Mission Impossible: Fallout

The MISSION IMPOSSIBLE franchise is one of, if not the most reliable in movie history to deliver the adrenaline rushes that many of us crave, at least some of the time.  My precious viewing hours includes fewer and fewer of these sorts of things, but when it's done so right, it's hard to resist.  Or to deny the skill it took to pull off such a production, which resemble and rival  the James Bond and Jason Bourne films.  Both could take a bid from the latest, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT, which is the sixth in the series and continues a plot line from the previous, 2015's ROGUE NATION, unseen by me thus far.

Plot rehash? Tom Cruise (looking his age but still quite durable and doing his own stunts) returns as Ethan Hunt, resident superman and Decent Human Being of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) who again accepts a mission to save the world.  This time to prevent the sale of Plutonium to a fearsome terrorist group known as The Apostles, the leader of whom is named Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), captured by Hunt in the previous movie.  The materials are obtained and lost a few times as Hunt and his team globe trot among Berlin, London, Paris, and Kashmir, the latter of which includes an ultra nail biting climax, possibly one of the most intense I've ever seen.

The story is another melange of political restlessness and espionage that can be safely ignored or at least casually acknowledged while you wait for the next Big Moment.  All the big speeches from malcontent anarchists are here, wearily anticipating the end of mankind in some sort of twisted morality.  Nothing you haven't heard villains spout before.  Also customary in the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE films are elaborate fake outs and here they are dazzling and, uh, impossible to see coming.  And they never feel gratuitous.

The stunt work is breathtaking at times.  The bathroom fight is brutal and even rougher than classic such brawls in THE WARRIORS and TRUE LIES.  The car, truck, and motorcycle chases through Paris are exemplary and exhilarating, even if you've seen hundreds before. Ditto for the helicopter pursuit through snow capped mountains near the film's close.  Some of it had to be CGI but it all looked fantastic.  I've said these words before but this picture is a must for action junkies.

The film has moments of wry humor, as when IMF field agent Benji (Simon Pegg) asks Hunt over his headset who in the hell is chasing him this time.  The response is "I dunno. CIA? What difference does it make?" Hunt is tired, but still up to the challenge of whatever fireball hurls toward him, always ready with "I'll get it done" no matter how the odds are stacked.  He may be an embodiment of the hardy can do American spirit that never shrinks from adversity.  And also, the very fiber of integrity and selflessness. A real mensch.  Hunt repeatedly saves the lives of a few even when plutonium (which can kill millions) slips away in the process.  In one effective scene, Hunt takes mercy on a French Policewoman.  You just have to see it.  And recall it later on when longtime team member Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) delivers a rather pious speech about Ethan's character.

The four women featured also get strong roles: Rebecca Ferguson (as Isla, IMF team member), Angela Bassett (CIA Director), Vanessa Kirby (Alanna, an arms dealer), and Michelle Monaghan (Julia, Ethan's former wife). None are mere window dressing or damsels in distress.  Christopher McQuarrie is the only director in the series to pilot two of these adventures, and judging by the success of this one I really do need to watch ROGUE NATION.  I can tell you that FALLOUT is one of the most satisfying and certainly the fastest two and one half hours at the cinema I can recall of late.