Review of Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) by Jonathan R — 14 Aug 2018

Not since the 1988 revival of the TV series has Mission Impossible shown its age. The MI movies have been going at it for 22 years now-so long, in fact, that Metallica's infamous Napster lawsuit, which is forever tied to this franchise, is nearing its 20th anniversary. Today, Tom Cruise & Ving Rhames are getting old. Like, Roger Moore in A View to a Kill old. It seems like the franchise might need to be revamped with a younger face once again sooner or later. But if that were the case, then Fallout would be a pretty high note to go out on.

Mission Impossible 6 is one of the grittiest movies in the franchise, comparable to JJ Abrams' MI-3. For a film series noted for its fast-paced action sequences, this one is one of the slowest as well-it puts more emphasis on the espionage and the trickery rather than the wall-to-wall action, like in other installments. Nevertheless, there is enough intrigue going about to keep the audience gripped the whole time, plus some very interesting and unexpected twists and turns in the plot. Not to mention that there is a "quality over quantity" approach to its action sequences, which make for the action sequences that do happen being true jaw-droppers to behold.

Remember Ilsa Faust and the villainous Lane from the last movie? They're back in this one, and arguably, their arcs in this one are even better than last time. For once, we get a greater depth into Lane's character, and Ilsa has arguably the most fascinating character arc in this picture. And then there's the other real scene-stealer: Henry Cavill as the mysterious August Walker. Even though you can see where is arc is going at hindsight, HC executes it in a way that makes you want to see him do it. I can't spoil much about his character, but it does take a fascinating turn.

However, I can say this: Henry Cavill is rocking one of the sickest beards to ever grace the movie screen. Seriously! The next time you go to a showing of this movie, wait for the moment Henry Cavill graces the screen for the first time, and listen closely. You could hear at least one fangirl shrieking in the theater at the mere sight of Cavill's manly mustache, combined with that neat suit that he's wearing. He's a chick magnet of the Draco in Leather Pants variety (see TV Tropes for what that means), the kind of bad boy that'll make fangirls in the audience lose their minds when they gaze their eyes upon him. His beard is so cool, in fact, that DC Entertainment could only shave his face with CGI for Justice League. That's how fucking manly he looks!

Then there's the climax-one of the tensest and most breathtaking climaxes in this whole series. Never have stakes so grave been set in such a unique locale for the finale on a scale that seems so small yet actually so great. Only one facet of this climax features grand spectacle, but the other half is literally a grungy gut-punch. For a PG-13 flick, half of the final fight got quite dark at times, which only made the tension even higher. It is the kind of rewarding finale that punctuates Mission Impossible 6's continuation of the franchise's hot streak after all this time.

Final verdict:

Is Mission Impossible 6 great? FUCK YEAH!