Review of Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) by Thomas B — 26 Jul 2018

If action is what you want this summer, well congratulations - you're in luck. Since the original TV show and De Palma's first movie, 'Mission: Impossible' has undergone a vast evolution. Whereas the series was more of a thriller before, it has now become an all-out action extravaganza; far more focused on car chases, fist-fights and death-defying stunts than it is on story. This has its ups and downs, with the plot in particular - for the most part a typical twisty-turney, nuclear weapon, end of the world type deal - easy to criticise. Nonetheless, although it's clearly just glue between set-pieces, McQuarrie is a talented enough writer to make it interesting. And as far as action goes, 'Fallout' is leaps and bounds above pretty much every other action franchise around. Even though I don't think it has any sequences on par with the Burj Khalifa scene in 'Ghost Protocol' nor the opera scene in 'Rogue Nation', a white-knuckled bathroom fight, an amazing motorcycle chase and a bevy of other vehicular madness ensures you are left gripping your seat for a good proportion of the runtime.

'Fallout' is undoubtedly a technical masterpiece, and another great addition to the franchise in keeping with the previous two instalments. As far as summer blockbusters go, this is pretty much perfect. I do, however, think the series is coming to a point where - if it wishes to continue - it needs to be reinvented once again. For the first time in quite a while I felt like the formula was starting to show, just a little. They changed it up in 'Ghost Protocol', let's hope they can do it again.