"Mission Impossible: Falllout" is the Rare Late Entry That's Great

“Mission Impossible: Fallout” is the best of the already senior series of movies, which is rare. The “Mission Impossible” series starring Tom Cruise is already been on movie screens for twenty years, which makes me feel old, but still can’t deny this is a great action film. Tom Cruise still does it all, but credit also must go to Christopher McQuarrie, who written and directed this and the last film in the series, “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation”. McQuarrie is still best known for his 1995 screenplay to the movie “The Usual Suspects”, which won an Oscar. He both tells a movie which action is packed but has a good story as well, not sacrificing one for the other. You know the film is going to be good when it doesn’t open with an opening credit, but a long set up. A capture of a terrorist after a shootout, followed by him in the hospital bed, and then when he confesses, the whole hospital room turns out to be a set, with even the newscaster (Wolf Bitzer in a cameo) as a guy in a mask, in this case, a part of Ethan Hunt’s team, Benni Dunn (Simon Pegg). It’s a great scene which leads to a over the top credits sequence showing action scenes from previous films in the credits. It promises a great action film with the iconic theme song over it.

                Of course, Ethan Hunt is played by Tom Cruise, who all these years later, is still a guy the camera loves. He also does all his own stunts, which is amazing. Along with his team, Benni and Luther (Ving Rhimes), Hunt is, for anyone who know the series, a constant hero. There are no lengths he won’t go to catch his man. IMG secretary Alan (Alec Baldwin) considers him the best agent he’s got, and constantly defends Hunt and his team to Erica Stone (Angela Bassett), director of the CIA. As the team leaps into action, they find there’s a conspiracy to blow up a ton of explosives around the world. It’s all a scheme to bring down governments around the world, as these people believe they are the real villains. This all serves as a backdrop to a series of stunts, and even some backstory of Hunt, as he’s falling for Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), who is a rogue agent who used to be a part of Hunt’s team. Luther explains to her that besides his ex-wife, she was the only other women he ever cared for, and his ex-wife and him only broke up because he couldn’t keep her safe.

                There’s a lot of great imaginary in this film. One of the fun parts of the “Mission Impossible” series is the travelogue like quality of the films. The chase scenes and places Hunt and his team show up are all over the world. There’s even a great motorcycle chase scene through the subways and streets of Paris. That leads to a great scene where there’s a gun to the head of a female police officer and a moment for Hunt to stand there and figure out what to do. It’s a quiet scene, but it’s also a good one. The film is a long one and takes its time with scenes. It’s not rushing through a ton of action sequences and just trying to wrap up the film in a two-hour mark. A lot of action films these days don’t take their time. That was the general complaint with the superhero flick last year “Justice League”, where Warner Brothers required the film not to go over the two-hour mark by even a minute, and a lot of critics and audiences felt the film was rushed. At 147 minutes, this is not the case with “Mission Impossible: Fallout”.

                Tom Cruise seems to have great chemistry with his cast, which isn’t unusual. Even at this later date, he’s so damn likable on camera, it’s hard not to like him. The film has a ton of great action sequences, and story to tell. They don’t feel mashed together. I really enjoyed “Mission Impossible: Fallout” and would even go to say it’s one of the year’s best films. Some critics have even considered if this would get a nod for best picture at the Oscars, and I think there’s some merit to that. I think the movie is terrific, and I had a good time watching it. I didn’t feel like it overstayed it’s welcome, either, but it took its time as an action movie and a story about Ethan Hunt and his team.

                It’s beautifully shot and has plenty of twists and turns. I feel that more action movies should take lessons from this installment of “Mission Impossible”. It’s very unusual a film series is this good this late in the series. By the end of these series, it’s usually a throw away film that runs through the motions. Say what you want about Tom Cruise, the guy still seems to have great joy in making movies that take the audience on a ride. I’ll give him that.