Review: Mission: Impossible – Fallout

Tom Cruise and his IMF crew are back for another thrilling adventure. Our J.P. gives his take on “Mission: Impossible – Fallout.” Plus, we have some behind-the-scenes footage, including Tom’s stunts in the the film.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT
PARAMOUNT PICTURES

• WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Christopher McQuarrie
• PRODUCED BY: Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, Jake Myers, J.J. Abrams
• STARRING: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Wes Bentley, Frederick Schmidt with Michelle Monaghan and Alec Baldwin

STUDIO SYNOPSIS:
The best intentions often come back to haunt you. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong. Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Vanessa Kirby also join the dynamic cast with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returning to the helm.

J.P.’s Take:
“Mission: Impossible?” I think not. The newest “MI” film, subtitled “Fallout” finds 56-year old actor / producer Tom Cruise in top form … and it appears he has the unlimited ability of churning out edge of your seat thrills.

Picking up two years after “Mission: Impossible – Rouge Nation’s” timeline, “Fallout” follows Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and the IMF crew in stopping what seems to be a commonplace terrorist act. They are alerted to the sale of three plutonium cores which has now entered the wrong hands. When paired with a device that can detonate it, eminent world devastation will take place. This is just the underlying premise in the beginning. Underneath the surface you’ll discover this is a tale of vengeance; one that sets up some intense cat and mouse scenes.

The title “Fallout” refers to the vendetta former MI6 agent, turned crime syndicate leader, Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), has set against Hunt. In the wake of Lane’s escape, this has called into question Hunt’s loyalty, as well as caused the break-up of Hunt’s marriage to Julia (Michelle Monaghan). That is the driving force behind this sequel – it becomes personal.

Not surprising here, however, is the fact that Cruise pulls out all the stops in making this outing an intense and teeth clinching excursion. Many of the scenes lend themselves to moments where the IMF’s plans are foiled by other players in the spy game.

They encounter newbie CIA agent, August Walker (Henry Cavill), who claims to be one of the best assassins in the agency. Walker is working under the tutelage of CIA director Erica Sloane (Angela Bassett), who also has a hidden agenda. Hunt especially doesn’t like the fact that Walker is also the watch dog over the team. As Hunt goes about setting up a plan of mission for his team, Walker stands in the way of him carrying out that plan. So, of course, in typical Ethan Hunt fashion, he must find a way to throw Walker off his trail. This is evident in the HALO (high-altitude, low-opening) jump scene in the beginning, where Hunt sabotages Walker’s air supply. Ethan jumps from the plane leaving Walker passed out as he jumps after Ethan. Former cohort of Hunt’s team and MI6 agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) enters the game and shakes up the group. She, too, is after Lane and the battle between her and Hunt puts the kibosh on the apprehension of Lane.

Making matters more complicated are the role reversals and double crosses in the plot course. Where you’re not sure who is the real baddie and who isn’t. Who can be trusted vs. who should be trusted. There are scenes that harkens back to the original “Mission Impossible” television series that has to do with disguises and fabricated set pieces. This is all subterfuge, of course, in calling out the perpetrators for the IMF to trap.

As mentioned above, “MI6” is not without its exciting thrilling elements. As we all know by now, Cruise uses no stunt man to perform his routines. In fact, from the beginning of filming this sequel, he broke his foot/ankle while leaping from a building to another. What you see in the movie is the actual moment he does this and it’s not left on the cutting room floor. He even completed 100 HALO jumps from and actually army plane in order to get a feel for how it’s done. And yes those chase scenes through the streets of France….all real. He races through oncoming traffic on a high powered motorcycle and it is nothing less than exhilarating. The bone crunching martial arts stunts are sharp and relentless. Every hit, throw and punch had me winching in pain for the characters. The real clincher is the helicopter dog fight which ends with Walker and Hunt battling it out on a mountains edge. Additionally, I almost forgot to mention this movie is also witty as well. They keep things lite with jokes all around.

You can thank the cast that has been carried over from previous iterations for keeping the film lively and fun: Ving Rhames (Luther Stickell), Simon Pegg (Benjamin “Benji” Dunn), Alec Baldwin (Alan Hunley), Rebecca Ferguson (Ilsa Faust), Sean Harris (Solomon Lane) and Michelle Monaghan (Julia Meade).

There are new faces joining the crowd such as Henry Cavill as CIA agent August Walker, Vanessa Kirby as the White Widow, and Angela Bassett as CIA director Erica Sloane. All played their parts in fantastic form.

All in all, I had fun with this sequel. They kept it concise, action packed, and simply rousing. I’ve become quite a fan of the “Mission Impossible” film series over time and it is growing in leaps and bounds above many action flicks as of late.