Mission Impossible Fallout Review
The movie starts off like a run of the mill Mission Impossible movie. Very early on though, people question the way Ethan Hunt thinks. It’s at that moment that I first got chills while watching Fallout. They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but I think director Chris McQuarrie (first director to direct a second Mission Impossible movie) must be a flag pole because he has done it again. Strap in, because I am about to take you on a whirlwind of a ride, while I review what may very well end up being the best movie of 2018.
I generally look at the Mission Impossible franchise as really kicking it into high gear in MI3. To this day, I think it tells the overall best story mainly because it has personal stakes of Hunt, while every other installment emphasizes the worldwide ramifications. Ghost Protocol has its moments where it relies on the emotional connection built in 3, but for the most part it is used to help Jeremy Renner’s Brandt join the team. Rogue Nation tells a cool story, but it doesn’t really hinge a whole lot on Hunt’s past. That is where the genius of Fallout stands out. The entire film questions his past, how he handles tough decisions, how his government has treated him, and everyone he has ever loved. The breakdown of Ethan Hunt for the first time in 22(!) years is just as exhilarating as the set pieces that follow along.
For the first time in the franchise, an antagonist survived until the credits rolled in Mission Impossible Rogue Nation. Sean Harris returns as the mastermind terrorist, Solomon Lane, and he tests Ethan to his limits. The way he can play Ethan like a fiddle and force him into the worst scenarios because he knows he’ll always try to save the ones he loves. Lane is much more involved this time and listening to him critique every single move the IMF make just ups the rivalry between these two characters.
Almost every Mission Impossible has had unnecessary cast members in it, and this one felt like the most refined cast thus far. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is joined by Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames), Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), Alec Baldwin’s character, and Julia (Michelle Monaghan). New players Walker (Henry Cavill) and Sloane (Angela Basset) as CIA members that are keeping an eye over the IMF bring a lot to the table as well.
Simon Pegg returns and is given more to do than ever before. He always provides much needed comic relief, making sure that the movie never gets too serious and is always a fun time. What I love about his character though is that he isn’t afraid to voice his concerns with the circumstances. When Benji stops cracking jokes, you feel the impact of the situation. Lastly, he is the perfect man to always trust what Ethan will do. When everyone else is losing hope, Benji stand besides Ethan and cracks a joke and helps bring everyone together.
Ving Rhames once again returns as Luther, the only other actor beside Cruise to appear in every MI movie. While he hasn’t had too much screen time in the last decade, we finally get to spend some time with him. Him and Ethan go back farther than anyone else, and he really sees the way Ethan looks at the world in a way no one else can. Luther is the heart of this movie, from the opening minutes until the credits role, the movie just would not have resonated the way it does without Luther in it. He really goes soul searching in this movie and spreads his wisdom to try and help everyone around him all the more wiser. When Luther sits down to talk, you hear just the slight crackle in Rhames voice and you feel your own heart break at his every word.
Henry Cavill joins the fray this time around, and he brought a mustache with him. At first glance, he seems like the producer’s effort to just through in a little star power or a guy with some extra muscle. As the movie continues, you realize how much Cavill actually imbues a lot of emotion into the role. I don’t want to say too much about his character, but bringing him from the CIA to observe Ethan Hunt and his IMF team really brings out some interesting dynamics, similar to when Jeremy Renner’s Brandt was brought in Ghost Protocol. If Rebecca Ferguson was the female equivalent to Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill is the sheer strength to Cruise’s agility. This makes any time the both of them are participating in a fight a pure blast to watch. When Ethan punches a dude, it's just fun to watch. When Walker punches someone, you feel their brain rattle around.
Alec Baldwin and Angela Basset are the leaders of the IMF and CIA, respectively. Both have limited screen time, but are important to the story. Baldwin in particular has a lot more emotional attachment to the story this time around than his inaugural Mission in Rogue Nation. He is the one that brings about the idea of “Thinking of the one instead of the millions” and that has a profound impact on how Ethan interacts with his team throughout the film. He is consistently questioning every decision because he isn’t sure if it is what he should do or what he wants to do. For so long, Ethan always did what he wanted and it was right, but the two figureheads represent the differing opinions of the public on how he operates.
Michelle Monaghan returns as Julia as an onscreen presence for the first time really since MI:III, and the chemistry she has on screen with Cruise is unparalleled. It was one of the smarter decisions director Chris McQuarrie made in this film. Having that direct connection to the strongest story from past Missions really brought it to the next level. When the two of them meet, it isn’t just like we were told “hey, this is a girl he really likes” we know the lengths he has gone for this woman and we know everything he has risked for this woman, and the result is one of the most gut punching scenes in the Mission Impossible franchise.
