MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Since the release of the first film in 1996, Mission: Impossible has gone on to become one of the most successful action-based franchises, with the majority of the films receiving critical acclaim and making an impressive amount of money at the box office. The films themselves have also improved in quality with only the second being the weakest entry in the series. When star and producer, Tom Cruise, did the jaw-dropping stunt where he climbed outside the Burj Khalifa in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, I think that was when people stopped viewing them as your average action film and started taking them more seriously. The fifth instalment, Rogue Nation, was released four years later and featured another edge-of-your-seat stunt as the opening scene saw Cruise clinging onto the outside of the plane whilst it was in flight mode. Outside of the stunts, the acting and story always impresses too, with memorable characters such as Simon Pegg's Benji and Ving Rhames' Luther continuing to make appearances. Rogue Nation is one of the strongest entries in the franchise, giving audiences high expectations for the sixth instalment, Fallout.

After a mission goes wrong in the beginning of Fallout, Hunt must now work alongside CIA agent, August Walker (Henry Cavill), in order to retrieve a suitcase containing three globes of plutonium. This is easier said than done and he learns that, after meeting the White Widow (Vanessa Kirby), a woman who says that Hunt can have one of the plutonium in exchange for Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), the antagonist from Rogue Nation. This leads to Hunt capturing Lane from an armoured convoy moving through Paris. Unfortunately, as always is the case, things go wrong, leading Hunt, Benji, Luther and Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) travelling to Kashmir in order to stop Walker and Lane from detonating a bomb and causing destruction.

While, in my opinion, Ghost Protocl and Rogue Nation are the best instalments in the franchise so far, Fallout is still a strong entry. This is because it's thrilling throughout with hardly a dull moment to be found in its 147 minute runtime. Despite Fallout being the longest film in the Mission: Impossible franchise so far, it moves at a brisk pace. There are plenty of car chases, stunts and action sequences to keep this from being boring. One of the most exciting sequences shows Cruise performing a HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jump near the beginning of the film. This scene required Cruise and the crew training on a ground-based vertical wind tunnel, and then using a C-17 military aircraft to make over one hundred jumps from around 25,000 feet (7,600 m) to end up with three takes that the director, Christopher McQuarrie, wanted for the film. As the scene was to be set near sunset, they could only make one jump a day to try to get each shot. Another incredible stunt showed Cruise jumping onto a helicopter, similar to the airplane stunt he performed in Rogue Nation. These stunts shows that Cruise is an adrenalin junkie and there's no stunt he cannot do. Despite broke his ankle during filming in August last year, he recovered quickly and returned to filming within seven weeks of receiving the injury. It also proves he's a committed actor that cares about creating an action-packed film. 

Fallout features a strong ensemble cast, with Cruise, Pegg, Rhames and Ferguson all returning to their roles and each actor gives a great performance. Pegg, as usual, brings comic relief with many of his one liners. Since his first appearance in Mission: Impossible 3 in 2006, Benji has become a field agent who is also Hunt's friend. Rhames is the only actor, apart from Cruise, to have appeared in every Mission: Impossible film and he shows no sign of giving up the role just yet. In her first appearance in Rogue Nation, viewers weren't sure if Ferguson's character, Isla Faust, could be trusted as she was working for Lane, however, it was revealed that she was being framed. She returns and her main intentions are to kill Lane but Hunt needs him alive in order to obtain the plutonium. However, she soon agrees to work alongside Hunt. New additions to the cast include Angela Bassett, who has a small part as the Director of the CIA, and Cavill as August Walker. It was revealed early on during production of the film that Cavill would be portraying the main antagonist so I don't think it'll come as any surprise when he turns against Hunt and tries to kill him. Cavill is known for portraying Superman in Man of Steel and the critically-panned Justice League, so it's interesting to see him in a darker and more violent role. It's funny watching Cavill as, because filming clashed between Justice League and Fallout, he wasn't allowed to shave his moustache whilst performing as Superman so Justice League's VFX team was forced to use special effects to digitally remove it in post-production, which lead to many of the viewers mocking Cavill's appearance in the film.

While the first half of Fallout features its fair share of exhilarating action sequences, including a car chase in Paris and a scene where Hunt chases Walker across London, I found the second half of Fallout to be more intense. This is because it surrounds two bombs going off which can only be defused by cutting the wires from both of the bombs. To complete the defuse process, the fuse must also be pulled from the detonator before the countdown reaches zero. This leads to Luther, Benji and Isla cutting the wires and Hunt going after Walker in a gripping helicopter chase sequence. 

While I enjoyed Fallout overall, I don't think it was better than Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation, I think it's on the same level as, in terms of narrative, it follows the same formula, which isn't a bad thing and it's what works for these films. I saw the Fallout trailer several times when I visited the cinema. In terms of marketing, trailers can be great as they show the highlights of the film and gets audiences excited. However, it can also lead to lack of surprises in the film. For example, I do think they should've left Michelle Monoghan's character, Julie, out of the trailer. Mission: Impossible fans will remember her from the third film where she portrayed Hunt's wife. Unfortunately, it is revealed in Ghost Protocol that Hunt had to fake her death so that she could be safe. In the trailer, Julie is briefly seen talking to Luther and I think it would've been great if her appearance could've been left as a surprise. 

Mission: Impossible - Fallout is one of the strongest entries in the series. It feels more like a sequel, rather than a stand-alone film, with previous characters returning and references to previous events. McQuarrie returns from Rogue Nation to direct Fallout and he proves to be the best choice at directing a Mission: Impossible film. He's imaginative and knows how to gets audiences' pulses racing through exhilarating action sequences and jaw-dropping stunts. I doubt fans of the Mission: Impossible films will be disappointed as it features more of the same and what makes the films so great.

7/10