Mission: Impossible – Fallout is once again directed by Christopher McQuarrie who also directed Rogue Nation. This sixth entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise deals with the IMF on the hunt for nuclear weapons, they are joined by assassin August Walker. Hunt and Walker have to settle aside their differences and work together to get the job done. This movie stars Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett and Alec Baldwin.
There is insane buzz and critical acclaim surrounding this movie, like Mad Max: Fury Road-level buzz. It’s at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Every movie reviewer I know gave it a glowing review. I had not heard something not even slightly bad about this movie. I was excited and pumped for this movie. I go in, and the movie starts and it’s amazing, I believe that it lives up to the hype but then the second half came along and I felt unsure about that and then the movie ended and I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. Mission: Impossible – Fallout is a great movie just not the perfect action movie everyone’s been praising it is. To make it clear, I loved the movie but I was a bit underwhelmed by the second half of the movie.
There are certain movies which make my mouth drop when I watch them for the first time in cinemas. Either it’s the story, the cinematography or the score. La La Land did that, Blade Runner 2049 did that, and the first half of Mission: Impossible – Fallout did that. I loved every second of it. It was truly perfect. I loved the score, the smooth editing, the opening theme, the stunts and most noticeably the visual flair. This is the best-looking Mission: Impossible movie yet. I was blown away at how artistic some of the scenes or how polished and elegant some sets were. That bathroom fight scene is iconic, no question about it. That is the result of great acting, choreography, set design and editing people and it sure as hell paid off.
The tone of the movie changes at the last few minutes quite literally. The big climactic action scenes at the end are great but they’re in a cliched context. I’ve seen it all before, even more so in this franchise. It’s the typical good vs bad guy fight. It’s a race against time, unimaginable situations and more. It’s entertaining sure but it’s not new or fresh, it’s more of what we’ve seen just in a different location and it’s filmed more artistically. I really don’t know how to feel about the closing scene. I can’t really discuss it without giving spoilers so I’ll just say it ended on a very mediocre note.
However, this is one of the best movies not only this year but in the franchise in terms of cinematography, score, editing, stunt-work and action sequences. Basically, everything besides the story is literal perfection. I was actually distracted by how beautiful this movie looks. I actually spent a couple scenes admiring how gorgeous the sets were that I wasn’t paying attention. I also loved how this movie pays attention to continuity, particularly in the last three movies. 1 and 2 don’t even matter anymore. The acting was great as usual. Cruise is great as Ethan Hunt, I love his character, I’ll discuss him more in the spoiler review although. The cast was great, Pegg, Ferguson, Rhames and Cavill knock it out of the park. I can’t talk about Cavill’s character too much so I’ll say that he wasn’t my favourite character and I’ll leave it at that.
The action is suspenseful, it was cringe-inducing, the good kind. Tom freaking Cruise! One of the most committed actors of our time. I cannot put into words how grateful I am for the love he puts into these movies. He risks his life to give us entertainment. Damn good entertainment at that. These last few movies are practical and real, there isn’t any CGI. I love that! Not only does it give the movies a timeless look and feel to them but it adds a sense of actual danger and suspense. Every time I watch a Mission: Impossible movie, it’s a breath of fresh air and Fallout continues the streak.
Overall. Fallout is one of the best movies of the year so far, definitely one of the best Mission: Impossible movies, Ghost Protocol is still my favourite. I have to see it again, this is a movie which you can’t just watch once and that’s that, it is worthy of multiple viewings. This movie oozes visual flair in every single shot, it’s gorgeous to look at. The action is eye-catching, it demands your attention and it succeeds in doing so. Although the story is it’s weakest aspect, everything else makes up for it. Even with a less than great script, Mission: Impossible – Fallout puts other action movies to shame.
owen is a filmaholic 