To say something is impossible is a bit of a stretch. I’ve lived my life with the mantra that anything is possible. But we know that one team of agents is used to proving that mantra true in a number of films through the years, and they are at it again in the film Mission: Impossible — Fallout.
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back for a sixth installment in the Mission: Impossible movie franchise based on the character made popular in the hit television series. And we are glad to see Hunt again as he leads the cast through the paces of an intelligent action film spanning multiple continents.
Inserted into a truly unenviable position, Hunt is tasked with retrieving some missing plutonium, the very plutonium that he had earlier lost in choosing to save his team. He won’t go it alone as Erica Sloan (Angela Bassett) sends along an observer to make sure the job is done right. August Walker (Henry Cavill) is there to make sure that Hunt does everything in his power to deliver on this mission.
Engaging bad folks is what Hunt does, but when the man he was supposed to impersonate meets a different fate, Hunt is forced to improvise as he tries to strike a deal with an arms dealer named the White Widow (Vanessa Kirby). If he can pull it off, he just might complete this mission and keep the deadly material from the wrong hands.
Like most Mission: Impossible films in the franchise, Fallout is loaded with action. But this isn’t just an action film for that popcorn bucket, though at least two popcorn buckets may be needed; it is an action film that will engage all of your senses. The visceral rush that comes with Cruise doing a variety of stunts will also fire the brain to think through the story developing in front of every viewer.
Fallout will definitely be enjoyed more if you’ve experienced the other films in the franchise. Sure, they try to make it accessible even if you haven’t, but they make no apologies for continuing Hunt’s life and bringing the past to his present. And that’s what makes this film so special — the ability to be more of a continuation than a self-contained film.
This is Cruise’s wheelhouse — running, jumping, riding a motorcycle and crashing through windows. He does it so effortlessly that despite his lack of superpowers that an Avenger may have, he is as exciting in his normalcy. At times, you may have to suspend some disbelief, but it is not a regular occurrence here. It’s real, and it feels real.
I love the cast with the great Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames back as part of Cruise’s team and the new addition of Cavill, along with some of the strongest women in film from Bassett and Kirby to Rebecca Ferguson and Michelle Monaghan. This cast, coupled with the story and action, make a mission to see Fallout anything but impossible. In fact I would say Fallout is a mission that is not only possible, but necessary, viewing.
Mission: Impossible — Fallout is available On Demand and on DVD beginning Dec. 4. Check your cable system for availability
