Year: 2018
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, and Michelle Monaghan
Starring: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, and Michelle Monaghan
Tagline: Some missions are not a choice.
Synopsis: After a mission goes wrong, Ethan Hunt and his team must race against the clock to prevent a greater disaster orchestrated by old and new enemies.
Synopsis: After a mission goes wrong, Ethan Hunt and his team must race against the clock to prevent a greater disaster orchestrated by old and new enemies.
Review
Wow.
If you were to look up "blockbuster action spectacle" in the dictionary, I think you'd find a picture of Tom Cruise and the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) logo. Because seriously. Wow.
I love superhero movies. And I know that the only way they are feasible is through the use of digital effects. And certainly those actors put a lot of time, effort, and energy into their roles. But when you watch Ethan Hunt do a HALO jump out of an airplane, you know perfectly well that Tom Cruise did many, many, many such jumps in order to practice and perfect the scene. When Ethan Hunt is zipping around the Arc du Triomphe on a motorcycle going opposite traffic, you know Tom Cruise was really there, really doing that. Yes, in a controlled environment. But a real environment. Digital effects just can't mimic the visceral feel of practical stunts. And that is the Mission: Impossible franchise's bread and butter.
Of course Fallout, like its predecessors, is more than just one action sequence after another. I mean, it is. But there's also a thought out plot, with clever twists and misdirects. There's humor. There's some heart. But mostly, there's terrific characters.
I've never liked James Bond. I could never get into Jason Bourne. Napoleon Solo was fine. But Ethan Hunt is terrific. I love his on-the-fly, figure-it-out-as-we-go-and-hope-it-works style. Maybe that's because it reminds me of a certain fedora wearing archaeologist's style. In some respects, Ethan seems superhuman. But most of the time we see that he is very, very human. And Fallout does a great job showcasing that side of Ethan. He doesn't win every fight (perhaps even most fights) all on his own. He gets battered and banged up and needs the assistance of his team. He has to improvise and switch from plan B to plan C to plan D.
Also returning for this mission are Luther (who gets a couple of surprisingly serious scenes), Benji (who ever lightens the tension with his humor), and Ilsa (who is as beautiful, dangerous, and enigmatic as ever). Joining them is Secretary Hunley, who seems to have fully embraced his switch from the CIA to the IMF.
New to the scene are the White Widow (an amoral woman focused primarily on profit and self-preservation) and a "it's nothing personal" CIA operative (played by Henry Cavill). Yes, Superman has grown a mustache and joined the CIA. But not really. August Walker is a far cry from Clark Kent. And apparently the prep work for the two characters is also quite different. To be Superman, Cavill had to look ripped. To do the stunts required for Fallout, he had to truly be ripped.
Ghost Protocol is still my favorite in the franchise. I'd say Fallout is neck and neck with Rogue Nation (which Fallout is a follow up to).
The film is rated PG-13 for violence and swearing. The violence is the same as the previous films. Annoyingly, one character in Fallout does shout the F-word.
I thoroughly recommend Mission: Impossible - Fallout. The action alone is jaw-dropping and worth the price. But the film also has the same humor, clever twists, and relatable characters as its predecessors. I hope another mission comes to the IMF in a few years. Although how they can keep topping the previous film's stunts is beyond me.
*** Spoiler Section ***
That Julia (Ethan Hunt's former wife) is in the film is revealed in the trailers. But the trailers nicely don't reveal what her role is. Not that it is a big surprise as the story unfolds, but it works so much better that way. And I loved what her role in the film was and how things played out in the climax. The final scene between Ethan and Julia was, in my mind, perfect for this franchise and true to the characters.
If you were to look up "blockbuster action spectacle" in the dictionary, I think you'd find a picture of Tom Cruise and the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) logo. Because seriously. Wow.
I love superhero movies. And I know that the only way they are feasible is through the use of digital effects. And certainly those actors put a lot of time, effort, and energy into their roles. But when you watch Ethan Hunt do a HALO jump out of an airplane, you know perfectly well that Tom Cruise did many, many, many such jumps in order to practice and perfect the scene. When Ethan Hunt is zipping around the Arc du Triomphe on a motorcycle going opposite traffic, you know Tom Cruise was really there, really doing that. Yes, in a controlled environment. But a real environment. Digital effects just can't mimic the visceral feel of practical stunts. And that is the Mission: Impossible franchise's bread and butter.
Of course Fallout, like its predecessors, is more than just one action sequence after another. I mean, it is. But there's also a thought out plot, with clever twists and misdirects. There's humor. There's some heart. But mostly, there's terrific characters.
I've never liked James Bond. I could never get into Jason Bourne. Napoleon Solo was fine. But Ethan Hunt is terrific. I love his on-the-fly, figure-it-out-as-we-go-and-hope-it-works style. Maybe that's because it reminds me of a certain fedora wearing archaeologist's style. In some respects, Ethan seems superhuman. But most of the time we see that he is very, very human. And Fallout does a great job showcasing that side of Ethan. He doesn't win every fight (perhaps even most fights) all on his own. He gets battered and banged up and needs the assistance of his team. He has to improvise and switch from plan B to plan C to plan D.
Also returning for this mission are Luther (who gets a couple of surprisingly serious scenes), Benji (who ever lightens the tension with his humor), and Ilsa (who is as beautiful, dangerous, and enigmatic as ever). Joining them is Secretary Hunley, who seems to have fully embraced his switch from the CIA to the IMF.
New to the scene are the White Widow (an amoral woman focused primarily on profit and self-preservation) and a "it's nothing personal" CIA operative (played by Henry Cavill). Yes, Superman has grown a mustache and joined the CIA. But not really. August Walker is a far cry from Clark Kent. And apparently the prep work for the two characters is also quite different. To be Superman, Cavill had to look ripped. To do the stunts required for Fallout, he had to truly be ripped.
Ghost Protocol is still my favorite in the franchise. I'd say Fallout is neck and neck with Rogue Nation (which Fallout is a follow up to).
The film is rated PG-13 for violence and swearing. The violence is the same as the previous films. Annoyingly, one character in Fallout does shout the F-word.
I thoroughly recommend Mission: Impossible - Fallout. The action alone is jaw-dropping and worth the price. But the film also has the same humor, clever twists, and relatable characters as its predecessors. I hope another mission comes to the IMF in a few years. Although how they can keep topping the previous film's stunts is beyond me.
*** Spoiler Section ***
That Julia (Ethan Hunt's former wife) is in the film is revealed in the trailers. But the trailers nicely don't reveal what her role is. Not that it is a big surprise as the story unfolds, but it works so much better that way. And I loved what her role in the film was and how things played out in the climax. The final scene between Ethan and Julia was, in my mind, perfect for this franchise and true to the characters.
Quotable Quotes
- "What's the plan?" "Hope they've never met." "Hope is not a plan!" "You must be new." -- Walker, Ethan, and Ilsa
- "That was Ilsa." "Shut up." "Very interesting. It's good to see you again, Ethan." -- Lane and Ethan
- "What are you waiting for?" "I'm jumping out a window!" "Oh. Sorry. I had it on 2D." -- Benji and Ethan
- "What's he doing?" "I find it's best not to look." -- Ilsa and Benji
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