Mission: Impossible - Fallout Review

PG-13: Violence and intense sequences of action, and for brief strong languageParamount Pictures, Skydance Pictures, Alibaba Pictures, Bad Robot Productions2 Hrs and 27 MinutesWriter/Dir: Christopher McQuarrieCast: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Michelle Monaghan, Alec Baldwin
When an IMF mission ends badly and Solomon Lane escapes custody, the world is faced with dire consequences. As Ethan Hunt takes it upon himself to fulfill his original briefing, the CIA begins to question his loyalty and his motives. Hunt finds himself in a race against time, hunted by assassins and former allies while trying to prevent a global catastrophe.THE GOODOut of all of the current ongoing film franchises, the Mission: Impossible series has to have the best glo-up of them all. The series started out as campy fun that nobody took seriously yet enjoyed, but that all changed in 2011 when Brad Bird took the helm on the fourth film, “Ghost Protocol”. Brad Bird reinvented the series by going all out in terms of style, grippingly intense action sequences, and a fun fast pace. These movies are usually over two hours long yet they go by so swiftly. Now, what Brad Bird reinvented, Christopher McQuarrie maintained and perfected. Just like the previous installment, “Rogue Nation”, “Fallout” has McQuarrie doubling down on action, the set pieces, and the story.Ethan and his team are the best at what they do and they abide by one simple rule: always be one step ahead. Whenever you think they screwed up a mission or their antagonist is in the lead, they manage to foil schemes Scooby-Doo style as in characters would pull off a mask and reveal their true identities just to mess with their antagonists’ head. May I say, I used Scooby-Doo as a means for a joke, but this mechanic is taken out of the original M.I. series.
This is not a negative remark against the movie, but out of all the films this feels much more similar to it’s source material than any of the predecessors, which is a good thing. The film’s intro title card sequence is reminiscent of the 1969’s title card sequence where they would play clips of the episode you’ll watch before the episode began. The most recent Star Trek movie, “Star Trek Beyond” had the same vibe where it was more like an episode of the earlier series it was based on. “Fallout” is just on an bigger scale.What “Fallout” primarily benefits from  is how it isn’t just a latest installment where Ethan is doing a new mission, but it is the first actual continuation in a way where his actions in the previous film carry over into this, which raises the stakes for our characters, primarily Ethan. To quote myself from my “Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation” review, (don’t look it up, I was a terrible reviewer then) “through all the crazy and phenomenal action scenes there are, there is a smart story.” Out of all of the films, this is the one where we see Ethan as more of a dimensional character than the standard man of action. We explore Ethan’s most vulnerable state and throughout the film we explore his morality and his humanity in the midst of the task at hand.
Now, one of the best things that Brad Bird upped the ante with when he helmed the fourth film was the action. Ever since McQuarrie stepped in and took over, it felt like he kept asking, “How do we step it up from there?” Ever since Cruise dangled off the side of the building in “Rogue Nation”, McQuarrie started to put Ethan Hunt in so many thrilling sequences and situations that the anxious looks that Ethan makes when he’s pulling off crazy feats of action are really Tom Cruise’s actual nervous expressions. Each action sequence in “Fallout” is elaborate, intense, thrilling and continuously has you at the edge of your seat. I had an old woman next to me constantly scream,
SHE WOULDN’T STOP HOOTING AND HOLLERING AND I WANTED TO STRANGLE HER AT A CERTAIN POINT but that's neither here nor there.Just like EVERY SINGLE FILM, each stunt performed by Cruise is practical and Tom just keeps proving that he’s the best stuntman working in Hollywood today. The action doesn’t play on having to break the laws of physics or dumbing itself down, and using CGI on its action to excel on it. The scale of each action sequence gets bigger and bigger and it's thoroughly pulse pounding. There comes a point that you have to tell the movie
THE BAD
The major mark I have against this movie is with the man, the myth, the mustache known as Henry Cavill. I don’t mind his mustache, but what I do have a problem with is his performance. When he’s not portraying the man of steel his acting is not pleasing. Friends of mine always considered him a terrible actor and I’ve been defending him for a while. I liked Cavill a lot in “The Man From U.N.C.L.E” but Jesus Christ he’s really bad in this M.I film. When he’s beating down people and punching through people, he’s great. It’s every time he opens his mouth and delivers that American accent that makes you just cringe. He has the movement and charisma, he just doesn’t have the right delivery. There are ample times where Cavill shares onscreen presence with Cruise and Cruise is performing circles around him. He’s playing with actors that are more experienced than him and he unfortunately can’t keep up. He’s still a good looking beef cake to ogle at, but that’s it.THE RENDY“Mission: Impossible - Fallout” is cinematic proof that Tom Cruise does not need another film franchise to compensate for his drive of doing his stunts because this is the main one that we love him in. He doesn't need some stupid Dark Universe or “Jack Reacher”. All he needs is “Mission: Impossible” because that's where his charm is at its best.That being said, I am still pumped about “Top Gun 2”. Now I got a new reason to play Kenny Loggins.
LAST STATEMENT“Mission: Impossible - Fallout” fully embraces its source material this time around as it manages to be Relentlessly actioned-packed with stylistic set pieces and a surprisingly dimensional story that adds to the intensity, This is a fun summer flick you don't wanna miss.Rating: 4/5 | 87%Super Scene: Ethan Hunt Vs. FRANCE