MOVIE THEATER REVIEW: “Mission: Impossible- Fallout” stars Tom Cruise (Oblivion, Edge of Tomorrow), Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction, Father Figures), Simon Pegg (Star Trek: Into Darkness, Ready Player One), Rebecca Ferguson (Life [2017], Despite the Falling Snow), Henry Cavill (Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice), Sean Harris (Harry Brown, 24 Hour Party People), Alec Baldwin (Glengarry Glen Ross, The Departed), Angela Bassett (Olympus Has Fallen, Strange Days), Vanessa Kirby (The Crown [TV series], About Time), Michelle Monaghan (Source Code, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), Wes Bentley (Interstellar, American Beauty), and Frederick Schmidt (Brimstone, Supergirl [TV series]). It is written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher, The Usual Suspects). Ethan Hunt (Cruise) returns with his IMF team to obtain plutonium in an attempt to stop remnants of the Syndicate called the Apostles from using it to create nuclear bombs.

Yeah, I probably should’ve included this in my Tom Cruise marathon, considering how the event overlapped the release of the feature, but what can I say? Gives me more of a reason to watch another Cruise flick off the heels of a marathon dedicated to the guy, I guess. “Mission: Impossible- Fallout” arrives at a time much like it’s predecessor. Summer is riddled with blockbusters, most of which being superhero or sequel related, hardly giving rhyme or reason to really care to fork over eleven bucks for the ticket (that is, if you don’t choose to go matinee). We know “Fallout” is like these other punks, hoping to make profit off familiarity and run the tables at the box office, though it would be a lie to say the filmmakers didn’t try to make something good along the way. As you all know, I love “Mission: Impossible.” A few years back, I did a marathon of the movies and was able to see “Rogue Nation” in theaters, solidifying my investment into this franchise. Sure, it’s for action purists who love good stunts, betrayals, and witty dialogue, but when are these blockbusters not targeted to a certain, broad demographic? To be honest, what struck me most about “Fallout” was its heavy dependence on the films prior to it unlike the last five. For the most part, you can sit down to a “Mission: Impossible” feature without having to know what happened in the previous adventures, aside from minor details that could be explained in a second. In “Fallout” we carry over from the events of “Rogue Nation,” dealing with what is essentially the “fallout” of those said events (no pun intended, it was even explained as such in the movie). The bad guy we saw last time is still there, as well as his lackies, and Ethan Hunt has to put an end to it all. To say “Fallout” was groundbreaking and did something entirely different from the rest of the movies would be a lie. Most of this film holds the same essence found in the last three outings: the team being forced to work without IMF help, Ethan being framed for something, and a few mcguffins are thrown in to make the audience believe some characters could be bad. It’s all here, and the fate of the world is at stake once more. However, contrary to what you may think, I still had a blast. It’s difficult to not love these characters and the world that has been built through the course of however many years. The writing, while formulaic and predictable, is still fun, and the action is even more intense, which leads me to the biggest pro of “Fallout”: the stunts. My gosh, did these guys go all out. Typically, each flick has one big stunt that is the centerpiece of the picture, aside from trying to resolve the conflict. In “Fallout,” we have a few, including jumping out of a plane at nearly 30,000 feet (appearing to be filmed in one shot), Cruise flying a helicopter, and an extremely long extraction sequence that may leave you on edge (it sure did me). You may think it could be bloated to the point of action fatigue, but I can assure you it is all riveting and cool stuff to behold; especially if you take enjoyment out of the craft of film and see the work put into this piece. Though I knew the team would make it out alive at every turn, the action still managed to make me grip my seat at least twice, so I consider that a job well done. As for everything else, that’s where things can get tricky. The overall story is pretty solid. I do like how we are building on what was laid out in the previous features, bringing back Solomon Lane (Harris), Ilsa (Ferguson), and Alan Hundley (Baldwin) to further their stories that may have seemed complete after “Rogue Nation” concluded. While I do think that the writers could’ve opted not to link “Rogue Nation” to this and it would’ve all still worked out fine, I do like where they went with this regardless. How the plot unfolded made sense, even making me realize how Ilsa’s story may have seemed incomplete at the end of “Rogue Nation.” There’s a lot that goes into the tool box with this picture though, leaving us with a lot of bamboozling and developments to keep track of. “Fallout” by far has the other movies beat with how many twists there are; whether or not they were unpredictable is up to you. For me, I predicted almost all of them, at least the ones that were big lead-ups like revealing another villain or someone betraying another. The fact is, some of it is unpredictable because of how many times Ethan’s team and the villains turn the tables. At some point you begin to wonder if anything is real because of how much is falsified to turn the audience’s heads, and that can make it or break it for a film, at least for me. Flipping the situation into the hands of another party can either be done to great effect or overused to the point of exhaustion, and at times I felt like this movie took sole pride in just making it seem like the villains were winning, only for that to not be true. It didn’t get to the point of hatred, but it certainly tiptoed laughability. Thankfully, there was more to this story that kept things gliding and interesting. The performances are charming and awesome, with some cool action choreography done by the actors. Cruise does what he does best, which isn’t a shocker, and I grew to enjoy certain characters I didn’t give much eye to before, specifically Ilsa. I like the development given to her, even though it seemed akin to her situation in “Rogue Nation.” Rebecca Ferguson destroys the role both in physical skill and emotional performance. Even Solomon Lane was improved, a villain that I thought was alright in “Rogue Nation” but could’ve been more menacing. He got to show off his strength in this and get his hands dirty, leaving me impressed (at least to an extent). The dialogue gave them enough to work with to be both light-hearted and serious, fusing together nicely to make for a fun experience all-around. Also, the score was awesome, being composed by Lorne Blafe, a newbie to the “Mission: Impossible” game. For a “Mission: Impossible” fan, there’s a lot to be satisfied with in this feature. If you’re an average moviegoer who hasn’t seen any of the past three movies (or at least the last outing), you’ll be lost. With this in mind, I’m still convinced that many people will enjoy this adventure. While the story takes many familiar elements from past flicks, it still proves to be an action powerhouse of excitement, and I left the theater happy to have seen it. I may be bias because I love action films and Tom Cruise as an actor, but I assure you that you’ll have a good time. Check it out if you can. I mean, what else is out there now that’s worth watching? FINAL SCORE: 88%= Juicy Popcorn

Here is the trailer: