As with previous films in the series, Mission: Impossible – Fallout wants to be an exercise in entertainment that provides loads of fun. That’s exactly what they’ve been doing in the eyes of a lot of fans for over two decades now, but in order to stay fresh, they’re going to have to continuously top themselves in every way imaginable. Could they possibly achieve that this time around? In my opinion, they certainly did that and maybe a little bit more.
We catch up with Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team of IMF agents (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) as they find themselves in a race against time after a mission they were on goes wrong. Now, they must make up for past mistakes, but they won’t be out to redeem themselves on their own. This time, they’re forced to work with the CIA to ensure they won’t have their most recent outcome repeat itself.
What you’ll notice when you watch Mission: Impossible – Fallout is that the action and stunts dominate the screen for almost the entire run time. Of course, this was to be expected beforehand since those are essentially the two key factors that this entire thing has been built on since its inception back in 1995. With that being the way it is, the only thing you can ask is that they do their best to take things to the next level.
Luckily for us that’s exactly what they constantly try to accomplish. Like the previous films, there’s a lot of ducking, dodging, running, chasing and shooting of varying degrees to deliver all of that. The only thing that sort of surprised me was the fact that there isn’t as much hand to hand combat as I thought there would be. There are a few scenes where these characters partake in fisticuffs, but it rarely takes precedent over all of the escapades brought to us here.
There are periods when things slow down a bit, but they don’t last too long as we’re right back into the action soon after the brief pause. The focus is on the action and stunts so much that it actually stretches the movie out to nearly two and a half hours long. Usually, when movies last longer than they need to, you can blame something like dialogue heavy scenes that end bogging everything down. Here, it’s the extended cuts of the action, so it may be hard to get bored with what you’re getting.
In a way, this cinematic experience reminds me of Ronin in terms of its plot twists and the way it relies so heavily on the action. This has a little more depth than that Robert de Niro led caper, but you feel some similarities. In both instances, you have a pair of movies that know what they are and do all they can to give you what you came here for. And for that, I’m grateful since there are way too many movies these days that try to be more and fail miserably in their attempts.
With that being the case, there isn’t too much required in terms of acting. This could be seen as a negative, but it works as far as actors like Henry Cavill are concerned. While I’ve never been a fan of his acting, he’s in a role that fits him better than any role that I’ve seen him in before. In Fallout, he’s not asked to do much acting, so they’re able to hide his deficiencies and allow him to be a positive addition to it all.
When it comes to the actors, most people aren’t coming to see Cavill anyway. They’ll be showing up to see Tom Cruise in action as Ethan Hunt once again. While doing his own stunts got him injured, he once again leaves everything out there and repeatedly delivers. As someone who loves when people take their professions seriously, his effort is something I can truly appreciate. It also makes me interested in what he and the team have planned in the future.
Although I’ve never been a big fan of this Mission: Impossible franchise, I’m always willing to give these pictures a chance simply based on what they have the potential to offer when things go right. Up until this point, Ghost Protocol has been the definitive feature film that’s been able to deliver at that level more than any other, but that’s changed with Fallout forcing its way into the discussion. I can’t say that this one has surpassed that 2011 flick, but it’s close and made me excited for what Cruise and the gang have in store for us in the next mission should they choose to accept it.
Rating: PG-13
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Cast:
Tom Cruise
Henry Cavill
Ving Rhames
Simon Pegg
Rebecca Ferguson
Sean Harris
Angela Bassett
Vanessa Kirby
Wes Bentley
Frederick Schmidt
Michelle Monaghan
Alec Baldwin
Film Length: 147 minutes
Release Date: July 27, 2018
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
