Mission: Impossible - Fallout

As I wrote about earlier this week, the Mission: Impossible franchise is one that I hold near and dear to my heart (yes, even/especially M:I-2!) and it has inspired me a lot within my writing and my leanings toward movie genres in general. As if the stars somewhat aligned, I had the pleasure of attending an advanced screening of Fallout this week courtesy of Alamo Drafthouse and their bomb-ass loyalty program, hence this day early review.

Fallout represents the sixth installment of the franchise and the first to be directed by the same director, Christopher McQuarrie, who was at the helm of the previous, fantastic, Rogue Nation. In our modern day Hollywood the sixth, seventh, or even nineteenth installment of a franchise can sometimes be its best, as opposed to previously being an obvious out-of-gas cash grab (though there are those too *cough Transformers cough cough*). 

Perhaps it's the fact that Fallout does have that same director, but it feels the most confident in a series that has sometimes struggled to find its perfect tone. The end result is a film that packs an incredible adrenaline punch and ends up being one of the best of the year. 

Two things you can always count on Cruise to do in a M:I film:
1) run real fast
2) ride a motorcycle

"Ok, now look pissed
but also slightly confused!"

You may be surprised to hear that Fallout is not as direct of a sequel to Rogue Nation as the [fantastic] trailer would have you believe. A lot of the same players are there, but the story does a fine job explaining the connections between the two and, for the most part, the plot is completely separate. If you were worried about being lost, don't be. Fallout has its fair share of exposition dumps -- a necessary evil in spy films -- and it was impressive to me how easily I was able to follow along within the complicated plot. When I say complicated, I mean it positively because Fallout probably has the best woven tale of any in the franchise thus far. On the surface it reads as generic: stop the plutonium from going to the radical bad guys, but embedded within that are twists, alliances, relationships, ulterior motives, and just general bad luck. Some of the "twists" are coming from a mile away, but in hindsight they seem like twists that were designed to be so obvious that you were focusing on them instead of the one coming a few minutes after. None of them will blow your socks off, but it leads to some really satisfying scenes where you think you've got everything figured out and the film pulls the metaphorical rug on you. Some may argue it's convoluted and complicated just for the sake of it but personally I thought it added an element of surprise throughout where you're not quite sure what will happen next. And again, the film feels really confident in all of this.

It's also worth not only mentioning, but highlighting how much of a marvel the film is from a technical standpoint. It's editing and pacing are flawless even if the film does go on for about 5-10 minutes too long. The action -- which I'll elaborate more on below -- is edited nearly perfectly with cuts allowing the action to take place rather than adding faux chaos. There's some awesome cinematography that begs for me to re-watch this at an IMAX theater (something I'll gladly do). Lastly, the original score is one of the best espionage/spy genre original scores I've ever heard. It felt like some sort of thrilling combination of the "ticking clock" genius that we got in Dunkirk with the pounding, driving symphonies that accompanied Fury Road. More than any M:I film before it, the original score is almost always present and really presses the film forward while adding a lot to the tension you feel as an audience member. All of these things added together elevate the film nearly out of its genre, much in the same way Skyfall and Mr. Bond experienced several years ago. 

Tom Cruise's Insurance Deductible: $1 billion

If you've not been keeping track, Tom Cruise has got some serious cahones and the Mission: Impossible films are constantly looking to up the ante. Fallout plays almost like a pure action film from about the 20 minute mark onward and seems to be consistently looking at how to top itself. Luckily, that aforementioned strong plotting is there so it doesn't feel like we're being jettisoned from setpiece to setpiece, and instead these feel like somewhat natural extensions of the "impossible" things Cruise has to do in order to accomplish his mission. There's almost an underlying humor about how ridiculous things get because of a constant comedy of errors here, but it's such a blast that, even if you're laughing at its preposterousness, you want to see what happens next. In this film we get a foot chase, a helicopter chase (which had much less CGI than I would have assumed), a HALO jump, a motorcycle chase, a car chase, a bathroom brawl, several other brawls, and your general gunfights -- among other things. That Cruise is willing to actually perform a HALO jump, or hang from a helicopter, or jump from building to building (and break his ankle in the process) is a testament to how much fun he has with this series, but also how much he cares. It goes a long way when the stunts are practical and even more so when Cruise's face is the one we're definitely seeing. All of these setpieces range from good to incredible with the car chase in the middle -- and I know a lot of people take this seriously -- possibly being one of the best I've ever seen. It's not necessarily the most stylish, but it's filmed so damn well that I knew I was watching something special.

I have DC's next villain:
Evil "Squaring-Up" Superman. Terrifying

Fallout has so much going for it and does nearly everything so damn well both technically and conceptually, that I can barely fault it for a handful of minor grievances. For this critic, I still find Ghost Protocol to be the pinnacle of the series but Fallout can rest easy that it'll very likely settle in right (and closely) behind that one in my rankings. Given Cruise's ability to seemingly ignore age, one would hope that he continues in Ethan Hunt's shoes for another six films, especially if the quality is going to be sustained at this level for a franchise that knows no limits (or physics).

CONS

• Possibly one too many things "go wrong". The film feels a little lengthy at 2.5 hours
• Some obvious CGI during chase scenes takes you out of it a little bit

PROS

• Cruise as Ethan Hunt is still one hell of a leading man. Given the stunts he's willing to take on, I give him nothing but praise for not only a great performance (as always), but some above and beyond effort to make it feel real
• This may be Cruise's show, but the rest of the cast is always great in this series. Ferguson and Cavill were my standouts
• A simple surface-level plot with a lot of intricacies built into it. It's a fun trip to be surprised by the direction of a film and it even "gives away" some twists in order to hide others
• Awesome action and incredible stunts. The car/motorcycle chase in the middle is one for the ages
• Feels confident and epic
• Not much humor, but when there is, it lands well
• A technically marvelous film. Editing and pacing (particularly during action scenes) is spot-on and some of the cinematography is series-best
• A pulsing, living original score the likes of which this series hasn't seen until now. A pleasant, powerful surprise
• Twisting, thrilling, entertaining package of espionage and globe-trotting spy action in a series that has maintained its quality

Rath's Review Score | 9.5/10