The Mission: Impossible series has been steadily evolving through the years - building on the pace, amplifying signature action sequences and credibility - all whilst Tom Cruise has been aging like a fine wine, cut from the same unbreakable cloth as the likes of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Seriously, the impossible guy is a superhero with limitless energy and the ability to outrun Forrest Gump. Ethan Hunt's latest chapter of the franchise is called "Fallout", but it may as well be called "Jumpout". We have buildings, helicopters, planes...you name it, Ethan Hunt has probably jumped out of it. Can you believe this is film number 6, a whopping 22 years after the first? And yet, whilst critics several years ago predicted the films would flag and fizzle out, Fallout has proved the exact opposite. It's explosive and the latest critiques are right: this is the best one yet.
Fallout wastes no time with the set up and heads straight for the set pieces. Hunt receives his mission, should he choose to accept it, within minutes and of course he chooses to. He discovers that the last film's captured villain/criminal ringleader Solomon Lane still has terrorists, now working under the group name "The Apostles", and the plot thickens when Hunt is forced to break Lane out as part of a deal (more on that later). A returning villain? That's new. It's this continuity that features prominently in the series for the first time; Lane's back, MI6 agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) is back, IMF teammates Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg) are back, and even once-wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan) returns after 12 years. Director Christopher McQuarrie is also on familiar terrain after directing 2015's Rogue Nation. It makes sense that McQuarrie doesn't feel the need to re-introduce everyone, and consequently, there's much more room for action and a very juicy plotline without being too confusing for audience newcomers.
What is this plot, you say? Well, like all its predecessors there is some sort of global threat, baddie/group and a heavily improvised mission to save the world, courtesy of Hunt and his team. It's always seemingly impossible and things will definitely go wrong, but Hunt always finds the "possible". Expect no less in Fallout, but with more death-defying stunts, depth and genuine unpredictability. After Hunt lets three plutonium cores be taken by The Apostles (though it's not really about the terrorist group this time), he is tasked to get them back before nuclear destruction. He's being childminded by tank-like CIA agent August Walker (Henry Cavill) whose brutal 'just business' tactics and values conflict with Hunt's, plus Hunt comes across a mysterious armsdealer called the White Widow (Vanessa Kirby) whose deal price for the plutonium is that her buyer wants Lane. Ilsa Faust also crosses paths with the group on a conflicting mission, plus there's a villain who believes that "the greater the destruction, the greater the peace" and is after the plutonium to make it happen. Back to the plot, which has enough double/triple crosses to make you go cross-eyed - it's probably the most layered recipe yet and will need some digesting to identify who's cat or mouse. That, and mix in a reunion with Hunt's wife Julia from MI3 that finally answers questions about her own story (and recent absence), plus giving Cruise a chance to showcase a more emotionally vulnerable side.
There ought to be a separate paragraph for stunts, given that the film received so many headlines whilst filming due to the injury Cruise sustained whilst jumping from a building. Yes, the scene makes the cut and it's distinctly recognisable and wince-worthy. Yes, Cruise does a lot of his own stunts (and running). This is a film where essentially the writers have sat down and thought of every stunt possible and said yes. Motorcycle chase? Car chase? Helicopter chase? Casual cliff climb? A Google Maps route involving rooftop runs via breaking through office windows? Yes to all. Why not? What's even better is that they're stupendous but somehow not stupid. They're shot in a way that puts the audience right next to the scene and ludicrously realistic. The finale is equally spectacular and gripping from all angles, with action in the air and on ground, suspenseful to the very final second. Naturally. Hand-to-hand combat gets an upgrade here too, with muscle man Cavill making it interesting, and Ferguson continues to impress with her combat scenes - and any other scene for that matter.
Fallout explores pressure points and the moral question - save one life or save millions? Ethan Hunt's a killer but is he a cold-blooded one? Can he let the fate of a friend come between him and his mission? Does he think a mission is ever impossible? The film is more character and heart-driven than your typical action flick, but it's still satisfyingly about teamwork and the familiar team dynamics are just as great. Furthermore, there's not one, but three more-than-capable and kickass female characters who aren't there just for eye-candy (surprisingly rare even in today's action films.) The stakes are higher, the stunts are bigger etc. etc. but when it goes back to its roots - the teamwork, the fun trickery through those life-like masks, the unpredictability and 'improvisation' - it is just a joy for any MI or action fan to watch. Hunt has a habit of saying "I'm working on it" when asked about any given plan or situation. The new bar has been set rather high, so here's hoping they manage to work on a follow-up that makes beating it a mission possible.
Mission: Impossible - Fallout is in cinemas now.
- Sunday, July 29, 2018
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