The Mission: Impossible franchise has found a winning formula. Over the past few movies, Tom Cruise’s super agent Ethan Hunt transformed into something interesting. Hunt is a cross between Indiana Jones, peak Jackie Chan, and a sprinkling of Buster Keaton. While the character is larger than life in nearly every movie, Hunt is doing so by the seat of his pants. He barely saves the day in each movie, making up those often ridiculous plans on the fly and getting his butt handed to him during those outlandish action sequences. In addition to the talents of J.J. Abrams, Brad Bird, and now Christopher McQuarrie bringing just enough depth to Ethan Hunt, this aspect has helped to humanize the character. You can’t help but root for the man.
Mission: Impossible-Fallout continues that winning formula. Writer/director McQuarrie and Cruise give us one of the best, if not the best, movies in the franchise. It doesn’t reinvent the action movie genre, but Fallout is a ridiculously fun spy caper with Hunt pulling off increasingly ludicrous stunts in his attempt to save the world…again. The story’s twists are a little obvious and the movie’s antagonists are lacking, but it is simply a blast to watch.
“There Cannot Be Peace Without First, A Great Suffering”
Two years after Rogue Nation, Hunt and his allies Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg) lose three stolen plutonium cores to the Apostles, the remnants of the Syndicate, Soloman Lane’s (Sean Harris) organization of disillusioned spies. Joined by CIA hitman Walker (Henry Cavill) and former deep cover MI6 agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), the IMF must track the cores down even if it means freeing Lane. Crazy stunts all over the world, fake face masks, and twists from out of nowhere ensue as Hunt (Often literally) runs to the rescue.
Fallout’s story isn’t it’s strong point, but it is fun and sometimes surprisingly emotional. The “find the nuclear weapons” McGuffin serves its purpose, propelling the plot forward towards its outstanding action scenes (We’ll get to those later). The plot twists are a little obvious, but the script never makes those twists the focus of the plot, so it’s not disappointing when they occur. The humor is on point, and often makes fun of the franchise’s cliches. Walker takes on the audiences’ incredulous attitude towards the franchise’s over reliance on the fake face mask twists. He has a very fun line whenever Hunt and his team suggest it.
What is surprising is how much time is given to Ethan Hunt’s need to save innocent lives no matter the cost. This trait actually leads to the events of Fallout and the movie examines the attitude of saving one person at the cost of potentially many lives. Granted, it’s done in a somewhat shallow way because this is a popcorn blockbuster after all, but it helps make Hunt sympathetic. And it fuels his drive to make things right.
Of course, the Mission: Impossible movies revolve around Cruise’s super spy and that continues with Fallout. Once again, Cruise is perfect as the all American super agent that manages to have every one of his plans fall through but somehow emerge victorious. He’s charming and cool, but always human as reflected in his relationships with his friends and loved ones. Hunt genuinely cares for the always excellent Simon Pegg and his well meaning Benji and the gruff but sensitive Luther (A surprisingly emotional Ving Rhames). Cruise has excellent chemistry with Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust, as both portray them as wary warriors in a dark spy game. Both say so much with simple looks. Plus, Ilsa has some crazy, physical action scenes herself, showing off her distinctive fighting style at key moments in the movie.
But enough about the character stuff…audiences are here for the action. Fallout delivers on this in every way possible. From a motorcycle chase through Paris to a helicopter duel in the mountains of Kashmir, the set pieces don’t exactly innovate, but they are incredibly fun to watch. Much of this is due to Cruise’s seemingly suicidal insistence on doing nearly every stunt himself.
As Hunt, Cruise jumps out of planes, climbs mountains, and fights guys in bathrooms himself, lending a sense of authenticity to Fallout’s over the top setting. And once again, Hunt barely makes it out alive on most of these sequences, like some modern day Indiana Jones. He comes up with his plans on the fly (“I’m working on it!”) and literally limps away from each crazy sequence. Oh and that character stuff I mentioned earlier? That plays into those scenes too. You’re rooting for the guy to make it.
We’re Here for the Heroes
As fun as everything is in Fallout, it does lack something in one important department: It’s villains. They are not terrible, but they are also not groundbreaking. The best of the movie’s antagonists is Cavill as the “Is he or isn’t he the villain, oh wait it’s kind of obvious he is a villain” character, Walker. His performance is fine, but it’s more of his physical presence that makes an impression. His character is described as something of a blunt weapon in the spy world and Cavill plays that up perfectly. His steely cold looks and massive shoulders make him intimidating and a very real threat to the team. It feels like the filmmakers purposely dressed him in shirts two sizes too small to make him look that much bigger than everyone else.
The returning Sean Harris as anarchist Soloman Lane has always been an interesting, but frustrating villain. I appreciate the franchise having more of a thinking man’s villain in the main antagonist role, but his presence as a villain never really registers. Harris is fine in the role, so it’s not the actor behind the character. He just never feels like a real threat.
Vanessa Kirby’s “White Widow” is actually much more interesting. An espionage broker with shifting allegiances, Kirby is excellent as the often charming character that revels in the ever escalating plot line. Her strange, winsome smile and expressive eyes make her disturbing, but utterly compelling. I hope the character makes a return down the line, much like Harris’ villain did in Fallout.
While McQuarrie understands what people expect from a Mission: Impossible and builds on that expectation in intelligent ways, there are moments that make you cringe. Hunt utters one line during his meeting with the White Widow that is unintentionally hilarious. This isn’t the only time, as multiple characters utter often ridiculous dialogue that is a hallmark of many action films. This is especially true whenever characters talk about Hunt. While the script does a great job humanizing the character, it also goes overboard in its praise of the character. It seemingly suggests that the world would literally end if Hunt wasn’t there to save it. It’s a little heavy handed and eye roll inducing.
Should You Choose to Accept It…You Really Should.
Christopher McQuarrie has crafted a fun blockbuster that never talks down to its audience. Fallout knows when to make fun of itself, but never over does it. The action sequences are perfectly timed and never ware you out with too much of a good thing. Those flaws are notable, but over all, this is definitely a movie any action fan should see.
SCORE: 7.5 OUT OF 10