Mission: Impossible-Fallout Review: A Charmer of a Spy Actioner

Sethumadhavan

Early into the latest Mission: Impossible-Fallout (MI- Fallout from hereon) we find Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) facing a predicament, in a split second he needs to take a quick call. It’s all about taking a decision of either trying to save the life of his buddy & trusted team member, Luther (Ving Rhames) or sticking to his mission of retrieving three stolen plutonium cores & preventing a global disaster in the process. No prizes for guessing what he does, it is this decision of his which goes on to result in a series of happenings and chain reactions that unravel in the course of the 148 minute spectacular roller coaster ride that MI- Fallout is. What sets aside the MI series & Ethan Hunt from the others in the business is best summarized by Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin), the IMF chief on what makes Ethan Hunt & his team special.

In a way MI-Fallout takes off right from where the previous edition (MI-Rogue Nation) left. The Syndicate headed by Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) is back in action as a terrorist group linked to it, The Apostles are supposed to have stolen 3 plutonium cores in order to create nuclear weapons for mass destruction. Ethan Hunt’s mission is to retrieve the plutonium cores and while he & his team fail in the mission initially, they receive one more opportunity to get it done. But this time Ethan is forced to have August Walker (Henry Cavill), a Special Activities operative tag along with him on the instructions of Erica Sloane (Angela Bassett), the CIA Director. The rest of the tale unfolds at a blistering pace as the action keeps shifting across various locations worldwide.

There has been tremendous hype in the run up leading to the release of the film, the makers have been keeping the audiences worldwide and the critics informed of the way the film has been shot. Be it reports of Tom Cruise’s injury while filming, or his HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jump (perhaps the first of its kind in a movie?), nearly everything has been in the public domain. Also of late various sources have been claiming that the film is not just a great action vehicle but is truly one of the greatest action films ever made. Needless to say that with such high praise one is bound to be a little sceptical, after all this does sounds a little too good to be true isn’t it? Well don’t be worried because the hype is totally justified, director Christopher McQuarrie (who also made MI-Rogue Nation) seems to be very sure of the demands of the series and has not just done justice to Tom Cruise but also to action film lovers across the globe.

The stunts are amazing, be it the hand to hand combat in a nightclub washroom in Paris, the motorcycle & car chase again in Paris, the rooftop chase in London or the climax helicopter action sequence set in Kashmir, each one is impressive and gives you an adrenaline rush. It’s also refreshing to see that for an action extravaganza like MI-Fallout there is so much of inclusivity with respect to the spread of characters. It’s great to see not just one but actually 4 female characters of prominence in the film and thankfully all of them aren’t just props or lending glamour to the film, they play an essential part of the proceedings. This is something that writers & directors over here should make note of as well. I’ve always felt that an action entertainer would only be impactful if the antagonist is strong and is a good match to the protagonist and that’s where again MI-Fallout scores.

Henry Cavill who by now is popular as Superman is seen in a different dimension here and as August Walker he makes a great adversary of Ethan Hunt. Technically the film scores in just about every department, the use of IMAX cameras for the climax action sequence in particular being a highlight. Needless to say the VFX work is super effective and seamless, making the action adventure a delight to watch on screen (if IMAX then it’s even better). The film also boasts of some good performances from the cast, an added bonus to be honest. Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg & Ving Rhames are certainly effective, while the women-Angela Bassett, Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan, Vanessa Kirby are all wonderful, Rebecca Ferguson in particular making a huge impact. It’s amazing to see Tom Cruise appear as sincere and earnest as ever playing Ethan Hunt with total conviction, 22 years since he first took up the character. No wonder the character and the series is so much popular.

MI-Fallout is one spectacular ride that’s going to work with audiences worldwide completely, go watch it this weekend for sure.

Bottomline:

MI-Fallout is hands down the best film to emerge from the MI franchise and an extremely well made action film that is as entertaining as a film of this scale and scope ought to be.

Rating: 4/5