The Mission: Impossible franchise is one of the most interesting film series ever created, and it's all because of its quality. It's one of the rare franchises where the later movies are better than the first movies. The first Mission: Impossible movie was fine, but I found it kind of boring. Mission: Impossible 2 was a trainwreck, with a stupid story and terrible editing. Mission: Impossible 3 I haven't seen, but I've heard that the performances are much better than the story. And then, we got Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation, which are both fantastic. They both combine great stories with a phenomenal cast that works off each other well, and some of the best stunts ever put to film. Mission: Impossible - Fallout is the latest film in the franchise, and once again proves that this series gets better with age. This will most likely go down as one of the best action movies of the year.
Mission: Impossible - Fallout once again follows Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg), and Isla (Rebecca Ferguson). After the events of Rogue Nation, an the organization reforms under a different name. Their goal is to find three plutonium cores. Ethan and the crew go to obtain them, but the organization runs away with the plutonium. Now, with the help of CIA agent August Walker (Henry Cavill), they must intercept the cores before its too late.
As of late, the Mission: Impossible films have had fascinating stories. They're not deep or profound- in fact, they're very convoluted. The was the story is told should be confusing and absurd, but it's told in such an enthralling, well written way, that I don't mind. Fallout certainly continues in this tradition, but the stakes are much higher. There is a certain feeling that this movie has in which everything is about to go wrong at any given time. In fact, this is the most impossible mission that the group has come across. I felt like there were moments that the main characters could actually die. It's a well told story with enough surprises to keep me guessing throughout the run.
The performances are all great and the characters are very entertaining to watch. Whether you like him or not, Tom Cruise is a star. He's got the charm, the charisma, the humor, and the drama all nailed in this role. Plus, all of his death-defying stunts are downright awe inspiring. The fact that he's 56 years old and still able to do everything he did in this film is amazing. Other than him, we also have a great supporting cast. Simon Pegg is one of my favorite actors today, and I love his performance of the always endearing Benji. Ving Rhames as Luther has become iconic at this point, and he's just as lovable as ever. Rebecca Ferguson returns from the last film, and her exchanges with Ethan are some of the best scenes of the film. They're full of intrigue and an air of suspense, where we constantly question her motives. It's very well done. Henry Cavill surprised me in this movie. He's charming enough, but he managed to be quite menacing here, giving his best performance yet. It's an all around well acted movie, giving more effort to the performances and the characters than there really needs to be for this kind of movie. But, we got it, and it's all great.
The biggest selling point of any Mission: Impossible movie is the action, and Fallout has some of the best action of the entire franchise. The stunts and the spectacle are all beautifully realized, and they're flawlessly executed through the fantastic directing, cinematography, and editing. Like I said earlier, the stakes have never been higher, and that notion is perfectly realized. And it's not just the crazy stunts that give off this feeling. The fights themselves have a lot more impact than usual. I could feel every hit that was dealt thanks to the phenomenal video and sound editing. This is especially true in the third act. The movie ends on such a strong note, with all the characters working together while separated, all trying to achieve one seemingly impossible goal. It's executed so well in all aspects, while offering the most gorgeous cinematography the series has ever had to offer. All of the action provided to us was wonderfully captured through the amazing directing, and offers us the most visually stunning scenes of the franchise to date.
As for negatives, I don't think this film starts off particularly strong. The storytelling is clumsy and rather slowly paced at the beginning, and it takes a while for the movie to find its footing. Plus, the opening doesn't have a moment that leaves much of an impact. Rogue Nation started with Tom Cruise hanging off of the outside of a plane at takeoff. That's how to start a Mission: Impossible movie. The way Fallout begins felt underwhelming and low impact. Luckily, the movie got better, and a lot more exciting, as it went along. It's a shame that it didn't start as well as it ended.
There were also scenes, especially in the first half, where characters would be directly in front of windows in broad daylight. The light that was coming through those windows were so glaringly bright, it washed out the faces of the characters standing there. It's an odd choice why the director decided to keep that. Yes, when filming in front of windows, light tends to blind the camera, making it hard to see the actors. However, the light was so distracting and good at washing the actors out, that it was hard to focus on certain scenes. If there was some more color editing in post, or if the director decided to not film his actors when they were standing directly in front of windows, it wouldn't be a problem. And, it's honestly not a huge problem. I'm just being nitpicky. But it bugged me, so I feel I have to point it out.
I know, I'm late to the party (I saw this movie a week ago, but I had trouble putting my thoughts to words), but I must say, this movie is getting high critical praise for a reason. Mission: Impossible - Fallout is a highly entertaining, well made film with great characters, writing, and action. It's the quintessential summer blockbuster. I still prefer Rogue Nation, but Fallout is not far behind. It's a fantastic film, and I can't wait to see it again.
Final score: 9/10 (Amazing)
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