Review: ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ Explodes Out of the Gate

Mission: Impossible – Fallout continues a trend basically unheard of in cinema when it comes to film franchises – that of getting better film after film. Sure there are some sequels that are better than the originals, but to do so over six films in a row?
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Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt with his IMF crew of ghost agents, including Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin, and Rebecca Ferguson. It hits the ground quick and hard, nearly giving Mad Max: Fury Road a run for its money. It does anchor onto a fair amount of the groundwork set up in the prior installment, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, with Sean Harris returning as the captured agent-turned-rogue Solomon Lane.

Mission: Impossible- Fallout was helmed and penned by Christopher McQuarrie (repeating his roles from Rogue Nation). This time the hunt is on for a mysterious arms dealer known only as John Lark (with no idea of what Lark might look like), and a group of terrorists known as the Apostles. Lark and the Apostles’ plan is to use three plutonium cores for a simultaneous nuclear attack on the Vatican, Jerusalem and Mecca. When a chance to secure the cores goes awry, Ethan and his crew find themselves in a desperate race against time to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.

And a race it is, with the classic chases spanning various exotic European locales. It’s superbly crafted, though the film does wind up suffering from perhaps too much front-loading of action, with a second half with more exposition and character moves than is really necessary. The film could have used another pass through editing to trim up some of it’s nearly two-and-a-half hour running time.

While the first two acts are action-intensive, the last piece has a few stunts that wander from within the realm of suspension of disbelief towards Fast and the Furious realms of silly. But that only hiccups a few times late in the game. If you have the option, definitely catch it on a Dolby Cinema screen, or any other theater that sports top of the line sound, because the bass levels in this film will do its best to rattle your teeth out.

The tension is solid, and action well crafted, and you find yourself looking for that scene where Cruise broke his ankle jumping between rooftops. It’s been 22 years since he accepted his first IMF mission and if anything he’s taken to the role and grown into it to the point where he’s comfortable in his own skin.

It’s a great spy-thriller and definitely worth catching, however definitely hit the restroom beforehand because it’s a long one, and there’s not really any good point to jump out and not miss something.

Mission: Impossible- Fallout is currently playing in theaters world-wide.

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