Rob Ryan's Movie Reviews - Mission Impossible Fallout

1st August 2018

I have always had this thought lingering in the back of my mind for quite sometime now and after seeing Mission Imposible: Fallout this Wednesday afternoon I'm now feeling very confident in articulating it in text form.....Tom Cruise is a madman. I know that's not exactly an original thought as there have been many cases in his personal life that has given hints of this point, (mainly being a prominent member of the church of Scientology) But on camera and behind the scenes he does a great job of acting normal, respectable, and professional while also risking his life to perform some of the most exhilarating stunts in recent memory, the man is insane to put himself out there like that, how many more sequels to this series is it going to take until there's a stunt that kills him? You got to give it to the man, A lot of stunt people would more than likely be terrified to do the things he does in this franchise, and the fact you are seeing this man do these dangerous stunts rather than an obvious stunt double really makes the set-pieces feel a lot more genuine and thrilling. It's almost as if he keeps coming back to these films just to break the boundaries on how dangerous stunt work can be but still come out fine with no long-term injuries whatsoever. At 56 years old right now, it's amazing he can still keep this up but it also makes me ask, how long can he keep this up until his age gets the better of him.

As for the film, its great! Thrilling, faced paced, twists and surprises at every turn, incredibly well directed and shot, even better than the last film. The film does not shy away from depicting each crash, kick, punch and fall Tom Cruse and the stunt team face. There is no quick editing to fool the audience that non of the kicks and punches are real, no fake green screen to shy away from ACTUALLY hanging from a Helicopter as its flying in the air, and most important of all you can tell everything that's happening in each action scene. No quick cuts and camera shake what so ever! Admittedly I was let down by Rogue Nation in 2015 as Ghost Protocol (which is still my favourite one) set the bar too high for this series and should have been aware that there wasn't going to be any film in the series that would top it, and while Fallout doesn't it comes damn close and the craziness and the execution of each action scene puts all of Rogue Nation's set pieces to shame. Yes I'm including the famous Oprea scene that everyone and their mother was raving about when the film was in cinemas. I'd also go as far to say that Fallout makes Rogue Nation look like Mission Impossible 2, the worst one in the franchise! On an emotional level, I can't help but feel indifferent towards the franchise, mainly because the things that stands out the most in the films are the set-pieces and they are the biggest take away from the films. No one (not even the die hard fans that I'm aware of) talk about the more emotional aspects to them. They seem to be praised as roller-coaster rides then anything that any comment on the characters and plot seem to have evaporated from their minds. With all that being said there are a couple of attempts at emotional moments that will only work if you have watched all 5 films before this one and with me being in-different to this franchise, those moments work just fine. While it's not going to win any Oscars in the near future, they work to add that extra layer of stakes and tension to the narrative, which is really all you can really ask for in a modern action film.

Really what more is there to say? If you are an action fan as well as a avid lover or the series, you probably already saw the film. You probably don't need me to tell you that this film is great, But if you did not catch the memo....this film is great! One of the better action films to come out in recent memory, I'd go as far to say that the film is worth seeking out an IMAX showing as movie experiences as exhilarating as this only come occasionally. between this film and Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again, we have two fantastic, crowd pleasing summer releases that you can see right now. Both crowd pleasing for different audiences. For the first time in ages, it looks like we might have a summer where the films released appeal to a wide range of people, not just action fans. It's very refreshing honestly.

Oh I almost forgot, Henry Cavill in more action films please!!!!!!
Rating: 8/10

Posted by Ben Fry at 12:57pm