REVIEW: “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”

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Jonathan Montague, Staff Writer

Very few film franchises are lucky enough to have more than three installments to their name, and even fewer manage to keep a high level of quality from one movie to the next. Then you have franchises like the “Fast & the Furious” and “Mission: Impossible,” which only seem to get better and better for some reason (my money’s on a deal with the devil). Nobody thought they could top the fourth film, “Ghost Protocol,” and they said the same thing about the fifth film, “Rogue Nation.” Yet, here I am to tell you all that “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is not just one of the best films of the year, but one of the best action films I have ever had the pleasure of watching.

The film opens with Ethan Hunt and his team on their latest mission, intercepting a sale of plutonium involving members of the dissolved Syndicate. When faced with an impossible choice, the mission goes sideways. Now the CIA is sending in one of their own, top assassin August Walker to oversee the recovery of the nuclear material before they can be turned into nuclear bombs. Unfortunately, this includes handing over leader of the Syndicate and international anarchist Solomon Lane. Further complications include the resurfacing of Ilsa Faust, betrayal on all sides and the reappearance of Ethan Hunt’s wife, Julia Meade.

This plot is filled with enough twists and turns that it might give you motion sickness. If I could tell what was going to happen, it was only mere seconds before it went down. While this film does recycle a couple plot elements from previous films, it does so in ingeniously clever ways that make it feel fresh again. The dialogue is beautifully written, with every word having a purpose and the little humor there is coming from the characters’ relationships. Its fast pacing keeps you on the edge of your seat and the tense moments have you holding your breath for what feels like forever.

Ethan actually receives something that you haven’t seen in one of these films in a while: character development. He is shown to have guilt over the situation with Julia and the fact that they can never be together. Even then, he is still the extremely likeable, if not slightly crazed action hero we know and love. All the other characters are back, being distinct and likeable in their own unique way, from Luther to Benji to Ilsa to Walker.

Every performance is practically perfect in tone and energy. Not a single inflection or micro expression is wasted. The breakout performances have to go to Tom Cruise and newcomer Henry Cavill, who is better here than I have ever seen him before.

Everyone is wondering how they are going to top some of the stunts that “Mission: Impossible” is known for. Well rest assured, the stunts is this movie will more than satisfy any adrenaline junkie. Your heart might stop as it pounds out of your chest. The action is brutal, intense and lightning fast with every punch having weight. Something I found interesting that they did was show each character’s fighting style. Everything from Ethan’s finesse tactics to Walker’s bruising blows to Ilsa’s more acrobatic style looked incredible.

The cinematography is also gushing with style and knows how to film every location in the most beautiful way, with each shot and transition gracefully executed. The music is also top-notch from newcomer Lorne Balfe, giving it the edge that its need without going overboard.

I don’t have any clever thing to say. Everyone just needs to see this film. “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” might be the greatest spy film ever made and one of the best action films ever made. It needs to be seen on the biggest screen available to you. Don’t do yourself wrong.