"Mission: Impossible - Fallout" Review
"Mission: Impossible - Fallout" is a paradox to me. On one hand, I watch movies for the characters and story but Fallout has a super convoluted story that might not make sense if you really think about it and the characters are mostly used as plot devices. A franchise that starts with action scenes and works backwards from there shouldn't equate to anything great no matter how much fun it has. Lo and behold, Fallout is a rare exception. The film is self aware that people pay to see an entry to a long-running action franchise for its insane action -and it fulfills that request in the most spectacular fashion possible.
The mission, if you choose to accept it, is to prevent a bunch of bombs from blowing up and killing a bunch of innocent people. To boil the plot down to its most basic parts, this is as simple as it gets. There's a lot of deception going on and a lot of characters will change motivations on and off screen on a whim -whatever. We have our Macguffins -off we go!
I wanted to give a massive shout-out to the team that worked on the audio for the movie. I saw it in IMAX and the sound mix was top notch to say the least. Shrapnel rips across the speakers and vehicles will surround you unlike any other film. Everything sounds dynamic and crisp and I love it when a movie pays so much attention to how it sounds. Lorne Balfe's super percussive Fury Road-like score is synced up to the rhythm of the action and the flow from one idea to the next always feel kinetic and exciting. You will not be getting the full experience if you're listening to this movie on anything less than an amazing speaker system.
The film has no less than ten action sequences and it constantly looks great. The best part about having Tom Cruise doing the stunts himself is that the movie can show his choreography in wides and often unbroken takes. One moment he's doing a HALO jump and another moment will have him pull off a corkscrew dive with a helicopter. It's mesmerizing and it never gets old and we're always aware of where everyone is at all times. This movie solidifies Tom Cruise as one of the greatest on-screen stunt performers of all time and this is the best that he and the action has ever been in the franchise and in action movies period.
Fallout is a fantastic, hardcore, white knuckle action epic and is by far the highest Mission Impossible has ever soared. Even though Rogue Nation isn't required viewing, Fallout complements Rogue Nation in all the right ways. The action is some of the best ever captured on film and the presentation is extremely polished. This is definitely a film that you have to see on the biggest screen possible since so much of the movie's magic, at least for me, relies on how grand everything looks and sounds. That and a weak story and somewhat stocky characters are the main reasons why I don't consider the film to be one of the greats. Though it's been over three hours since I walked out of the cinema and I can still feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins.