{"id":2330,"date":"2024-08-17T04:12:22","date_gmt":"2024-08-17T04:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=2330"},"modified":"2024-10-14T00:32:17","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T04:32:17","slug":"mission-impossible-fallout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/08\/17\/mission-impossible-fallout\/","title":{"rendered":"Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout<\/strong> (2018)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paramount\/Action-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 148 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (violence, intense sequences of action, brief strong language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Christopher McQuarrie\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Christopher McQuarrie\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Lorne Balfe\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Rob Hardy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: July 27, 2018 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 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.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $220.2M (US)\/$791.1M (World)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ****<\/p>\n

\u00a0This summer, the \u201ci\u201d and \u201cm\u201d in \u201cexci<\/strong>tem<\/strong>ent\u201d stands for \u201cimpossible\u201d and \u201cmission\u201d as in Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout<\/strong>, easily the best mainstream movie this summer. Did I grab your attention? Good. BTW, this is the blurb I\u2019d like to see appear on TV and print ads.<\/p>\n

\u00a0How is it that the MI movies keep getting better and better? If we\u2019ve learned anything from the history of cinema, it\u2019s that sequels aren\u2019t equals. It\u2019s 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\u2019s been the prevailing mentality in Hollywood for as long as I can remember. It doesn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The MI franchise is a rarity in that the quality of the sequels goes up rather than down. Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout<\/strong>, the sixth entry in the series, is concrete proof of that. It\u2019s pure dynamite. It\u2019s 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\u2019t waste time on things like character exposition or plot overexplaining. It doesn\u2019t have a villain who talks too much. It doesn\u2019t even have that much of a set-up. It basically drops you right into the action.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The first thing you need to know about Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout<\/strong> is that it\u2019s a direct sequel to the previous installment, 2015\u2019s Rogue Nation (also excellent!). This is a first in MI history. After choosing to accept his latest mission (via a copy of Homer\u2019s 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\u2019re after a terrorist group called \u201cThe Apostles\u201d, the remaining members of the Syndicate, the criminal organization busted up by Hunt and his team in Rogue Nation. They\u2019re 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\u2019s team in retrieving the plutonium.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I\u2019m 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, \u201971), 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\u2019s it, that\u2019s all I\u2019m going to tell you.<\/p>\n

\u00a0WOW! It\u2019s been a long time since a mainstream Hollywood movie has blown me away. Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout<\/strong> did just that! This movie is non-stop action and thrills. I\u2019d be hard-pressed to single out any one action scene as the best. I can think of at least four that would qualify. There\u2019s a kick-ass fight in a Paris men\u2019s room in which Cruise and Cavill go mano-a-mano-a-mano with an Apostle baddie. There\u2019s a car\/motorcycle chase following an attack on a police convoy. There\u2019s 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\u2019s the grand finale, a helicopter chase that\u2019s a little reminiscent of the climactic battle in Star Wars. What\u2019s truly great about all the action sequences is their fluidity. They don\u2019t distract from the plot; they\u2019re seamlessly woven into the narrative. Also, they\u2019re 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\u2019re not overedited to the point of confusion. On a technical level, Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout<\/strong> is as good as they come, maybe even better.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Plotwise, Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout<\/strong> is similarly masterful. It\u2019s not overly complex like some spy flicks. It\u2019s 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\u2019s easy enough to follow. I will say that the identity of the unknown bad guy doesn\u2019t come as too much of a surprise. But who cares? You\u2019ll be having so much fine, little things like that will hardly make a difference. It\u2019s written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (writer of The Usual Suspects) who also did Rogue Nation. He\u2019s outdone himself with Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout<\/strong>. Despite its two-and-a-half hour running time, it moves along quickly. It\u2019s fast-paced and legitimately exciting. The script is tight. It\u2019s lengthy but absolutely none of it is fat that needs to be trimmed. The momentum of the movie is consistent.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I\u2019m not a fan of Cruise. I never saw the appeal. Aside from a few select performances, he\u2019s a one-note actor. HOWEVER, when it comes to the MI movies, he\u2019s solid gold. He\u2019s great as stalwart Hunt. He may not be the most physically imposing figure in the world, but he\u2019s got grit and endurance. He\u2019s unstoppable. That doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s indestructible. In Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout<\/strong>, he\u2019s starting to show signs of his age. He\u2019s slowing down just a bit. To be fair, the man is 56. That\u2019s he\u2019s still kicking ass and taking names is a credit to him.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Cavill is great as the \u201chammer\u201d to Cruise\u2019s \u201cscalpel\u201d. Whereas Hunt allows emotion to get in the way, Cavill isn\u2019t hampered by personal attachments. Like every great spy flick, Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout<\/strong> posits the age-old question of how much personal sacrifice is an agent willing to make for the greater good. What\u2019s more important, the one or the millions? The two characters are an ideal contrast. Ferguson is AWESOME as bad ass Ilsa. Why isn\u2019t she a star yet? Will somebody please give her a starring role in an action flick….NOW!<\/p>\n

\u00a0Here\u2019s the bottom line. Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout<\/strong> is pure awesomeness on ALL levels from start to finish. It\u2019s 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\u2019t know, it\u2019s about a hero\u2019s long journey home to his wife. Could this be a foreshadowing of events to come as they relate to Hunt\u2019s final destination? I won\u2019t say. So endeth the lesson on film language. ANYWAY, Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout<\/strong> is a terrific movie. It\u2019s not only the best mainstream movie of the summer, it\u2019s one of the year\u2019s best. If they keep making them like this, I say go for 7…. and 8…. and 9…. and so on.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout (2018)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paramount\/Action-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 148 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (violence, intense sequences of action, brief strong language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Christopher McQuarrie\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Christopher McQuarrie\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Lorne Balfe\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Rob Hardy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: July 27, 2018 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Michelle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kick-ass-actioners"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Mission-Impossible-%E2%80%93-Fallou.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2330"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3335,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2330\/revisions\/3335"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}