Mission: Impossible – Fallout should appeal to fans of the franchise through its new high stakes action scenes and clever humor.
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames) are assigned to retrieve plutonium cores. The IMF team is forced to work with CIA agent Walker (Henry Cavill) to get the plutonium before a terrorist organization is able to use it to destroy cities.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout proves to be exactly what it set out to be. It successfully continues this beloved franchise, making the stunts bigger and the stakes higher. While it is a two-and-a-half-hour adrenaline rush, its weak story is ultimately forgettable, existing only as a vehicle to showcase carefully choreographed stunts and clever tricks.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout and its predecessor Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation are the only films in the Mission: Impossible series to be directed by the same person. Because of this, it is not surprising that Fallout continues some of the storylines that Rogue Nation established.
This story continuity has its advantages and disadvantages. Fallout is able to bring back Rebecca Ferguson as MI6 agent Isla Faust. She really helps to complicate the story and is wonderful to see bantering with the IMF team. However, Fallout also brings back Rogue Nation’s villain Lane (Sean Harris).
The return of Lane is an interesting choice because it does allow for Hunt to have an emotional connection to a villain. Hunt has personal motivations which somewhat conflict with his assignment, so Lane helps to develop Hunt’s character. However, Lane was a mostly forgettable villain, and while his return helps the film on a character level, it does not make the story more exciting.
One positive addition to the film is Vanessa Kirby’s White Widow. While she does not receive nearly as much screen time as the character deserves, and the character is not fleshed out at all, she sets up an intriguing antagonist who could play an even more interesting role in the series’ future.
The most significant new character to the film is Cavill’s Walker. Walker is most effective when he is serving as a foil for Hunt, in both behavior and technique. While the character does have some great moments, both in fight scenes and comedic timing, he is unfortunately a rather bland character, and the most notable thing about him is his moustache.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout’s action scenes and stunts are truly amazing. Each scene manages to differentiate itself from the others. Some fight heavy scenes are devoid of music to focus on the intricacies of the fight choreography. Others are both visually enticing and filled with humor.
The movie does run too long at two and a half hours, which seems to be caused from some action sequences being too long and just in general poor pacing of the weak plot. Mission: Impossible – Fallout would have been better served if it were more compact. Ultimately, the film is still enjoyable because of its exciting action sequences, and the film will be best enjoyed by longtime fans of the series, who have connections to these characters.
Grade: B