Mission: Impossible – Fallout

Mission: Impossible – Fallout – After a mission to recover three cores of stolen plutonium goes wrong, Ethan Hunt and his team must race against time to locate them before they can be used to make nuclear weapons. In order to gain bargaining power they must free an old adversary. But is the real enemy from within?

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) – Director: Christopher McQuarrie

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56464804

Rating: 12A

Running Length: 147 mins

Starring: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Simon Pegg

Genre: Action, Thriller

REVIEW: ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT’

The ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise has had a popularity path worthy of its own redemption story. From the exciting and fresh original in 1996, to the very silly sequel, and somewhat meandering third instalment, the series has since gone from strength to strength by learning what works and what doesn’t and providing a reliable thrill ride each time. This time around we have a nuclear threat and various spy agencies that distrust each other so heavily that Hunt and his team must try to weave their way around suspicion whilst committing some questionable acts themselves.

‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ carries on from the very successful ‘Rogue Nation’ by having many of the same players fight and globe-trot over high stakes. And as before this skeleton is fleshed out with plenty of exciting action sequences (as always made even more exciting by knowing that the now 56 years old Tom Cruise is still doing his own jaw-dropping stunts).

But this time around the movie feels like sections written independently of each other which are then mushed together. Part of how to keep Ethan Hunt believable is to temper him with his team so when Benji (Pegg) and Luther (Rhames) are barely in the second act their absence is felt. Cavill’s addition to the cast is perfectly serviceable, if not as engaging as Jeremy Renner was in past movies. A classic ‘is it a double cross or isn’t it’ plot line signposts itself so heavily that it is only a matter of when, not if, the fairly obvious truth becomes known. There is no comparable ‘impossible mission’ like breaking into an impossible safe or stealing something which can’t be stolen. The essential ‘heist’ ingredient is absent, as is much of the fun and snappy dialogue. The result is a movie that moves along very efficiently but lacks in character until the third act when it suddenly goes all out.

Even if ‘Fallout’ doesn’t match the slick and fun heights of ‘Ghost Protocol’ and ‘Rogue Nation’, it’s still a solidly enjoyable 2 plus hours. There is a telling line of dialogue right at the end where Ethan is told that everyone rests assured that he is always there to save the day. With Cruise likely pushing 60 for the next instalment, this elephant in the room needs to be addressed and if the next ‘Mission: Impossible’ is brave enough to tackle the issue of the limited shelf life it has left within its own plot then Mission: Impossible could gain its best entry yet. Either way, if ‘Fallout’ is the last we see of Ethan and his team then the film makers can be proud to have crafted such a reliable and all round solid franchise.

CONTENT: IS ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The movie opens with a wedding sequence. In the background an explosion goes off. The shockwave quickly approaches the couple who are getting married before slamming into the woman’s face which quickly has the flesh stripped away and becomes a skull that disintegrates. This all happens very quickly and the scene cuts to something else.

A scene where some plutonium is to be traded becomes a shoot out. Several people are shot and are killed instantly. There is no blood and these are not named characters. One sympathetic character is held hostage but the moment is over quickly.

A news report details nuclear explosions that have killed thousands. Nothing graphic is shown.

A desperate fight between three characters in a bathroom involves a lot of hard punching, kicking, and attempted strangulation. One character is eventually shot directly in the face. The camera cuts quickly so minimal injury detail is shown. However the now dead character is dragged into a toilet cubicle and blood pools around them. Their face is described as ruined and there are some close up shots showing the face covered in blood. Some party goers enter the bathroom and, seeing multiple feet inside the cubicle, assume that something sexual is going on. They shout ‘let us in!’ and, ‘the more the merrier!’.

A fight scene at a bar after a meeting with the ‘White Widow’ involves one assailant being stabbed in the back of the calf. This lasts only a few seconds. There is no injury detail.

In a montage that is shown to be how a planned heist is to go down, the side of a van is drawn back and the people inside attack a motorcade with machine guns, gunning down everyone. There is no blood shown but the scene is played silently giving it more gravitas.

One character, when asked if they are crossing a line, says “I murder women and children with smallpox. I have no line.”

After an exciting car chase in Paris, several characters are leaving. They are stopped by a lone young female cop. Ethan tries to get her to just leave. Some men approach who are clearly part of a previous criminal gang. This scene is very tense before coming to a swift conclusion.

During a fight one established ‘good’ character has a knife drawn on him which he doesn’t see. The camera shows the knife for a second before the man is stabbed. He gasps and sinks down. He dies shortly thereafter.

A female agent creeps though a cabin having seen the antagonist from a distance. She is surprised by him and hit in the face. Later another agent tries to help. However, they get strangled by a rope which is then tied up to the roof leaving them hanging to die. The attacker is hit with a glass bottle that smashes. A broken shard of the glass is stabbed into the back of a man’s calf and the knife is then dragged downwards still embedded in his leg whilst he screams. This lasts a few seconds. The fight continues and again leads to strangulation but it is very tense because the other character is still hanging and is loosing consciousness. Eventually the fight comes to a conclusion and there is a few seconds pause before it becomes clear who is in what state.

After a helicopter crash one character emerges with one side of their face cut and bloodied. This is shown in close up, After a desperate fight a large metal hook comes loose and gets embedded into one of the fighter’s face. This is accompanied with an audible ‘thunk’ but the character is dragged down a mountain out of shot so little detail is scene and it is over quickly.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT’ FOR KIDS?

Apart from a couple of instances of injury detail the biggest decider for whether or not ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ is for kids is the bad language. Most of the first two Acts of the movie feature very little but in the final Act the cursing steps up to be fairly constant – if mostly moderate. Depending on your feelings on bad language we would say that this movie is suitable for ages 10 and above.

• Violence: 3/5 (little injury detail aside from specified above, but lots of physical fights and people being shot)
• Emotional Distress: 2/5 (the scene where a character is being hanged is very tense)
• Fear Factor: 0/5
• Sexual Content: 0/5
• Bad Language: 3/5 (many instances of moderate cursing, some mild blasphemy, one strong usage)
• Dialogue: 2/5 (verbal threats, talk of murder, someone says “the last thing that will go through your mind is your kneecaps”)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of choosing what is in the greater good, espionage, double crosses, nuclear weapons, being hunted by your own government, and protecting those dear to you)

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Words by Mike Record