Mission: Impossible – Fallout

A monumental improvement over 2015’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (and indeed a strong candidate for the best of the series), Mission: Impossible – Fallout follows Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt as he and his team set out to stop a diabolical villain from exploding a series of nuclear bombs. Filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie does an absolutely fantastic job of immediately drawing the viewer into the long yet never overlong proceedings, as Mission: Impossible – Fallout kicks off with an engrossing pre-credits stretch that paves the way for a mostly captivating narrative that’s rife with thrilling, eye-popping action sequences – including a brutal and absolutely electrifying bathroom brawl, a series of chases through the streets of Paris, and a climactic helicopter chase that’s nothing short of jaw-dropping. It’s clear, too, that the picture benefits substantially from Cruise’s typically charismatic and commanding turn as the series’ lead figure, with the actor receiving more-than-able support from a cast of periphery performers that includes Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, and Henry Cavill. (The latter is especially effective as Ethan’s combative new partner, while the decision to bring back Sean Harris as the film’s central antagonist is, unfortunately, one of McQuarrie’s few missteps here.) The movie’s storyline is, by the standards of this notoriously convoluted franchise, pretty easy to follow, ultimately, which ensures that the viewer is absolutely invested in the protagonists’ hair-raising exploits – with the final result a seriously impressive installment in this continuing series and, in the end, one of the new century’s very best action films.

**** out of ****