By Brett Blake Ever since the franchise’s low point with MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - 2 all the way back in 2000, this series has consistently delivered the entertainment goods, and FALLOUT is no exception. While it may lack some of the wild inventiveness of GHOST PROTOCOL, or the classy espionage flair of ROGUE NATION, FALLOUT makes up for it with some jaw-dropping and consistently thrilling action, a fine ensemble, and Tom Cruise again throwing himself (quite literally) into the action with admirable dedication and a commitment to giving the audience their money’s worth. FALLOUT finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames) on a race against time to stop a series of nuclear devices from being detonated at the hands of a shadowy villain looking to bring about a catastrophic loss of life. Along the way, Hunt butts heads with Walker (Henry Cavill), a CIA operative sent to keep an eye on him, and must contend with the mysterious Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), a former ally who may have some ulterior motives of her own this time. Impersonations, double crosses, fisticuffs, and chases of all kinds ensue! Part of the appeal of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movie series has been the idea that each entry gets to be helmed by a new director who can bring in a unique energy. With FALLOUT, we - for the first time - have a returning director, Christopher McQuarrie, who was responsible for the previous (and excellent) entry, ROGUE NATION. And this movie is connected to that one in more ways than just who’s sitting in the director’s chair. For basically the first time in the series, we have what is essentially a direct sequel to the previous film. Sure, in the past, characters might have transferred over from one movie to the next, but in this case, FALLOUT picks up plot threads and storylines from ROGUE NATION and takes them further. Tonally, however, this is not a simple sequel or retread, because FALLOUT feels radically different from its immediate predecessor. It brings a sense of urgency and intensity to the table in a fashion that is really palpable. While there are some laughs to be had, FALLOUT is the most serious-minded and hard-edged entry in the franchise since the first entry back in 1996. With the previous two movies feeling a bit more like globetrotting capers, this one is decidedly more mature and adult, even down to the way it shows the physical toll and dangers that could befall any of these characters with one false move. The violence here packs a punch, so to speak, and it is in that way - coupled with its commitment to tension - that FALLOUT is able to feel distinct from the last movie. Tom Cruise continues to impress for the ways in which he puts himself through the gauntlet on screen. His Ethan Hunt is wearier, physically, than ever before, but that somehow makes his dogged commitment to saving the day all the more endearing. Cruise carries off the role with utter professionalism, and it remains a treat to watch him basically put himself on the line in the service of crafting memorable cinematic moments. As with the previous movie, no other cast member behind Cruise stands out more prominently than Rebecca Ferguson. She builds on her previous turn as Ilsa and adds even more layers of both determination and vulnerability. She has an incredibly appealing presence on the screen, and the chemistry that she has with Cruise is very strong; the respect and concern that the characters have for each other is never explicitly verbalized, but it’s always evident, and that’s a fantastic choice for how to handle it when the far less interesting option would have been to make them overt love interests. Their unspoken attachment to each other adds a great dynamic to the story. The action sequences this time out are the best that the franchise has had to offer so far. McQuarrie stages them with a drive and a propulsive quality, ramping up the tension both within individual setpieces and within the escalation of the overall narrative. The stunt work, which has become something of a calling card for these movies, is superb once again, and these moments are always photographed in a way to draw attention to the kind of remarkable fact that what we’re seeing was - as much as possible - really done by real people (often Cruise himself) in real environments. You can almost feel a sense of pride radiating off the screen (in a nice way, not a pompous or grating way) because of this work, and there’s a fair bit of some welcome showmanship involved, too. In an era where CGI can show us anything, it's a real pleasure to see people really putting in the harder work of delivering genuine, for-real spectacle. One area in which FALLOUT is clearly inferior to ROGUE NATION, however, is the score. Joe Kraemer’s effort for that film was one of the best of 2015, but for baffling reasons he’s been replaced here by Lorne Balfe, and the result is utterly generic. Pedestrian. Anonymous. Bland. Overbearing. The MISSION franchise has been blessed with some very good scores, but Balfe’s is easily the least interesting, blaring along with nary a moment of interesting instrumentation or memorable thematic work. Instead, we are treated to relentless synthetic loops and a processed, artificial orchestral sound, as well as the obvious ripping-off of several previous Hans Zimmer scores (though, ironically, not Zimmer’s own MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - 2 score!). Not keeping Kraemer on board was a mistake, and it’s one of the few significant missteps in an otherwise terrific picture. There are other nitpicks one could find if one were interested in doing so -- the plot is perhaps slightly too contrived for its own good, and it’s probably a longer movie than it really needs to be -- but, ultimately, why would you want to do that? FALLOUT is a very well-made, well-executed action film, and its few flaws are relatively minor when compared to everything else that is good about it. It continues to maintain MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE’s status as one of the best action franchises we have, and that’s something to appreciate.
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