Mission Impossible: Fallout – 4.5/5 – Movie Reviews by Ry!

Mission Impossible: Fallout – 4.5/5 –  There are many ways I can describe this next installment of this popular franchise.  From the gripping action to the spectacular stunts, there are different factors that reel in people for an adrenaline rush.  With each new entry, they continue to add more to the overarching story by creating a place where the standard blockbuster experience is more than expected.  Mission Impossible: Fallout provides awesome sequences that go beyond the typical sensations of any action/spy film.  Like a fine wine, Mission Impossible: Fallout adds to an already stellar franchise, producing the best film in the series to date.

Premise:  When a mission goes wrong, Ethan Hunt and the IMF must work with the CIA to stop a global threat from an unknown enemy.

For a list of the actors/actresses, please refer to the film’s IMDb page.  With a mix bag of returning and new characters, the acting is superb across the board.  From returners like Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, to newcomers like Vanessa Kirby and Henry Cavill, you see that every person has distinct value to this next chapter.  With a certain level of purpose, it provides situations where everyone has specific motivation that reach on a global scale.  With extreme consequences unfolding, the delicate balance of trust is brought out through honest dialogue that detail how choices matter to the team as much as the individual.  At the center of everything is Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise.  Cruise is a true standout, providing that strong commandment we have come to expect with each new entry.  By heading off into another dire mission, he gives a deeper performance by adding a fragile element to the crazed antics to achieve the mission.  This innate drive leads to thoughtful purpose, creating a scope of believability to a fictional tale.  Every action has a reason, leading to a trickle-down effect to his team and villains.

Being a continuation of the past film, Fallout starts with the failure of Ethan Hunt trying to retrieve stolen Plutonium.  This attracts a certain subset of The Syndicate, CIA and a mysterious third party into the fray, creating raw friction that leads to self-driven tactics and quick-thinking scenarios for Hunt and his IMF crew.  This adds layers to the overarching plot, presenting a map of ‘why’ Hunt is driven by certain motives.  The magnitude of the situation is heightened by personal choices, which leads to a human element blending with an otherwise common spy/action outline.  Through a consequential driven plot with character depth, it creates an honest grip to the journey.  This leads to action sequences with emotional fervor, providing stronger thrills, crazed reactions and pure ‘heart-pounding’ sensations that are not manufactured excitement.  This creates a story that has context with each action set-piece, adding value to the web of mystery of who can be trusted when the perfect plan falls apart.  As the film progresses, the action slowly ramps up through new dynamics that present threats of unknown detail.  When Hunt’s past comes into play, it adds another obstacle that create barriers on a psychological level.  As things become closer to the heart, it creates a sensational application towards quick action, one-on-one combat and car chase scenes.  That frantic behavior adds to the improbability of survival.  This leads to a breakdown of physical, emotional and psychological states for the characters.  Once in the third act, it leads to a slow buildup that reveals the truth behind the villain’s motives.  It adds an enticing rhetorical aspect that clouds the mission, questioning what is truly worth saving.  Adding another deaf defining obstacle in the way, the mixture of the ‘race against time’ trope with the frenetic aura leads to some of the best action/spy sequences ever witness on the big screen.  There is a delicate line of believability to the outrageous acts, but that plausible sense generates emotional awareness and harden excitement.  Once at the climax, it ends with that ‘last second’ heroic trope that is obvious but welcomed.  Once in the epilogue, it ends on a full circle for the overarching story from past films, providing a place where the decision to save life is innate to all actions, big or small.

The cinematography is top notch.  From the global aspect through ‘real life’ locales (Paris, London and Kashmir), to the outstanding use of camera close-ups, single focus one-shots and frenetic set pieces, it creates a roller coaster ride that is raw, vigorous but honestly appealing.  There is a grounded feeling you get from having things shot on location.  This creates an emotional awareness that heightens the experience.  The score is another amazing element to the film.  From the zooming sounds in car chases, the explosion and quick reactive elements of the action, you feel the fervor through everything you hear.  It makes it as if you’re part of the journey, trying to save the world.

Mission Impossible: Fallout is the best in the series.  As it continues to add more films, the strategy has been working, producing hit after hit.  If you are a fan of this series, like spy films or Tom Cruise, this is the one for you.  It is worth seeing at full price, go take everyone to the theaters.