Mission: Impossible – Fallout - Movies With Ali Plumb

Synopsis:

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the IMF team join forces with CIA assassin August Walker (Henry Cavill) to prevent a global disaster involving a mysterious arms dealer called “John Lark” and a group of terrorists known as “The Apostles”. They plan to use three plutonium cores to launch a simultaneous nuclear attack on the Vatican, Jerusalem and Mecca, but when the weapons go missing, Ethan and his crew find themselves in a desperate race against time to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.

Pros:

• The action set-pieces – even for a Mission: Impossible movie – are truly amazing. The helicopter battle stands out, as does the bathroom fight and the Parisian bike chase, not forgetting the London between-building leap that famously turned one of Tom Cruise’s ankles to jelly and stopped production for two months. Despite being 56-years-old, TC (as he’s known) shows no sign of giving up on his relentless desire to making you spill your slurpee and pour your popcorn on the floor. The action is so, so good, it's best seen on the biggest screen possible, complemented by loudest speakers available. Trust me, it’s worth it.
• The Impossible Mission Force have assembled an increasingly excellent troupe of espionage experts over the years, here bringing back the excellent Rebecca Ferguson as MI6’s finest Ilsa Faust, as well as series veterans Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames, not forgetting the wonderful Michelle Monaghan – Ethan Hunt’s erstwhile wife, last seen at the end of Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol – and the brilliant Sean Harris as the dastardly Solomon Lane. There’s also Alec Baldwin returning as the new IMF secretary Alan Hunley, and… the list goes on. In short, the cast is great, with Ferguson particularly superb.
• For me, the M:I music has never been better. Scottish composer Lorne Balfe’s take on Lalo Schifrin’s classic theme is a Zimmery, Nolan-esque triumph that expertly enhances the action and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I’m currently playing it on a loop as I write this (so that’s how you know it’s good).

Cons:

• If you thought the previous Mission: Impossible outing Rogue Nation was convoluted, well, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The zigging and zagging of plot lines here is almost beyond belief, with one character even saying “Why did you have to make it so bloody complicated?” And by “bloody” I of course mean a more… forceful word, but you get my point: the film is elaborate and intricate, leaving you with two options. You can switch your brain off and enjoy the ride, or sit up in your seat with a pencil and pad and make sure you know exactly what’s going on. My recommendation is the former, if only because the scribbling will distract other viewers.
• On top of this, the opening half hour leaves you drowning in expositional info. It really is a bit much. Get through it, however, and you’re rewarded with some really satisfying plot turns, in addition to the aforementioned incredible action set-pieces. But forewarned is forearmed, so if you go in aware it’s a bit muddy to begin with, you’ll probably enjoy the whole affair all the more.
• Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is reaching almost Jesus-like levels of heroism. There are occasions in Fallout where he feels like some sort of Superman-esque superhero, capable of anything and innocent of everything. If you were almost done with the all-about-me-ness of Mr Hunt’s previous running-jumping-shooting impossible mission, this one will definitely push you over the edge.

Three word review: Truly amazing action.