The newest entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise is in theaters now. The series has never blown me away, but the buzz was good, so I decided to see if this one would change my mind on the series.
Starring Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Alec Baldwin, Michelle Monaghan, Vanessa Kirby, Angela Bassett
Written and Directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Synopsis: After losing a dangerous macguffin to a terrorist group, superspy Ethan Hunt save the world by taking a path that leads him back to a former enemy.
Visuals and Audio: Amongst the major spy franchises, Mission: Impossible has never been the most stylized. Bourne created a style of its own, and though 007 lacked consistency, its efforts to keep up with the times have often led to striking and distinct visuals. Aside from John Woo's efforts at #2, the Impossible franchise has been less visually dynamic, occasionally to its detriment. However, this film uses that to its advantage. Though not altogether distinct, the visual style goes 100% into making the action look as good as possible. Rather than using quick cuts and other tricks to hide stunts, said stunts are the bread and butter of this franchise, so the cinematography keeps the view of the action crisp, clear and easy to follow. There is something exciting about knowing that what you're seeing really happened, without much in the aid of CGI or tricky editing. The sound design is where this film really excels though. Every impact, every hit every moment carries a power, behind it. Sometimes called the "Oomph" factor, this mixture of clear visuals and crisp, intense sound is exactly what leads to the audience wincing during the hits, and leaning back when there is a large fall a character is facing, creating a level or immersiveness that is unusual nowadays.
Cast: Though certain characters have returned in this series, each installment tends to have a largely new supporting cast. For the first time, though, Fallout seems to be mostly focused on the same characters that Rogue Nation portrayed. Rebecca Ferguson and Sean Harris are back respectively as Ethan Hunt's sometimes accomplice Ilsa and his enemy Solomon Lane. Franchise regulars Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg fill out the rest of Hunt's team. The benefit to this is that the audience and actors are largely familiar with these characters, giving the film a sort of comfort and easy chemistry, wherein the main players don't need an excessive amount of introduction. However, this somewhat leads to the downside where few of the characters add anything new to their roles. The only one to really expand is Ferguson, who is the film's strongest actor for the second installment in a row. Though her Ilsa is familiar, she has new struggles that feel natural for the character, and her chemistry with Cruise is strong, but not without a certain level of uncertainty which aids the characters well. As for Cruise, there's very little to say. His passion for the series is undeniable at this point, and shows no signs of faltering anytime soon. His sheer physicality continues to be the main draw of the series, as watching the star clearly putting his life and body at risk for our entertainment will never truly lose its appeal. Dramatically, there isn't much ground broken for Ethan Hunt in this film. There are some attempts at giving Ethan personalized stakes, but the character has always been more comfortable jumping off of buildings than showing intimacy, leaving Ferguson the emotional heavy lifting.
The two significant new characters really add to the dynamic. Vanessa Kirby's White Widow is a new, sort of morally grey antagonist to the series. The character doesn't have a ton of depth, but Kirby is clearly having fun with the uniqueness of the role. More important is Henry Cavill's August Walker. A CIA agent assigned to watch over Ethan Hunt, Cavill proves to be the perfect foil for the protagonist. August Walker is described in the film as a hammer to Ethan Hunt's scalpel, and that description is perfectly applicable throughout the film. He carries a sense of brutality and simplicity that constantly gets in Hunt's way, and serves Cavill throughout the fight scenes. (I don't have to describe how oddly intimidating the moment he "reloads his arms" is, and how not intimidating it would be in anybody else's hands.) As such, he proves to be the film's most interesting adversary, even with the return of the previous film's big bad, Solomon Lane.
Writing: Oddly even for an action film, the Mission Impossible series usually shoots without a real script. There is an outline, and the director and Cruise have talked about the story arc, but the film is usually made up as filming goes on. This is to keep the focus on the things people come to these movies to see: stunts and action. As such, critiquing the writing is a little difficult since, in truth, it doesn't really matter that much. Is the storyline interesting? Not particularly. It's pretty basic and predictable spy-stuff. Is the dialogue strong and realistic? No, although there's less overt exposition than one would expect, which is nice. The one real strength in the writing here is how it avoids the greatest issues of previous films in its own series. Both Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation spent their first halves building up to their second-act set pieces, with the third act being more of an "and-then" situation without as much anticipation. Fallout instead constantly builds up and readies itself for its final act, keeping that sense of anticipation throughout. As such, it's third act feels like less of a letdown than the previous two, and the audience exits on a higher note.
Directing: Interestingly, Christopher McQuarrie is the first director to return to this film franchise. Though Cruise had long wanted each film to have a different directorial style, he has had a great working relationship with McQuarrie over the last few years, continuing well here. Though McQuarrie puts the smallest personalized stamp of any of the franchise's directors, that actually does benefit the film somewhat. He really has a great understanding of what the audience wants, and how to deliver it to them. A bare minimum of focus is given to emotional and character development, while the rest is about building tension and excitement with fantastic set pieces in cool locations. This works since there is just enough character development for the audience to feel invested, largely resting on previous films, and a sense of simple motivations. It's not the most unique spy film, but it has a great pace that keeps the audience from realizing just how long it is, and he never lets the excitement die down for too long, using his quieter scenes to set up the next big loud one. There are a few cool flourishes he gives, but McQuarrie never lets himself get in the way of Cruise and the stunts, which, for this franchise, is just what is needed.
Verdict: If you aren't a fan of this franchise, Fallout won't do much to convert you. At the end of the day it is just another Mission: Impossible film. That being said, it's the best version of a Mission: Impossible film. Come expecting to see cool stunts and action, and not much more, and you won't be disappointed.
Grade: 8.6
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