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Tom Cruise is back defying death as IMF super spy Ethan Hunt, in the sixth instalment of the consistently improving and ongoing action adventure franchise, Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
This time around, Ethan and the rest of his IMF team, alongside some new and familiar faces, have to race against time in order to prevent a catastrophe after a mission goes wrong.
Tom Cruise outdoes himself yet again as Ethan Hunt in spectacular style. The character feels more fleshed out and real compared to his earlier outings. Cruise’s effort to bring the best experience to the audience is never more apparent in these films.
Henry Cavill stars as CIA agent August Walker, sporting his now infamous ‘kingstache’ moustache. He’s a great addition to the cast and provides something extra to the story. He can well and truly hold his own in his action scenes and he plays the role brilliantly.
Returning as the fantastic Ilsa Faust is Rebecca Ferguson. Though not the focus of the story this time around, the character is still interesting with her own side story and she’s written very well. She is still great and gets plenty to do opposite the other characters.
The rest of the team consists of Luther, played by Ving Rhames, Hunley, played by Alec Baldwin, and Benji, played by Simon Pegg. They both have a crucial role to play and get their fair share of time in the spotlight too. It’s great to see the core team back together, but it is a shame that we don’t get Jeremy Renner back too.
It’s not all just the good guys returning, with Sean Harris reprising his role as the quiet and intimidating Solomon Lang, leader of the sinister organisation, the Syndicate. He’s still a fantastic villain with a much more personal motivation this time around, with the stakes of the film pushed higher than ever before.
The story takes an interesting direction, and one that we haven’t seen before, with a mission going awry and subsequently leading to the plot that follows. It’s hard to discuss this without going into spoilers, so let’s just say its written extremely well, gives everyone something to do whilst delving deeper into what makes the characters who they are and wrapping up loose ends from all five previous instalments.
In an effort to distance the film from Rogue Nation, writer and director Christopher McQuarrie give the movie a darker and more emotional aesthetic. This has become a recurring thing in the Mission franchise, with a new director taking over for each movie to keep them fresh, such as John Woo (Face/Off) and Brad Bird (Incredibles 2).
With the darker tone, it doesn’t always feel like a Mission: Impossible film, but this doesn’t matter. It’s an excellent movie that stands both on its own and as part of the bigger franchise.
Fallout also manages to bring one aspect back the franchise which had disappeared slightly; a mystery. The mysteries surrounding the film are brilliantly played out and gradually revealed with some fantastic twists. Some are easy to spot, others not, either way, this makes the film unpredictable and even more enjoyable.
But, this is still a Mission: Impossible movie, so there are plenty of pulse racing action scenes to satisfy action fanatics. From a stunning one take halo jump to the show stopping finale, this film pushes the stunt team and actors beyond what normal action films do.
Each action scene feels bigger than we’ve previously seen and gives the audience something new. Like Casino Royale (2006), every action sequence that happens in this film would generally end up being the finale to any other action movie.
Tom Cruise and the rest of the Mission: Impossible team continue to outdo the previous instalment by crafting some of the best action sequences put to screen since the last Mission. It also helps that Cruise is still a good sport and willing to participate fully in whatever comes up. From a brutal bathroom brawl to the relentless France sequence, it shows just how good he and the team are, but it all builds to an epic sequence.
Putting his life on the line in the name of entertainment and bringing a stunt which he has wanted to do for a very long time to the big screen, Cruise brings us his most daring and dangerous stunt to date, in the shape of a helicopter sequence that makes the finale of the first Mission look like just a taster. It’s worth the wait and brilliant to see Cruise back in action form.
The score is created by Lorne Balfe, of Churchill and Ghost in the Shell fame, who steers away from the traditional theme and jazzy music, instead giving a booming soundtrack that’s reminiscent of something from Hans Zimmer. It heightens the tension and establishes the stakes perfectly.
Overall, Fallout proves that once again, that the Mission: Impossible franchise improves with each movie. With expertly crafted action, a gripping story and some brilliantly realised characters, this is a modern masterpiece destined for greatness. If the mission was to break out of the sequel curse, then Cruise and Co. have well and truly accomplished it.
Purple Revolver rating: 5/5. Mission: Accomplished