Review of Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) by Glenn G — 31 Jul 2018

I CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT - My Review of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT (4 Stars).

Wow! (Wait 5 seconds) Wow! (Wait another 5 seconds) Wow! Yep, that about sums up the experience of watching MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT, the incredibly entertaining, endlessly thrilling new entry in the beloved movie franchise which started with the bar pretty high when Brian De Palma directed the first and has continued along with quite good results. Christopher McQuarrie, who directed the last installment, continues here and while not exactly making a film for the ages, he has produced a whopping feat in action cinema. This is one start-to-finish set piece extravaganza and a shining example of studio blockbuster entertainment made right.

Tom Cruise returns as IMF Agent Ethan Hunt and this time, he and his cohorts need to thwart the sale of plutonium before it gets in the wrong hands and destroys the planet. Yep, it's that simple and the streamlined plot, expertly laid out, makes it easier to ride along from one crazy sequence after another. It's a terrific setup. I love that McQuarrie has chosen not to update the old school reel-to-reel tape spelling out Hunt's mission. There's a fizzy feeling when the tape self-destructs, leaving a trail of smoke as it always has and as it always should be!

As Ethan and his teammates (Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames) avoid mortal danger in the opening scenes, a wonderfully pulpy, clever twists sends us off to a blazing title sequence, all of which caused the audience I was in to applaud a couple of times...but this movie is just getting started.

Enter CIA honcho played by Angela Bassett, who doesn't trust Ethan et al to get the goods, so she assigns her own strongman, August Walker, to shadow them. He's played by Henry Cavill, and if he weren't a star already, this film would turn him into one. He may not deliver his expository lines with a master's touch. In fact, he's pretty wooden at times, but overall, this is a fantastic, iconic performance. Whether he's skydiving with Cruise, or taking part in one of the most thrilling bathroom fight sequences I've seen (on a par with EASTERN PROMISES), or...well there are so many, just go and see for yourself. Cavill is all moustache, tight suits, and hulking action moves as he towers over Cruise and makes a true mark in the film. Cavill brings out a great competitive spirit in Cruise, giving their scenes a spark...some may categorize that spark as the most homoerotic/ men fighting type since Ken Russell's WOMEN IN LOVE...or they just punch and growl at each other a lot. You figure it out.

Also on hand to make things pop is Rebecca Ferguson as Hunt's Ally/Enemy, Ilsa Faust. She's so good, and it's such a relief to see her shine again after the dismal SNOWMAN from earlier this year. MVP honors, however, go to Vanessa Kirby as White Widow, a spooky negotiator who floats in and out of the film with an alien air of mystery. She's weird in a Tilda Swinton meets Lady Gaga way, and the film benefits from all that is her.

But, of course, these films live or die because of Tom Cruise. As he gets older, he has eschewed so much of his All American Boy spirit, replacing it with a tired, world-weariness which works wonders when you're faced with certain nuclear destruction. Knowing that he likes to do as many of his own stunts as possible seems to work wonders when enjoying these scenes. In this film, he skydives, rides a motorcycle through Paris, runs thrillingly across rooftops, flies a helicopter and dangles from a lot of ropes, whether they're hanging from said copter or from the side of a steep cliff, and we as an audience applaud his...I don't know...insane willingness to die for us? I guess that's what it is. Tom Cruise wants to die for our sins! Whatever the case, this is a performance to be treasured for its laser-focused commitment to action.

Sure, it's not perfect. There's one scene I'm calling EXPOSITION FOR DUMMIES, because the characters tell us what's happening, and just in case we missed it, they say it all over again. It's an odd moment reeking of studio notes to make sure everything is crystal clear. Also, Michele Monaghan once again gets straddled with a nothing role, and folks, she's a great, great actor. Can somebody please use her well asap?

But, pretty much everything else about this film works phenomenally. McQuarrie knows just where to put the camera, turning even a simple early moment of a car pulling up into a swooping, swirling thrill. McQuarrie also truly understands suspense and the joy of well-earned reveals and clever callbacks. It's still a thrill when people tear away rubber masks in these movies. I walked away from MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT (really clever title btw) simultaneously exhausted and satisfied, which is clearly McQuarrie, Cruise and company's mission.