Rounding out the cast is Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust, returning after being introduced in Rogue Nation. Does she still steal every scene she is in? Yes. They also gave Ilsa a lot of new mystery surrounding her pretty evident closure in the last film, and it isn’t cheap or wrong for her character. She turns up at the perfect time into the movie, when you least expect it and each character one-by-one learns of her involvement and is just as confused as the audience. We have no idea if she has gone rogue and is acting outside of any government entity. All we know and see is that Ethan and her have so much mutual respect for each other that when their interests conflict each dreads what the outcome could lead to. She stands right amongst Ethan in skill set and capability and it provides the movie with the biggest curveball that it needed to just feel even more wild and unpredictable. They could have easily just had her on the team from the start, but they direction they go with her just adds a lot more pathos to the story. It leads to so much character growth between her and Ethan, when they could have shoe horned her in as a team member or new romantic interest.
Now that I’ve touched on most of the characters, I have to move into the main course, the action, the stunts, the spectacle. Let me be the last to tell you, this movie delivers. I love me a giant CG purple guy gathering a bunch CG rocks to turn a bunch of people wearing CG suits into CG dust on a CG moon as much as the next guy. Then you see Mission Impossible and realize that this is the way movies are meant to be made.
There are two scenes that were filmed in IMAX, the HALO jump and the Helicopter chase scene. Both scenes are stunning, with the picture quality alone making it worth the price of admission. Once Tom Cruise jumps out of the plane, you realize you needed this extra screen space. Watching him jump into frame and in and out of focus is what breathes life into this scene. You see how real it is in the imperfections that you can not plan for. The Helicopter scene is then the spectacle we have come to expect from any Mission Impossible. It’s a scene that you think “Did the trailer spoil all of the scene?” and you quickly realize it was not. Ethan Hunt rope climbing, flying a helicopter, and rock climbing all in the span of 15 minutes is simply astounding. Henry Cavill hanging outside of a copter with a big ammo M60 like in Black Ops 1 is amazing. They could have easily just set up a rig inside of a sound stage with green screen and some fans, but when you see the way the hair gets suctioned to everyone’s head in this scene you realize you have to be hanging outside of a helicopter to get realism like this.
We are also blessed with the bathroom fight scene, already famous for the Henry Cavill arm reload seen in the trailer. Based on the trailer I had an idea of what that scene was, but it was totally different than what it ended up being. The production design was meticulously plotted out for the fight to use the entire space. People are thrown through windows, smashed into walls, and stuffed into stalls. It feels like it lasts forever in the best possible way, and it is so brutal. People needed to take a breather after a couple of the hits they take, and no one goes down easy like in a generic action movie.
Benji and Isla also have their own fight scene that was probably the most intense of them all. Mission Impossible will never kill off Ethan Hunt, but who knows with these two supporting characters? Watching them in fight for their lives with no one else to rely on is the most tense moment of the film. Similar to the bathroom scene, there is no one in the fight that doesn’t seem capable. Everyone is fighting and giving it their all, it all comes down to their ability to think on the fly and use their surrounding environment. This makes every single fight scene a pleasure to watch, because it’s never just about watching the IMF beat everyone to a pulp, it’s about them struggling to accomplish their mission and every hurdle wares them out little by little.
I won’t delve too much into the chase scene in Paris, but just know that it is probably the best thing ever, and just keeps going on and adding more and more layers that gets more and more exciting. Also why they let Tom Cruise motorcycle without a helmet surrounded by other moving cars is beyond me but I love it. There is also the entire set piece in London that is jaw dropping. The entire London scene is filled with a lot of story and then the obligatory Tom Cruise running. Let me tell ya, that boy can run. I’m happy to announce that this now sits easily at number 2 on the Tom Cruise running in Mission Impossible list right behind Mission Impossible: III, because that Shanghai scene where the camera is just with Cruise at a constant pace is just literally perfect.
I guess I should be wrapping this up now, but I have to say the cinematography blew me away. There are shots that will stick with me for a very long time, and sequences that I will never forget. I already mentioned the production design, but the way that they seamlessly transition from the Middle East to Paris, or from New Zealand to Norway and make them all feel like they are in the same location is a testament to how good people can be at their jobs. The music, oh my goodness gracious the music. Lorne Balfe introduces some new leitmotifs into the franchise that fit really well, but he also isn’t afraid to incorporate the MI theme we all know and love so well wherever he can. We are all used to the boisterous theme with the whole orchestra filling our ears, but he sees the theme as malleable and uses that to adjust the tone and emotions it provokes from the viewer. We feel the darkness and uneasiness amongst the familiarity, just like Ethan does throughout the film.
I would be remiss to not mention that Christopher McQuarrie is master at his craft. Without his direction and script (who knows how much they actually wrote down), this movie would not have been possible. Clearly this was hundreds of people all performing at the top of their game, but without McQ leading the charge I doubt this movie would have turned into the action love letter it is.
Overall this movie’s alright. Go watch it in IMAX if you can, or if you can’t just watch it on the biggest screen you can.
Final Score: 10/10