Ethan Hunt and the IMF team race against time to find a rogue artificial intelligence (why is AI always the bad guy now if films? ) that can destroy mankind. AI, IMF & VFX: A Mission Worth Rendering In the latest episode of The VFXShow podcast, hosts Matt Wallin, Jason Diamond, and Mike Seymour reunite to dissect the spectacle, story, and seamless visual effects of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. As the eighth entry in the franchise, this chapter serves as a high-stakes, high-altitude crescendo to Tom Cruise’s nearly 30-year run as Ethan Hunt,  the relentless agent of the Impossible Mission Force. Cruise Control: When Practical Meets Pixel While the narrative revolves around the existential threat of a rogue AI known as The Entity, the real heart of the film lies in its bold commitment to visceral, real-world action. The VFX team discusses how Cruise’s ongoing devotion to doing his own death-defying stunts, from leaping between bi-planes to diving into the wreckage of a sunken submarine,  paradoxically increases the importance of invisible VFX. From seamless digital stitching to background replacements and subtle physics enhancements, the effects work had to serve the story without ever betraying the sense of raw, in-camera danger. Matt, Jason, and Mike explore how VFX in this film plays a critical supporting role, cleaning up stunts, compositing dangerous sequences, and selling the illusion of globe-spanning chaos. Whether it’s simulating the collapse of a Cold War-era submarine, managing intricate water dynamics in Ethan’s deep-sea dive, or integrating AI-driven visualisations of nuclear catastrophe, the film leans heavily on sophisticated post work to make Cruise’s practical stunts feel even more grounded and believable. The team also reflects on the thematic evolution of the franchise. While the plot may twist through layers of espionage, betrayal, and digital apocalypse, including face-offs with Gabriel, doomsday cults, and geopolitical brinkmanship,  it is not the team’s favourite MI film. And yet, they note, even as the story veers into sci-fi territory with sentient algorithms and bunker-bound AI traps, the VFX never overshadows the tactile performance at the film’s centre. Falling, Flying, Faking It Beautifully For fans of the franchise, visual effects, or just adrenaline-fueled cinema, this episode offers a thoughtful cinematic critique on how modern VFX artistry and old-school stuntwork can coexist to save a film that has lost its driving narrative direction. This week in our lineup is (or are they really??) Matt Wallin *            @mattwallin    www.mattwallin.com Follow Matt on Mastodon: @[email protected] Jason Diamond  @jasondiamond           www.thediamondbros.com Mike Seymour   @mikeseymour             www.fxguide.com. + @mikeseymour Special thanks to Matt Wallin for the editing & production of the show with help from Jim Shen.

Thunderbolts*  is the 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Jake Schreier and stars an ensemble cast featuring Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Pierce, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In the film, a group of antiheroes are caught in a deadly trap and forced to work together on a dangerous mission. Don’t forget to subscribe to both the VFXShow and the fxpodcast to get both of our most popular podcasts. This week in our lineup is: Matt Wallin *            @mattwallin    www.mattwallin.com Follow Matt on Mastodon: @[email protected] Jason Diamond  @jasondiamond           www.thediamondbros.com Mike Seymour   @mikeseymour             www.fxguide.com. + @mikeseymour Jason referenced his Tribeca film: How Dark My Love Special thanks to Matt Wallin for the editing & production of the show with help from Jim Shen.