It feels odd saying this, but “Mission: Impossible - Fallout” is a relative rarity at today’s box office.
Let's face it, Hollywood is hyper-focused on the realm of comic books and graphic novels — meaning they’ll squeeze that orange until the juice runs dry.
A few years ago, I attended an event featuring author John Grisham where he lamented the lack of grown-up movies in the marketplace. He snarkily suggested that Hollywood was only interested in making “cartoons”...
Thank goodness Tom Cruise is around as an elixir to the glut of "cartoons." Cruise has a penchant for giving us breathtaking action movies — grounded in reality — that emphasize practical effects over digital.
“Mission: Impossible - Fallout” continues the trend set by “Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol” and “Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.”
The current-era “Mission” movies are both retro and cutting edge. Each time I see one, it reminds me of what a summer blockbuster used to be, while at the same time showing us what a modern blockbuster should be...
This time out, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his IMF team are tracking down plutonium cores that have been stolen by a sinister organization (“The Apostles”), led by a mystery man named John Lark.
August Walker (Henry Cavill) is assigned to work alongside Hunt and his team. The mustachioed Walker does wet work for the CIA, and is skeptical of Hunt (as is the upper brass at the agency).
The crew sets off to find Lark via an arms dealer known as “The White Widow” (played with mischievous charm by “The Crown’s” Vanessa Kirby).
Before we know it, our heroes are involved in various fisticuffs, chases, and double crosses. The narrative buoyantly floats along as we see various spycraft employed.
Simon Pegg (who plays IMF operative Benji Dunn) told BBC Radio 1 that “Mission: Impossible - Fallout” started production without a screenplay — something confirmed by the movie’s writer/director Christopher McQuarrie. Pegg mentions in this interview that they started with just 33 pages, and crafted the story along the way:
This isn’t new for the “Mission” series. In the commentary track for 2015’s “Rogue Nation,” McQuarrie and Cruise talk about how they wrote the movie as they went along — working to tie the story’s terrific stunt sequences together.
It’s a bold strategy, but one that seems to work well for this series. There is an energy in “Mission: Impossible - Fallout” that is hard to deny. The plot is intriguing without becoming convoluted.
McQuarrie is an adept hand. In addition to his duties with the “Mission” series, he also wrote and directed 2012’s “Jack Reacher” with Tom Cruise. (Readers of this blog know my fondness for that movie...and the Reacher novels).
If you haven’t ever listened to a commentary track by McQuarrie, they are among the best I’ve heard. In particular, his commentaries on the Blu-ray/DVD releases of “Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation” and “Valkyrie” are very interesting.
I recently tweeted at Christopher McQuarrie to ask him if he planned to record a commentary track for “Fallout.” He told me that there would be two commentary tracks for the upcoming Blu-ray/DVD release:
Yes. 2.— Christopher McQuarrie (@chrismcquarrie) July 25, 2018
There are some terrific action sequences in “Mission: Impossible - Fallout.” The filmmakers managed to turn a “HALO parachate jump” sequence into something truly suspenseful. There is a helicopter chase (Cruise spent months learning to fly a chopper) featuring gorgeous cinematography.
There is also an epic car/truck/motorcycle chase (set in Paris) that is technically superb. McQuarrie told a fan on Twitter that the sequence was inspired by Claude Lelouch’s 1976 short “Rendezvous”:
The driving force behind the “Mission: Impossible” series is Tom Cruise. His quest for authenticity (driven by a healthy dose of perfection) is admirable in this age of computer-generated effects. It’s an aspect of Cruise that gives me hope for the upcoming “Top Gun” sequel.
The success of the movies in this series is as much about the “big things” as it is the “little touches.”
For example, in the early scenes of the movie, Ethan Hunt receives his mission assignment in a hollowed-out book (Homer’s The Odyssey)... on an old reel-to-reel tape... which employs a “pin prick” system to authenticate Hunt’s identification via blood drop.
Most movies wouldn’t take the time and care to do something so cleverly “retro.”
But that’s why the “Mission: Impossible” movies are so special.
Also of note is the musical score for “Mission: Impossible - Fallout,” composed by Lorne Balfe. In a day and age where many soundtracks feel like an “afterthought” and are essentially “incidental” in nature, it is nice to see a movie where the music adds another dimension to the narrative.
The fact that this franchise — six movies in — manages to get better with age is quite a feat.
“Mission: Impossible - Fallout” pushes all the right buttons. It’s definitely my favorite of the summer movie season... and likely the best in the “Mission: Impossible” series...
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