The Mission: Impossible series is perhaps the only reliable action franchise in Hollywood today. Fallout, the latest entry, proves to be a near-perfect high. At 56, Tom Cruise proves he can still run and fight with the best and even run circles around action stars 20 years younger.
Cruise returns once again as Ethan Hunt on another mission to track down some missing plutonium before it ends up in the wrong hands of a terrorist organization known as the Apostles. It's safe to say none of them have names like Mark, Luke or John. Hunt assembles his team which includes Ving Rhames' long-time computer tech cohort, Luther, and also Simon Pegg as the wisecracker of the group.
Tracking every move they make is a CIA agent named August Walker played by Superman himself, Henry Cavill. He once again brings his muscular presence to the character and he operates in a way that seems shadowy. Is he Hunt's ally or a double agent? As per usual in an MI movie, there's a lot of shades of grey when it comes to the characters, but Cavill's physicality is really impressive, particularly in a bathroom fight. He even got to keep that mustache he so infamously refused to shave for Justice League.
The rest of the movie supplies a lot of scenes where the plot is more or less on autopilot and serves as an excuse to display the typically sensational stunt work and it delivers tenfold. In addition to the bathroom fight, there's an incredible HALO jump set at 25,000 feet and a motorcycle chase through Paris that proves this franchise has no shortage of staging set pieces that feel exhilarating.
These stunts and action sequences deserve to be seen on the biggest screen format possible, or should I say impossible. Any IMAX screen would give you bang for your buck.
Fallout is a terrific spectacle, but in all honesty, I think I had more fun with the previous installment, Rogue Nation. Many critics are already heralding it as a breathless entertainment, but there are some scenes where the pacing proves the contrary. It does slow down to set up the next point in the plot, but for every pacing issue, there's also a neat twist to compensate. That's why I'm a little torn about calling this one a near-perfect entry.
The big question should be where will Cruise's next mission take him and what elaborate set piece will he perform it on? Mt. Rushmore? Mt. Everest? Space? The answer for me is I will happily accept another Mission. This is easily the most thrilling and entertaining of all the summer blockbusters.
Grade: A-
(Rated PG-13 for violence and intense sequences of action, and for brief strong language.)