Film Review - Mission: Impossible -Fallout

Belfast: Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is sleeping in a sparsely decorated room. There is a knock at the door to deliver a package. The parameters of the next mission are revealed then it's on to Berlin to buy some Plutonium. The Mission franchise has suffered some bumps on its way to six. The widely panned John Woo second outing, audiences complaining that they could not follow the plot of the first film.  Then that unsure timeframe between the third and fourth film. A good part of the gang return from the 5th film.  Rebecca Ferguson is back as the motorcycle riding marvel British Agent (Rebecca Ferguson) MI5 villain Sean Harris also reprises the role of Solomon Lane.

The capture of the aforementioned Lane has left a void amongst the syndicate members. They have turned to terror for hire calling themselves The Apostles. The new shady element is an unidentified arms dealer turned Anarchist John Lark. Who its feared may have teamed up with the Apostles to place strategic mobile nuclear weapons to strike at the planet. The IMF is out to find the plutonium before their rivals with CIA director Erica Sloane (Angela Bassett) embedding her man August Walker  (Henry Cavill) on the team to combat Hunt's pension for softhearted decisions.

Christopher McQuarrie takes the controls for the second time in the franchise after the very successful last outing with Rogue Nation. The action is non-stop. Ethan is back on the bikes as is Ilsa Faust, there's a halo jump, a brawl in a nightclub bathroom and of course masks. Two standard locals Paris and London plus an exotic spot this time Kashmir. The plot is straightforward with an unidentified target that easy to decipher from the first moment they are on screen. Plus he's managed to avoid the prone on your stomach thing for two straight films.

Tom Cruise has entered Sean Connery territory as Ethan Hunt. He has his go to kit, his moral code, crashes cars on purpose and his we'll figure it out when we cross that bridge attitude. His willingness to perform his own stunts are well documented. It's most evident here with the HALOjump and in close-ups as he's chased through Paris helmetless on a motorcycle. Simon Pegg has settled in nicely as main sidekick Benji Dunn. He works computers & coms, does a bit of the field work spends most of his time ignoring Ethan's crazy stunts while being the main source of comic relief normally as he comes to after all the heavy action has occurred. Look for Vanessa Kirby as the elusive White Widow she's part government asset part arms dealer and possibly the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave's wonderful Max from the first Mission film.

Mission Impossible: Fallout is another strong entry in the Mission franchise all the elements that fans of the series expect are present plus McQuarrie ties up some loose ends from prior outings. Its action from the opening scene to the catchy recap of in the closing credits. The formula is clearly established for future missions should Ethan Hunt chose to accept them.

*** 1/2  Out of 4.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout | Christopher McQuarrie | U.S.A. | 147 Minutes.

Tags: Plutonium, Manifesto, Nuclear Weapon, HALO Jump, Helicopter, Paris, London, Kashmir, Small Pox.