Every few years, a movie comes out that I will ensure nothing gets in my way from seeing in the theater. Mission Impossible is one of those movies. I’ve seen all of them, except for the 1st one, in the theater. I will watch all entries ad naseum when they come on TV. They are probably my favorite series of films out there. So the wife and I dropped the little gremlin off at the Cigar Bar and we took ourselves to the MultiPlex. And the end result is my very biased review for Fallout.
Mission Impossible: Fallout, is the sixth entry in the M:I series. With Tom Cruise, all four feet of him, coming back once again, this is the first movie that can be described as a direct sequel to the previous iteration. Whereas the comperable James Bond series has had its ups and downs throughout Daniel Craig’s run, especially with Spectre acting as a disappointing direct follow up to its own previous standout, Skyfall, the Mission Impossible films have been improving upon all its formers. The stories have become much more character driven, while losing nothing in the action department. Quite frankly, M:I is about the most fun in movies there is in a franchise today.
At a stout two and half hours, the movie moves at a very brisk pace. Twists and turns are expected for a M:I movie, and everyone’s true allegience is questioned at least 14 times throughout the faire. Nuclear plutonium is the McGuffin for this one, as per SOP, but that isn’t even really all that important. People are never what or who they seem, especially with all the literal masks they wear, which is half the fun of M:I. The other half is watching Tom Cruise nearly kill himself in his own stunts. And there are plenty of those. From the HALO jump that he did over 100 times leading up to filming, to jumping off roofs where he actually shredded his ankle, to the almost obligatory motorcycle chase, to the high paced helicopter chase at the conclusion, all the action sets are top notch and breathtaking. Honestly, very few actors do it better than old Maverick these days.
Superman is an awesome addition to the cast in this movie. I like the newer Man of Steel movies, but Henry Cavill seems underutilized, even in his own superhero tales. Here, he gets a great chance to show off his range, and power, something that feels lacking in the Superman movies. It all seems so CGI there. In Fallout, when he fights in the bathroom and brutally beats the shit out of a prospective baddie, it feels authentic and you really feel like that man would beat the everlasting piss out of you if you were to encounter him.
The stakes are high, naturally, and everything is so over the top that it is fantastic. All these things they do actually are impossible, and a reasonable person would be in intensive care after crashing a motorcycle at mach 7.0 speeds, but who the hell wants to see Ethan Hunt in the ER for 2 hours? That would be boring. So you accept the unbelievability of it all and just enjoy the ride, and it makes for all the better experience. And for once, they take a more careful examination of what makes Ethan Hunt tick, which adds a new, emotional dynamic that enhances the character ten-fold. A good balance of story and action is what nails this for me, as I enjoy the time away from the motorcycles and helicopters as much, if not more, as the time with the loud noises.
So, my overall grade for Fallout is a full-on Nuclear War! Film was amazing and I am psyched for what they got next. Go check it out in a theater and appreciate it on a very large screen. I don’t say that for many movies, but this one I damned sure will! Cheers!
