doesn’t offer up anything new or exciting, and like most Netflix films it appears to just exist to fill in time, rather than to entertain.
The highlight? The soundtrack boasts Aqua and Die Antwoord. The lowlight? Everything else.
Save yourself some time and skip Bad Influence. It’s predictable, you aren’t.
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On disc…
He Never Left (2023)
Up next, and new to Blu-ray and DVD in the UK is the small-budget 2023 horror-thriller, He Never Left. Written and directed by James Morris, the film stars Colin Cunningham, Jessica Staples, and William McAllister, and focuses on a criminal who crosses paths with a serial killer.
In the film, for more than a decade the town of Larsen City was plagued by a mysterious figure known as the ‘Pale Face’ killer. However, in 1997 he abruptly disappeared, never to be seen again.
Fast forward to the present day, and ex-convict Gabriel is on the run for stealing from his work and killing his boss in a hit-and-run. With help from his girlfriend, he checks into the Skyline Motel in Larsen City with the hopes of lying low for a while.
On the first night in his room, Gabriel hears strange noises coming from next door. The next night he discovers the Pale Face killer never left the city.
With a decent premise, some atmospheric shots, and its heart in the right place, He Never Left is one of those films you desperately want to succeed. It has some nice ideas, demonstrates love for the genre, and tries to do something with its limited budget.
Yet unfortunately, despite its best efforts, He Never Left doesn’t quite pull things off. There’s little in the way of any killings, the story runs out of steam midway through, and the whole thing lacks energy.
The bones are there, but ultimately that’s all there is. It’s not snappy enough or developed enough for what is needed.
Where He Never Left is most successful is in the small moments when it zeroes in on Gabriel’s mental state, or when the story flashes back to his recent crime. There is something here which connects and is at least quite interesting.
However, nothing else quite reaches the same interest level and sadly too much of the film falls flat. It’s never bad, but it’s also never good and it doesn’t achieve what it sets out to do.
Ultimately it is watchable, but also flawed. He Never Left has many of the right components, but it doesn’t know what to do with them and sadly doesn’t work as intended.
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Anniversary Focus…
Above Suspicion (1995)
Moving onto something far more appealing now, and in Above Suspicion, Dempsey Cain is a clean-cut, well respected detective. Dempsey is a devoted family man, with a wife and a young son; he has a good relationship with his younger brother; and to the outside world he has the perfect life.
But Dempsey’s life is not as good as it seems. His wife Gail and his brother Nick are engaged in an affair, which they are conducting behind Dempsey’s back.
One night, in the midst of a surprise birthday party for Gail, Dempsey is called out on a job. However, things don’t quite go to plan (in large part due to Nick’s negligence), and Dempsey is shot and paralysed.
Despite intense rehabilitation, Dempsey can’t to go back to work, he can’t make money, and he falls into a deep depression. Unable to see a way forward, he devises a plan to have Gail and Nick bump him off in order to obtain his life insurance money to secure his son’s future.
The policy will pay out $2 million if his death appears to be an accident, so he suggests Nick and Gail stage a burglary. During the ‘break in’ they are to fatally shoot him, then pocket the subsequent pay-out.
Nick and Gail agree to Dempsey’s proposal and set about preparing everything they need, while also setting up a plausible alibi. However, on the night of the burglary, things don’t go to plan.
Directed by Steven Schachter, Above Suspicion is a made-for-TV crime thriller starring Christopher Reeve, Kim Cattrall, Edward Kerr, Finola Hughes, Clark Gregg, William H. Macy, and Joe Mantegna. The film premiered in the US on May 21st 1995, and this year celebrates its 30th anniversary.
But sadly, not that many movie-watchers will be rolling out the bunting, blowing up balloons, or wheeling out a birthday cake for this film, because Above Suspicion is a largely forgotten picture, mostly lost to time. You won’t find it on Netflix, it doesn’t crop up on TV, and to date it is not available on Blu-ray.
