You can say what you want about Tom Cruise—while he may be a
kook dedicated to saving our souls from the onslaught of Xenu for the low, low
price of eleventy squillion dollars, that insanity seems to be nicely keeping
his hairline intact, and also giving him the motivation to pull off crazy
stunts with helicopters and cliffs that do make for nice action scenes.
The Mission Impossible films have definitely seen a
resurgence with the enjoyable Ghost Protocol—I remember when the first one
definitely made itself a standout in the 90s, with snazzy tension and action
that lead to Jean Reno trying to shred Cruise’s skinny butt with helicopter blades.
Things floundered with the second one, and the third one was received decently
as I recall but seems to have been largely forgotten. Ghost Protocol however
bought it into the modern era with a fun cast of characters, action that relied
on clever stunts, nifty gadgets, and practical work as opposed to flurries of
CGI, all helping it to stand out. Rogue Nation continued this tradition, and
that brings us to Fallout, which sees Cruise’s Ethan Hunt ostracized from the
US government for…erm…the third or fourth time? Anyway, though the plot might
not seem new on paper, let’s see how the latest of the revitalized series pans
out.
Once again, things involve nuclear weapons out of control,
this time being used as both Macguffin and bargaining chips for our team, lead
by Cruise and backed up by Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Rebecca Ferguson. The
relationship between the characters is definitely tested moreso this time
around as sacrifices and loyalties must be decided, and it helps raise the
stakes for the proceedings. Off the bat, the film conditions you to take
nothing as how it seems, and as such, even though the plot itself isn’t
supremely innovative, it does keep you interested enough to go along with the well
directed action and stunts.
Henry Cavill also joins in as a CIA agent, sporting the ‘stache
he needed to get clumsily shaven off for Justice League. Yeah, Superman’s fuzz
may have been kryptonite to how that film turned out, but he also plays things well
here. In all honesty, his character’s arc doesn’t turn out as interesting as it
initially seems or how I would’ve wanted it—instead, Alec Baldwin and Angela
Basset play things up better as the superspy chiefs overlooking things. Their own
loyalties are definitely more in flux and trying to keep both of them appeased
is another challenge Hunt and company go through.
And the action? There’s a great parachute scene over Paris,
a chase through the same city that goes over roads, streets, and sewers, a
rooftop pursuit through London…if that’s what you want, boy does this one
deliver. All of it is kept just real enough that you’re not glazing over from watching
them bounce around in front of a greenscreen—when glass breaks and cars
shudder, there’s enough feeling in there that you don’t stop watching.
Mission Impossible Fallout is a fun ride that’s not really
as unpredictable as it seems initially—when you sit back and think about the
plot, a lot of it has been done before. But it’s the presentation that counts
here, and it certainly leaves you exhilarated, with the series trademark
misdirection and ploys within ploys that prove all kinds of fun. If you fancy
yourself some good spy action, this is definitely the landmark this summer to
check out.
Next time, however, let's get some actual impossible missions, like setting up listening devices on the surface of the sun, or trying to make Mission Impossible II not hilariously stupid.
Comments
Post a Comment