Released: July 2018
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Rated PG-13
Run Time: 147 Minutes
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Genre: Action/Adventure
Cast:
Tom Cruise: Ethan Hunt
Simon Pegg: Benji Dunn
Henry Cavill: August Walker
Ving Rhames: Luther Stickell
Rebecca Ferguson: Ilsa Faust
Sean Harris: Solomon Lane
Alec Baldwin: Alan Hunley
Angela Bassett: Erica Sloane
There have been a lot of spy and espionage films over the past 50+ years. Atomic Blonde, Red Sparrow, Man from U.N.C.L.E, and Kingsman are just some of the more recent thrillers to have come out. But for most people, the most popular spy has been James Bond. It’s not hard to see why. The character has been in 25 official movies with another one on the way starring Daniel Craig in what may be his last outing as the British spy. But the other one was Mission Impossible. Now, Mission Impossible started out as a TV show during the 60s and 70s. It featured spies that would use masks to disguise themselves to blend in with whatever organization they were fighting, which was The Syndicate, the Mission Impossible-equivalent of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. The first actual film in the franchise was released back in 1996 starring Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames and Jon Voight. Since then, the franchise had gotten even more popular with more sequels, some of which were not as good as others(I’m looking at you, Mission Impossible III!). But even at their worst, they could still be incredibly entertaining, and a lot of that has to do with the main star, Tom Cruise. It’s been a pretty strong year for big-budget action flicks, so with the new Mission Impossible: Fallout hitting theaters this weekend, how does it stack up with everything else?
Mission Impossible: Fallout begins as IMF agent Ethan Hunt and his team are attempting to retrieve three containers of weapons-grade plutonium before they can be turned into nuclear weapons when something goes horribly wrong and they end up losing the plutonium. After the team’s failure to retrieve the plutonium, they’re informed that a weapons-dealer known only as the White Widow has somehow gotten her hands on these items to sell to the highest bidder. Before, they are allowed to leave, the head of the CIA, Erica Sloane makes the team take Agent August Walker along for the mission. Over the next few days and several close calls, Ethan Hunt and his team come face to face with an old enemy, Solomon Lane. The overall plot is very similar to other entries in this franchise and as such, we have an idea of how it turns out. It’s still a pretty good and entertaining story, but it’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey. The last two films have been amazing in that they’ve managed to change things up by subverting audience expectations. You think a situation is gonna go one way, but the movie pulls a switcheroo and it ends up being something different. There is stuff that is a little predictable, but overall, I have to say that Fallout does a really good job of keeping me on my toes when it comes to suspense. It’s not something that a lot of movies of this kind are good at, but director Christopher McQuarrie pulls it off beautifully.
The acting here is top-notch with everybody just hitting it out of the park. Obviously, Tom Cruise as back and is as bad-ass as ever as Ethan Hunt. Simon Pegg returns as Benji and plays the resident tech-geek turned field agent. Ving Rhames has been a part of the film franchise from day one, so it’s no surprise that he’s back. He’s fantastic. Jeremy Renner didn’t return for this entry because he was busy filming the next Avengers film. Sean Harris returns as the villain from the previous entry, Solomon Lane. He makes for a fantastic bad guy. Very understated, not over-the-top and ruthless as hell. Alec Baldwin returns as Alan Hunley, the guy that oversees the IMF organization. Baldwin is always fun to watch. Rebecca Ferguson once again plays British agent Ilsa Faust who is on a mission of her own. A few new faces show up this round. Man of Steel’s Henry Cavill shows up as CIA agent August Walker and is absolutely fantastic. I always thought that Cavill did a fantastic job as Superman, but I really do like it when he plays a non-superhero character. He’s fantastic. Angela Bassett plays Erica Sloane, the head of the CIA. Just like the story, the players in the film also have their own twists and turns and it keeps it somewhat unpredictable.
The action in this film is completely off the charts. With each entry into the franchise, Mission Impossible has always upped the ante when it comes to action and stunt-work. Fallout is probably the most ambitious of the bunch in this regard. The action sequences are mind-blowing and most of them are generally done without the use of CGI. Almost everything here is done for real. It also helps that the main star of the film does his own stunts. If you’ve ever seen a Tom Cruise action flick in the past 25 years, you know that he does his own stunts, and this is no exception. In fact, he goes even further with this film. Towards the beginning of the film, he and Cavill’s character do a HALO drop from 25,000 feet. HALO stands for High Altitude, Low Open. Here’s the thing: Cruise trained for this and when he jumps out of the plane, that’s not a stunt double doing that. That’s Tom Cruise jumping out of a plane at 25,000 feet. That’s just the start of it. Most of the car chases has him in the driver’s seat and the climactic helicopter chase sequences has Tom Cruise actually piloting the chopper and doing crazy things with it. Say what you will about Tom Cruise as a person, but you can’t deny his dedication to the craft. Every movie that he has done, Cruise puts in 150 percent. He puts everything on the line to make it as authentic as humanly possible. There aren’t many actors past or present that go to the lengths that Tom Cruise does to entertain the audience. Cruise is pushing 57 and he’s putting most stuntmen half his age to shame.
For a film of this magnitude, there are bound to be a few issues here and there, but thankfully, for Fallout, they’re not deal-breakers. For one, the film runs a little too long. At almost 2 and a half hours long, I think the film could have been trimmed by at least 10 or 15 minutes and still be as fantastic as it is. Also, some of the twists in the film are a little predictable. At the end of the day, however, Mission Impossible: Fallout is as smart as it is fun. I think this is easily one of the best action films of the year. This is easily the best film in the franchise by far, and you don’t even have to see the other ones to follow it. While the James Bond films have been around for over 50 years, Mission Impossible is not only a viable competitor in the spy film genre, Fallout manages to be better than the last two Bond films put together, and I don’t say that lightly. So….do I recommend this film? Hell, yes, I do! It’s awesome. You’ll definitely have a great time and it’s definitely worth seeing on the big screen.
My Final Recommendation: Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to go see this film as soon as possible. This message will self-destruct in 5 seconds…..okay, not really, but you get the idea. 9.5/10.