But Above Suspicion is a picture which deserves its birthday celebrations nonetheless. As made-for-TV movies go the film is a real cracker, which boasts a compelling story, a great cast, and a brilliant performance from the late Christopher Reeve as Dempsey.
The role allows Reeve to show off his range as an actor and demonstrates that he was more than just the guy who played Superman. In this film he takes his character to some very dark places, and it is a masterful performance as well as arguably one of his best.
In a cruel moment of life imitating art, Above Suspicion was also Reeve’s final film prior to his well-documented horse riding accident in 1995 which left him paralysed. Above Suspicion aired just six days before the accident, making it somewhat notable for all the wrong reasons.
As mentioned above, Above Suspicion has quite a stacked cast of famous names, with Reeve sharing the screen alongside Cattrall, Hughes, Gregg, Mantegna, and Macy. William H. Macy was also a co-writer on the film, penning the script along with Jerry Lazarus and director Steven Schachter.
And it is a really solid script with a strong premise and an equally strong pay-off. The film includes a killer twist, which really switches things up, and results in a fab 90-minute thriller.
If you wish to visit or possibly revisit Above Suspicion for its 30th anniversary, I’m sorry to say you are going to struggle somewhat, as the movie is not easy to come by. Above Suspicion has previously been released on VHS in the UK, as well as on DVD in the US, but the last time it was on disc was around a decade ago.
That said, copies of the US Region 1 DVD are available on eBay and Amazon. So, if you like the sound of the film, or you want to take a look at this oft-overlooked classic from Christopher Reeve’s back catalogue, you know what to do.
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In cinemas…
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)
And finally, heading into UK cinemas on May 21st and US cinemas on May 23rd is the action-adventure movie, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Directed and co-written by Christopher McQuarrie, the film stars Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, and Angela Bassett, and is the eighth instalment in the M:I series.
Picking up two months after the events of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Ethan Hunt is still on the trail of the elusive artificial intelligence program known as the Entity. But since we last checked in with Ethan, the Entity has taken over the whole of cyberspace, influencing the people of the world in an increasingly negative way.
Doomsday cults are infiltrating important positions in the world, and mankind is turning on itself. To make matters worse, the Entity is slowly gaining control of the world’s nuclear arsenal, leaving all life on the planet at risk.
With the stakes now at their highest, Ethan must utilise all his super spy skills to save the day. But in order to do so, he and his team face a battle that seems beyond impossible to win.
You know, it’s taken quite a while to get here. And when I say “here”, I mean to this eighth Mission: Impossible movie.
The film was initially announced back in 2019, and was originally intended to be shot back-to-back with its predecessor, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023). Back then, the two films (M:I-7 & M:I-8) were to be titled ‘Dead Reckoning: Part One’, and ‘Dead Reckoning: Part Two’, with a release date set for 2021 and 2022 respectively.
But plans changed, the back-to-back shoot was dropped, and various production challenges with the two films got in the way, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Hollywood strikes, and a malfunctioning submarine. The release dates were also pushed back, the budgets on both films ballooned, and the titles of the two pictures were ultimately tweaked, becoming Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in the process.
So, to say it has been quite a journey to get “here” is an understatement. In reality, it has been a Herculean task, which director Christopher McQuarrie, star Tom Cruise, and studio Paramount Pictures have remained committed to despite the setbacks and delays.
Has it all been worth it? Yes.
The Mission: Impossible movies have always been about delivering top drawer thrills and spills and this latest offering doesn’t come up short. Back in 2023, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning was a fun film which showcased some impressive stunts (particularly that train sequence), and now in 2025, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning follows suit.
You want scenes of spectacle? You can have them. Stunts too!
This is a Mission: Impossible movie after all, so stunts come with the territory. These films thrive on Tom Cruise throwing himself off one thing or another, and in this instalment there’s underwater peril, jeep chaos, and aerial action to marvel at.
