A review of the summer blockbuster “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”
For Tom Cruise (now 56) as Ethan Hunt, this is his sixth impossible mission in 22 years while, for writer and director Christopher McQuarrie, this is his second successive contribution to the franchise which previously has always had a new director for each episode. But Cruise and McQuarrie have worked on nine movies together over the last 11 years and clearly had a lot of fun on this latest outing which makes little sense plot-wise but delivers again and again in terms of action sequences.
As always, Cruise did his own stunts and famously broke his right ankle while jumping from one building to another in London. He even pilots the helicopter in the final chase sequence, set in Kashmir but shot in New Zealand although, unlike previous segments of the franchise, there is no one big set stunt, rather a whole series involving cars and bikes as well as that copter.
Hunt’s IMF team – Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames) – are back of course, but this time we have CIA agent August Walker (Henry Cavill with a moustache) whose motivations are unclear and a number of interesting female roles, notably Rebecca Ferguson making a welcome return from “Rogue Nation” as hot-shot, former MI6 agent Ilsa Faust and Vanessa Kirby as a criminal broker called the White Widow.
The threat to the world is massive and the resolution could not be more last-minute so, as long as you suspend any critical faculties and simply enjoy the ride, this is a satisfyingly entertaining summer blockbuster.
You can find my reviews of all six “Mission: Impossible” films here.