Review – Mission: Impossible Fallout – “A breath-taking masterpiece in action cinema”

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back for this latest Mission: Impossible film, Mission: Impossible Fallout, directed again by Cruise’s long-time collaborator Christopher McQuarrie. And for this one, Cruise is joined by MI alum Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson and Alec Baldwin, along with a whole bunch of new additions to the impressive cast.

When Ethan is faced with the impossible decision of saving his friend or the world, he makes the call to save his friend. And while that might seem entirely noble and justified, it’s not what the job requires – and the decision has disastrous consequences. So when he then has to fix the problems that now exist because of that decision, CIA boss Erica Sloan (Angela Bassett) decides she doesn’t want to leave Ethan unmonitored. Enter the ‘hammer’ to Ethan’s ‘scalpel’, CIA agent August Walker (Henry Cavill) who is going to join the team on their exploits, whether Hunt wants him there or not.

For anyone concerned that Ethan Hunt and his team have somehow overstayed their welcome, fear not. There is no sign of the MI films losing their steam. While many of the outings seem to build up to a particularly big and ambitious action sequence, Fallout offers action that is relentless and continuously surprising. After a rather restrained opening, the film quickly builds to become a breath-taking masterpiece in action cinema that brings with it jaw-dropping action sequences and stunning shots along the way, from an insanely tense helicopter chase through snow-capped mountains to a high-octane foot chase through the streets of London.

As the story takes us from Paris to London and beyond, McQuarrie and Cruise offer up an exhilarating and emotional story which offers some thoughtful and clever plot developments that question what Ethan and his friends have done over the previous films and the repercussions. They have had to cross many blurred lines to catch the bad guy – but at what cost? And as Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) asks Ethan during the film, has he ever stopped to ask why he’s being sent on a particular mission, or who has been left behind along the way?

It’s a story of chaos vs order and in amongst all the action and drama, Fallout somehow still manages to be incredibly funny, with some superb one-liners and quips sure to break the tension – if only for a minute or two! (Trust me, you’ll need it.)

The end result is an adrenaline-fuelled adventure that is a touch darker in tone, visually impressive and so much fun. A riotous treat of a film – and one you will want to see again the second the credits start to roll.

Mission: Impossible Fallout hits cinemas on 25th July 2018.