You can also have a scene of Cruise kicking ass in just his pants (underwear to all the American readers out there). Nothing screams a death defying situation like a fight in your smalls, and Cruise leans into the situation, undercrackers and all!
Oh, and if all that wasn’t enough, there’s various scenes of war room tension, at least three nail-biting countdowns, and an emotive and heartfelt monologue to play out the picture. Plus, with this being an EPIC movie, there are multiple callbacks to past missions, including nods and references to characters and situations from the very first film in the series.
And all of this adds up to a pretty damn exhilarating way to spend nearly three hours at the flicks. Clocking in at two-hours-and-fifty-minutes, this is the longest Mission: Impossible movie to date, and also the one which really does feel like end-of-the-world stuff.
Cruise is of course on fine form as Hunt, Hayley Atwell is marvellous as she reprises the role of Grace from Dead Reckoning, and all the usual supporting players (Rhames, Pegg, Bassett, etc) bring their A-game. Everyone involved gives it their all, and then some, committing to the material through thick and thin.
This is of course for the best, because despite the many positives, The Final Reckoning does suffer from some incredibly clunky dialogue, and it is arguably longer than it needs to be. One too many flashbacks and reminders of the plot do get in the way a touch, and perhaps a bit more editing and some better lines wouldn’t have hurt either.
But quibbles aside, there’s no escaping the fact The Final Reckoning is hugely entertaining and worth the price of a cinema ticket. No other action movie series (other than Bond) comes even close to what the Mission: Impossible films bring to the table, and this should be recognised accordingly.
Too many films, especially action films, are descending into CGI nonsense, yet the Mission: Impossiblemovies continue to maintain a consistent level of quality, as well as a determination to keep good old fashioned stunt cinema alive. Sure, parts of this film may not always land as intended, but it’s difficult to fault what it sets out to do.
If you want to be entertained, The Final Reckoning will do this. It’s event cinema, and what big screen adventure is all about.
For a series that started off fairly episodic, the Mission: Impossible movies have systematically become more and more connected. The Final Reckoning is easily the most connected of them all, and a film which feels like a culmination of nearly 30 years of spy-fi action.
Of course, whether this movie is the final entry in the series remains to be seen. No spoilers, but there is always the potential for more, although how the stakes could get any higher is a question only the writers could answer.
Ultimately, the real challenge could be convincing Paramount to invest in more entries beyond this eighth picture. Recouping the eye-watering budget on this film (reportedly $400 million) and then putting it into profit may prove to be a mission even Ethan Hunt can’t overcome, but we will let the Hollywood bean counters worry about this problem.
For you and I, we can just kick back and enjoy what’s on offer. The Final Reckoning does pretty much what it promises to do, and if you want dramatic, tension-mounting blockbuster action (that is occasionally a bit nonsense), then you can have it in spades.
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Movie of the Week
It’s time for Movie of the Week, and let’s be honest, it can only be Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. The M:I film series has a ruddy good hit rate, especially the Christopher McQuarrie-directed entries (5-8), so this film would really have to drop the ball to be anything less than entertaining.
Cruise is on fine form, the action and spectacle is exciting, and the stakes have never been higher. It’s what you want from a summer blockbuster.
And if you like Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, you may also like:
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023) – Tom Cruise faces death defying stunts in this precursor to The Final Reckoning.
- Edge of Tomorrow (2014) – Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt team up for this highly enjoyable time-loop sci-fi film.
- Casino Royale (2006) – Daniel Craig takes over the role of 007 in this reboot of the James Bond franchise.
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Forthcoming attractions
And that’s it for another week, but coming soon Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Han join forces for Karate Kid: Legends; Wes Anderson gathers together an all-star cast for The Phoenician Scheme; and there’s horror with Clown in a Cornfield. Plus director Dan Trachtenberg unveils his animated anthology film, Predator: Killer of Killers.
Alex
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Thank you for taking the time to read Movie Reviews 2025 on It’s A Stampede!. For more reviews, check out the recommended reads below.
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