Mission: Impossible — Fallout is yet another great entry in this long-running franchise thanks to Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise.
Over the course of six movies, Mission: Impossible has basically turned into the franchise where Tom Cruise does crazy stunts. Fallout, the newest entry, is no exception—and I’d have it no other way. Christopher McQuarrie—he wrote and directed this film as well as its predecessor Rogue Nation—seems to have cracked the code to this long-running franchise. In Fallout, the story is negligible. There’s enough plot to keep the momentum and the twists keep it engaging. McQuarrie seems to be the perfect match to star Tom Cruise‘s unique take on action.
The difference between the action in this movie and the action in the equally audacious Fast & Furious franchise is that in Fallout, McQuarrie captures the action in a clean and economical way. It’s the reason Mad Max: Fury Road was so successful. Every action set piece has a narrative pulse whether it be a two on one brawl in a bathroom or an epic car chase through the streets of Paris or a HALO jump from an airplane—the best scene in the film and possibly of the year.
In Fallout, we begin, as always, with Ethan Hunt (Cruise) receiving his mission, should he choose to accept it. He is tasked with retrieving three plutonium cores that can be easily turned into nuclear bombs that can reek destruction on any city that the holder chooses. In this case, the holder is a group dubbed “The Apostles,” a terrorist organization born out of the remains of “The Syndicate.” Refreshingly, that main plot, which is set up breezily in the cold open—it features an amusing cameo by Wolf Blitzer—is the goal for the entire film. Unlike the Bond films or Bourne films which have twisting plots that end up somewhere different than where they started, Fallout stays focused.
“The Apostles” want to use the bombs to create a new world order by inflicting the maximum pain on the planet. As they say, “the greater the pain, the greater the peace.” Ethan’s search—he’s aided by a skeleton crew consisting of Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (the consummate steady hand Ving Rhames)—leads him to Paris where an arms dealer known as White Widow (Vanessa Kirby is a clear standout in the role) is allegedly selling the cores to a man called John Lark, who wants to carry out “The Apostles'” agenda. However, before going to Paris, CIA director Erica Sloane (a deliciously headstrong Angela Bassett) forces Ethan to take along August Walker (Henry Cavill sporting the infamous mustache) as a failsafe.
From there, Fallout puts out some of the most impressive and thrilling action sequences ever committed to film. However, every action set piece has a purpose. The HALO jump adeptly sets up Hunt’s moral center and juxtaposes against Wilson’s more brash tactics. The scene, which is devoid of composer Lorne Balfe’s (The Florida Project) impressive score, is breathtaking. McQuarrie gives every moment and action weight. As the pair tumble towards the Earth, you feel the stakes of what is happening, even if you know everything is going to come out fine.
Every set piece is infused with those stakes. At one point, an armored truck carrying former leader of “The Syndicate” Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) is rammed into a river. Instead of the truck slowly filling with water, which would throw off the rhythm of the scene, an intense and literal wall of water swallows Lane. The camera is attached to the truck to give the illusion that the water, not the truck is rotating. It’s that kind of innovative filmmaking that makes Fallout a bold practice in the action movie genre.
Tom Cruise is infamous for concocting crazier and crazier stunts that he performs himself. While it seemed like a publicity ploy, Mission: Impossible — Fallout makes it clear why he’s been indispensable until now. His screen presence is irreplaceable specifically when he is performing action. Now that he’s found a director that knows how to capture them, the Mission: Impossible franchise has found new life. Don’t let us down Ethan. That is your mission, should you choose to accept it.
Mission: Impossible — Fallout is available on Amazon ➤
★★★★ out of five
Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.