Cast: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes: The best intentions often come back to haunt you. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong. Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Vanessa Kirby also join the dynamic cast with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returning to the helm.

Review:

It is incredibly rare for a series of action movies to get progressively better as each installment comes out.  With the exception of Mission Impossible 2, that has been the case with every new release of this franchise.  Mission Impossible: Fallout continues this tradition by raising the stakes to level that is not only elite within this anthology, but within action movies as a genre.  Filling each moment with some of the greatest physical stunts I have ever seen and a plot that actually lives up to its name make Mission Impossible: Fallout one of the must-see movies of 2018.

The film follows Ethan Hunt (Cruise) after the events of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation.  After a botched trade for plutonium leaves it in the hands of a group of international terrorists, Ethan and his team must work not only to retrieve this plutonium and save the world, but also avoid any pitfalls that these terrorists have set for them.  As stated earlier, this is one of the few times where mission actually feels impossible.  Each moment of this movie just drips with tension up until the absolute end of the film.  Not one moment of this film feels unnecessary and we are constantly kept in a feeling of suspense that many recent action movies have been missing.  The main source of this is the plot, which keeps the viewer enticed by letting them know that every conversation matters and that the smallest lines can have the biggest impact.  While the plot may not have been the most original, the way it was framed made it so that a generally overused story felt fresh and original.  Regarding the main attraction of the movie, the action sequences are some of the most fluid and well-choreographed sequences and they are even more impressive knowing that many of them were shot with using special effects.  It is no secret that Cruise is one of the most dedicated actors when it comes to doing his own stunts, and in this particular film, his dedication to these stunts that become more dangerous for him with every year that he gets older make the film feel that much more realistic.  Two scenes in particular, a chase scene around the Arc de Triomphe and the helicopter battle are some of the most well-designed and exciting action sequences in recent memory.  Outside of the action, the inclusion of Cavill in his role added an element to the film that the other movies within the franchise usually lack.  Cavill’s character is someone who I actually felt was of equal ability to Ethan and made the suspense feel like it actually mattered.  This would not have been possible without Cavill’s serious yet complex performance that not only elevates the plot, but he is just as physical as Cruise in almost all of their action scenes together.  Outside of Cavill, Rhames and Pegg are fantastic in their supporting roles, providing a solid blend of comedy as well as plot development whenever it is needed.  The final thing that stands out is the score takes a unique spin on the classic song associated with this franchise, but it ends up working really well.  Hearing the theme played on instruments like the bongos instead of the traditionally deep string and brass instruments is a little strange at first, but it feels much more natural as the film progresses and is just as smooth as the action sequences that make this movie one of the top of its genre over the past decade.

Overall, Mission Impossible: Fallout is a breath of fresh air in a summer that has produced its fair share of dull action movies, but this one is far above the rest of the competition.  You can tell how much care and passion and care this movie was made with and if every movie was made with the same amount of care as this one, we would never see another bad movie again.  If you are looking for a film that will revolutionize its genre, there are very few films that will be released in 2018 that can say they do that better than Mission Impossible: Fallout.

Overall Score: 9/10