Mission Impossible Fallout Is One Of The Years Best Action Flicks

      As the summer box office season of 2018 draws to a close, the last of the big blockbusters make their reigns as Marvels Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Incredibles ll have come and gone. In a year where comic book movies have heavily dominated the big screen while a Star Wars film unexpectedly flops, the expectations are placed on a 22-year old franchise based on a popular 1960's Spy television show to bring the summer movie season to a strong finish. With Mission Impossible: Fallout, the film proves that the franchise that began in the 1990's is still a huge hit with moviegoers as well as reaffirming Tom Cruise's status as being one of the greatest action stars of all time.

      The Mission Impossible franchise is one of the rare movie series that gets stronger with each installment while managing to top the previous film in terms of spectacle. The first Mission Impossible film directed by Brian De Palma worked as being a mystery Spy thriller/action movie that was boosted by Tom Cruise's mega starpower during the 1990's era. Mission Impossible ll despite being bigger financially was a stepdown in quality. Mission Impossible lll was not only a massive improvement over the second but managed to be more thrilling than the first film largely due to JJ Abrams impressive directorial debut and previous experience with the TV show Alias. Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation continued the upward trend in quality for the Mission Impossible series boasting clever storylines mixed with crazy stunts that managed to outdo the ones in the previous films. With Fallout, the franchise has quite possibly hit it's peak with it's finest installment yet both in terms of storytelling as well as action with Cruise delivering a commanding performance as Ethan Hunt, the Spy that manages to complete the most impossible missions while saving the day.

       The plot for Mission Impossible: Fallout centers around Ethan Hunt and his IMF team combined with familiar allies in the CIA to track and squelch attempts to use nuclear weapons that made it into the black market. Like the other previous installments in the Mission Impossible franchise, Fallout carries many of those films themes over such as death of loved ones, protecting everybody, threat of nuclear weapons, terrorism, betrayal, guilt, anarchy, revenge, and relationships. The message of Fallout that resonates with the entire Mission Impossible franchise as a whole says that one should think of the greater good, a reasoning that defines the character of Ethan Hunt. Written and Directed by Usual Suspects screenwriter and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation helmer, Christopher McQuarrie manages to create a sixth installment in the popular franchise that's fast, sleek, fun, and lives up to expectations of surpassing the previous installment with even crazier set pieces and a storyline that's both exciting and keeps the audience guessing on the plots twists and turns.

      As far as acting goes, Tom Cruise delivers another strong performance as Ethan Hunt further demonstrating that he was born to play the role as well as showing that even in his fifties, he still has what it takes to be an action star that performs the most daring of stunts himself. Henry Cavill does a fine job playing the CIA operative whose assigned to work with Hunt on his mission while providing a contrast to Hunts approach of getting things done. Cavill feels right at home with the rest of Hunt's team which includes Simon Pegg delivering a strong supporting role as well as returning faces such as Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin, Rebecca Ferguson, and Sean Harris playing both friends and foes of Ethan Hunt. New additions to the cast such as Angela Basset and Henry Cavill leave strong impressions with the audience as their characters are effective with the actors making them believable. With the ensemble cast, Fallout has everyone giving their all while showing them to be having fun with the storyline presented while remaining professional. The stunts in Mission Impossible are only as amazing as the actors and characters that sell them, and thankfully with Fallout, Christopher McQuarrie understands that with his strong writing and directing. Having previously worked with Tom Cruise on the Jack Reacher films, McQuarrie understands Cruise's style as an actor as well as his dedication to his craft, and writes the character of Ethan Hunt so effectively in Fallout. With Ethan, there is a sense of detachment to his character that makes him a tragic figure in a sense that he went through a great deal of loss and sacrifice during his previous missions to ensure that the world is safer while completing his job. Though he happens to succeed everytime, it doesn't come without a price and Cruise conveys that beeautifully through his performance adding emotion to the story,

      On a technological note, Mission Impossible: Fallout boasts impressive fight sequences as well as impressive action set-pieces such as a Sky diving sequence in the film along with a solid motorcycle chase, and a climactic helicopter chase sequence that's both exciting and thrilling. The editing of the film gives the movie a brisk pace making it move fairly quick without rushing the storyline nor shortchanging the character development. As an action film, Fallout remains consistent while pushing the boundaries of its thrilling set-pieces almost to the point of absurdity, making the film properly warrant the name "impossible". What makes the Mission Impossible series thrive and improve over the years is how the series blends the feel of a James Bond movie with an added touch of Fast And Furious with the team working together to complete a mission that comes with crazy stunts that become the films main centerpiece. Like those series, the Mission Impossible franchise has learned to adapt and maintain the audiences interest over the last few decades while managing to feel fresh and retaining its energy.

      As far as this years summer blockbusters go, Mission Impossible: Fallout is not only one of the best popcorn flicks of the summer but is also one of the best movies of the year. The film is brilliant, well-written, wonderfully acted by it's main cast, remains consistent with it's action until the end, and
manages to raise the bar up another notch for the series as a whole. Tom Cruise once again shows audiences that regardless of how they feel about his personal antics off screen, he's still one of the worlds greatest movie stars as well as one of the most dedicated actors to ever grace the big screen. Fallout shows that just when you thought the series had reached it's peak and couldn't get anymore incredible nor amazing, Fallout comes and shows how it should be done. As for the future of the Mission Impossible series, there is still life left in this franchise to tell more Spy stories involving Ethan Hunt performing another crazy stunt but one also feels that perhaps they should consider quitting while their ahead as they don't want to wear out their welcome with the audience. While that is a different type of discussion, Mission Impossible: Fallout remains one of the summers biggest highlights while being one of the films that brings it to a satisfying close. For Spy fans and fans of the Mission Impossible series, this film is a real treat and until it's topped by the next film, this is the franchises highest point thus far. Mission Impossible: Fallout is a must see.

                                                                                                                       Final Verdict: SEE IT