Paramount+ Action Thriller With DC Star Is The Best Installment In Blockbuster Franchise
The Mission: Impossible franchise has become a cultural staple since Tom Cruise kicked off his iteration of the IP back in 1996 and has since grown to become one of the biggest action spy thrillers in modern media. Like any long-running franchise, Mission: Impossible has had highs and lows, with critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes ranging from a paltry 56 percent to a near-perfect 97 percent. While the franchise has upheld an incredibly high watermark with each new installment since 2011’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the best entry in the entire franchise, by far, is 2018’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
A Successful Partnership
Mission: Impossible – Fallout was written and directed by frequent Tom Cruise collaborator Christopher McQuarrie, who previously helmed several of the highest-rated installments in the franchise. McQuarrie has also worked alongside Cruise on recent films such as Edge Of Tomorrow, The Mummy, and Top Gun: Maverick, and currently holds upcoming credits for the next Mission: Impossible entry as well as an untitled Tom Cruise project in collaboration with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
A Massive Roster Of Stars
Tom Cruise reprises his role in the film as Ethan Hunt, an enigmatic IMF agent intent on stopping a terrorist group from procuring nuclear-capable weapons and selling them off to the highest bidder. Cruise is joined in the cast of Mission: Impossible – Fallout by a ton of top-shelf talent, including career-defining performances from Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Sean Harris, Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan, Alec Baldwin, and a particularly cinematic performance from Superman himself, Henry Cavill.
Jaw-Dropping Stunts
Like the previous films in the franchise, the plot of Mission: Impossible – Fallout is structured around a series of high-intensity stunts utilizing practical effects, which will make you wonder if Tom Cruise has a legitimate death wish.
One such stunt involved the Top Gun: Maverick actor skydiving from a height of over 25,000 feet in the air and performing a free-fall rescue of another character. This move, which normally takes professionals over 1,000 attempts to pull off, was coordinated over the course of an entire year and completed after only 100 test jumps.
Broken Ankle? No Problem
According to writer-director Christopher McQuarrie, the original script for Mission: Impossible – Fallout clocked in at only 33 pages, which is completely unheard of for a film of this scale.
The script, which contained a number of scenes that were driven exclusively by over-the-top stunts, was eventually rounded out with a lot more character work after Cruise broke his ankle while filming, allowing McQuarrie an opportunity to get a little more cerebral in his exploration of Ethan Hunt’s morals and ethics. The rewritten scenes shine through, as the character of Ethan feels a lot more genuine and alive in this film than in most of the previous Mission: Impossible entries.
A Big-Screen Spectacle
Prior to seeing this film’s trailer, I had no particular allegiance to the Mission: Impossible films. Once the Mission: Impossible – Fallout trailer was released, however, and I saw Cruise dangling from the side of a plane as it lifted off into the air after squaring off against Henry Cavill in a brutal bathroom brawl, I was fully committed to catching this one on the big screen.
Available On Paramount+
REVIEW SCORE
As far as I’m concerned, there is no better entry in the franchise than Fallout, and quite possibly no better practical effects-driven movie in cinema history. For those who haven’t yet seen this masterpiece or those simply in need of a rewatch, Mission: Impossible – Fallout is streaming on Paramount+ today. Just be sure to watch with an inhaler at your side, as the absurd thrills presented by the action sequences might be enough to make you panic.
