Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) Paramount/Action-Adventure RT: 148 minutes Rated PG-13 (violence, intense sequences of action, brief strong language) Director: Christopher McQuarrie Screenplay: Christopher McQuarrie Music: Lorne Balfe Cinematography: Rob Hardy Release date: July 27, 2018 (US) Cast: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Michelle Monaghan, Wes Bentley, Frederick Schmidt, Alec Baldwin. Box Office: $220.2M (US)/$791.1M (World)
Rating: ****
This summer, the “i” and “m” in “excitement” stands for “impossible” and “mission” as in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, easily the best mainstream movie this summer. Did I grab your attention? Good. BTW, this is the blurb I’d like to see appear on TV and print ads.
How is it that the MI movies keep getting better and better? If we’ve learned anything from the history of cinema, it’s that sequels aren’t equals. It’s been proven time and time again. With very few possible exceptions- e.g. The Empire Strikes Back, The Godfather Part II and Police Academy 4 (psych!)- sequels are mere retreads made solely for their cash-grab value. Brand name recognition goes a long way at the box office. That’s been the prevailing mentality in Hollywood for as long as I can remember. It doesn’t always translate into financial success (Grease 2 anybody?) but enough of them hit that studios keep churning them out. Oh my! Look at me veering off-track already.
The MI franchise is a rarity in that the quality of the sequels goes up rather than down. Mission: Impossible – Fallout, the sixth entry in the series, is concrete proof of that. It’s pure dynamite. It’s a slam-bang, lightning-fast, perfectly oiled action machine bolstered by a well-written screenplay, finely-tuned plot and great action performances. Everything in this movie works in perfect synch. Not only that, it doesn’t waste time on things like character exposition or plot overexplaining. It doesn’t have a villain who talks too much. It doesn’t even have that much of a set-up. It basically drops you right into the action.
The first thing you need to know about Mission: Impossible – Fallout is that it’s a direct sequel to the previous installment, 2015’s Rogue Nation (also excellent!). This is a first in MI history. After choosing to accept his latest mission (via a copy of Homer’s Odyssey), IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) finds himself in Berlin with his team, tech geek/field agent Benji (Pegg, Star Trek) and hulking jack-of-all-trades agent Luther (Rhames, Pulp Fiction). They’re after a terrorist group called “The Apostles”, the remaining members of the Syndicate, the criminal organization busted up by Hunt and his team in Rogue Nation. They’re about to acquire three plutonium cores with which they plan to build nuclear bombs. Hunt fails in his mission to intercept the cores when he chooses to save the life of a team member instead. This decision costs him dearly. He loses the trust of CIA head Erica Sloane (Bassett, How Stella Got Her Groove Back) who orders one of her guys, Agent Walker (Cavill, Man of Steel), to join Hunt’s team in retrieving the plutonium.
I’m not going to give away too many plot details. I will tell you a few things though. First, it turns out somebody is trying to frame Hunt for secretly working against IMF. Second, the evil plot involves Lane (Harris, ’71), the main villain from the last movie. Third, former MI6 agent Ilsa Faust (Ferguson, The Greatest Showman) is back on the scene. She has a stake in it as well, one that puts her at odds with Hunt (again). And that’s it, that’s all I’m going to tell you.
WOW! It’s been a long time since a mainstream Hollywood movie has blown me away. Mission: Impossible – Fallout did just that! This movie is non-stop action and thrills. I’d be hard-pressed to single out any one action scene as the best. I can think of at least four that would qualify. There’s a kick-ass fight in a Paris men’s room in which Cruise and Cavill go mano-a-mano-a-mano with an Apostle baddie. There’s a car/motorcycle chase following an attack on a police convoy. There’s the obligatory Tom Cruise running scene where he jumps from building tops and windows guided by Benji tracking his movements on a laptop. Then there’s the grand finale, a helicopter chase that’s a little reminiscent of the climactic battle in Star Wars. What’s truly great about all the action sequences is their fluidity. They don’t distract from the plot; they’re seamlessly woven into the narrative. Also, they’re not CGI. Cruise does all his own stunts. No green screens here, just practical effects. The action scenes are well-orchestrated. The fight scenes are well-choreographed. They’re not overedited to the point of confusion. On a technical level, Mission: Impossible – Fallout is as good as they come, maybe even better.
Plotwise, Mission: Impossible – Fallout is similarly masterful. It’s not overly complex like some spy flicks. It’s Tom Cruise, a terrorist group, weapons of mass destruction, an unknown villain within the ranks and a time frame. What else do you need to know? It’s easy enough to follow. I will say that the identity of the unknown bad guy doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. But who cares? You’ll be having so much fine, little things like that will hardly make a difference. It’s written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (writer of The Usual Suspects) who also did Rogue Nation. He’s outdone himself with Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Despite its two-and-a-half hour running time, it moves along quickly. It’s fast-paced and legitimately exciting. The script is tight. It’s lengthy but absolutely none of it is fat that needs to be trimmed. The momentum of the movie is consistent.
I’m not a fan of Cruise. I never saw the appeal. Aside from a few select performances, he’s a one-note actor. HOWEVER, when it comes to the MI movies, he’s solid gold. He’s great as stalwart Hunt. He may not be the most physically imposing figure in the world, but he’s got grit and endurance. He’s unstoppable. That doesn’t mean he’s indestructible. In Mission: Impossible – Fallout, he’s starting to show signs of his age. He’s slowing down just a bit. To be fair, the man is 56. That’s he’s still kicking ass and taking names is a credit to him.
Cavill is great as the “hammer” to Cruise’s “scalpel”. Whereas Hunt allows emotion to get in the way, Cavill isn’t hampered by personal attachments. Like every great spy flick, Mission: Impossible – Fallout posits the age-old question of how much personal sacrifice is an agent willing to make for the greater good. What’s more important, the one or the millions? The two characters are an ideal contrast. Ferguson is AWESOME as bad ass Ilsa. Why isn’t she a star yet? Will somebody please give her a starring role in an action flick….NOW!
Here’s the bottom line. Mission: Impossible – Fallout is pure awesomeness on ALL levels from start to finish. It’s cinematic escapism at its best, the ultimate popcorn movie. I love that it assumes intelligence on the part of the viewer. Not only does is NOT dumb things down, it plays it smart. Earlier I mentioned that Hunt receives his latest assignment via a copy of Odyssey. For those who don’t know, it’s about a hero’s long journey home to his wife. Could this be a foreshadowing of events to come as they relate to Hunt’s final destination? I won’t say. So endeth the lesson on film language. ANYWAY, Mission: Impossible – Fallout is a terrific movie. It’s not only the best mainstream movie of the summer, it’s one of the year’s best. If they keep making them like this, I say go for 7…. and 8…. and 9…. and so on.
