Saturday, 4 August 2018

Movie Review -- Mission Impossible: Fallout


  How many movie series can you think of that manage to maintain a high standard of quality after six instalments? After seeing its latest offering, I'm definitely thinking of Mission Impossible as a prime candidate. Having only seen parts 4 and 5, I was curious to see what new stuff Fallout would bring to the table. Did it measure up to the greatness of Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation? Let's find out.
  Fallout's plot ties in closely with that of Rogue Nation: after the capture of Syndicate leader Solomon Lane his former associates have, for some reason, formed into the Apostles, an anarchist terrorist group. It's up to Ethan Hunt and his team to prevent the Apostles from making nuclear weapons while working with/against some old friends/enemies as well as some new ones. It's an alright plot with lots of thrills, laughs, BMW product placement, and deal-making/backstabbing to make one's head spin. The only complaint I have story-wise is that there's some stuff involving Julia, Ethan's ex-wife, that comes off as kind of sappy and arguably unnecessary.
  Fallout has plenty of exciting action scenes featuring some killer stunt work and seamless special effects – it looks like Henry Cavill's moustache is really there! – that we're used to from this series. Did you know that Tom Cruise actually did real-life HALO jumps for this movie? Isn't that amazing? But while the action scenes were pretty cool I can't help but think that there's less of them from this film that'll stand out in my mind, not like the Burj Khalifa scene from Ghost Protocol or the diving scene from Rogue Nation. Fallout's action sequences are still good and are aided by its lively direction and its restless soundtrack.
  The film also boasts a talented cast capable of fully bringing each character to life. Tom Cruise brings his trademark mixture of intensity and relatability that few other action heroes can. Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg return as the lovable Luther and Benji respectively. Back from Rogue Nation are Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust and Sean Harris as Solomon Lane. Not only are these characters a joy to watch, but they add a new level of continuity and drama to the series. Even CNN anchorman Wolf Blitzer makes a guest appearance doing what he does best: delivering fake news. Really the only casting misstep I can think of is that the actresses playing Julia and Ilsa look a bit too similar. Maybe it's because I'm not all that familiar with Julia, but there were several times where I kept confusing the two of them.
  And that's Mission Impossible: Fallout, another great addition to this heavyweight action series which only seems to get better with age. If you liked the previous Missions Impossible then you'll easily like this one. If you're an action fan in general then this film, should you choose to accept it, will entertain you like few other action films this summer will.
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