Mission: Impossible-Fallout (Review)

Fallout Might Not Fall Short, But It Fails To Stand Out.

After 5 Mission: Impossible movies you pretty much know what to expect walking into these things, but is that a good thing?

Fallout is the newest installment in a franchise that’s starting to look as immortal as it’s star. Of course, I’m talking about Tom Cruise who is back and as ageless as ever. Seriously though, it’s starting to get a little unnerving how Dorian Grey-ish he’s become. The other series regulars though are starting to look like all those fantastic students and impossible missions are starting to get to them. The thing is, the plots are starting to look the same way too.

While there’s no denying that the Mission: Impossible movies have gotten better and better ever since the second film by John Woo, but by now it’s become clear that they’re running out of ideas for epic action sequences and terrorist plots. Writer/ director Christopher McQuarrie returns for Fallout after helming Rogue Nation, which is why, for the first time, a Mission: Impossible film actually feels like a sequel. So many characters from the last movie are back, including super spy turned terrorist for hire (pretty sure that’s not how terrorism works), Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), and British operative Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). This time they’re joined by CIA assassin August Walker played by Henry Cavill (By this point it’s safe to say McQuarrie has a thing for weird, but not memorable, names). They’re all joined by the usual faces of Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, and Alec Baldwin, back to reprise their second fiddle roles to Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt.

Let me be clear that Fallout is not a bad movie. In fact, it’s actually a pretty good summer action flick. However, there is no up without down. No good without bad. While we can all agree that Mission: Impossible II is the bad in this series, but Fallout is the plateau. What I mean by that is that it’s a lot of the same. For example, there’s a lot of Tom Cruise running and climbing things that would give lesser men panic attacks. That’s all well and good though because at least the series knows why the fans are buying tickets. However, there isn’t a sequence that stands out as the one Fallout should hang its hat on. It doesn’t have a Burj Khalifa climbing scene, no CIA heist sequences, not even a scene where Tom has to hold his breath for a really long time. There are, however, so many death-defying scenes that it’s safe to say that Death certainly didn’t have a part written into Fallout. Unfortunately, that really doesn’t help to make any specific scene stand out.

I’ll admit that I was stocked to see Henry Cavill cast in Fallout. As much as the internet likes to rag the DCU movies, I thought he was an exceptional Superman. I even liked him in the recent The Man From U.N.C.L.E. He’s proven himself to not only be a capable actor but a devastatingly handsome and charismatic one as well. Hell, he even makes a mustache look cool in Fallout. The thing is that his character never lives up to his potential. His sole purpose is serving as a threat to Ethan Hunt, but he never actually succeeds in being truly threatening. Whether that’s because his character is written lazily or just because he seems like such a good guy that it’s hard to take him seriously when he’s “playing a dick.” I won’t say that he does a bad job in Fallout, but Cavill is never given a moment to shine, to truly define himself as a true threat.

While the Mission: Impossible movies are well known for having plenty of twists and turns, Fallout takes it to an extreme. In fact, it plays out like a lot of those anime you see where the character reveal they knew exactly what their foe was going to do and set a trap for them 20 minutes ago. It’s a film that says how cunning it’s characters are but doesn’t ever show them making their plans or outsmarting villains in the moment. Instead, it’s a lot of “of course I planned for my back up to be in this exact spot in this exact moment.” I’m not going to rain on an action films parade by saying this is something that should never be done, but Fallout takes it to an extreme. At least with the other movies, there was some foreshadowing that audiences would be able to gasp, “oh yeah, the thing!” when it finally paid off in a callback.

I’ve pointed out plenty of flaws in Fallout, but even despite all of them it’s still a swell summer blockbuster. The fight scenes are some of the best in the franchise and the overall plot has a solid idea at its core (even if it takes things a little too far). Fallout thought is just the first time in the Mission: Impossible that we see Ethan stumble (not counting the second film). Ever since Abrams took over as producer each film has been bigger and better than the last one. Fallout though is not bigger or better than Rogue Nation. That isn’t to say it’s not on the same level, but it looks like that glorious ascension might be coming to an end. That being said, Fallout is still a safe bet when it comes to summer blockbusters and is well worth the price of admission. However, it might be best to temper your expectations when it comes to this installment of the Mission: Impossible series.