Mission: Impossible – Fallout

This 2018 release of the Mission: Impossible film series, which is based on the classic television series, stars Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. This film carries on the tradition of the film series. It has the almost nonstop action with excellent special effects. With the tradition of the instant latex mask and other high-tech trickery the audience can usually only guess at exactly what is going on. It is 147 minutes of action, intrigue, some humor, and tips of the hat to the television series and previous Mission: Impossible films.

In a tip of the hat to the television series the opening and closing credits show scenes from the movie. These scenes are shown while an animated dynamite fuse is burning. Another tip of the hat is Ethan Hunt getting briefed on his mission from a reel to reel tape. The tape ends by telling Mr. Hunt, “If you or any of your IM Force are captured or killed The Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.” Then the tape self-destructs.

For this mission the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) consists of Ethan Hunt, the leader, Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). Benji is the technical guy who doesn’t have the fighting or other physical skills of a field agent. The nemesis is a group of terrorists for hire. The mission is relatively simple. They are to retrieve three spheres of stolen plutonium. The mission goes badly. Ethan has to choose between letting Luther be killed or risking the mission. He chooses to save Luther. Ethan refused to let someone, who wasn’t a “bad guy”, be killed even if it meant putting millions of lives at risk. As usual for the genre things are not cut and dry.

This failure gives Erika Sloan (Angela Bassett) ammunition in her desire to close down the IMF. Secretary Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) is able to keep the IMF in operation but CIA agent August Walker (Henry Cavill) will go with the IMF as they attempt to retrieve the plutonium. August has no problem with sacrificing a member of the force, or anyone else, to complete this mission.

Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) the nemesis in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is also in this movie. Ilsa Faust (Recbecca Ferguson), who was also in Rogue Nation, is also in Fallout. A new player in Fallout is The White Widow (Vanessa Kirby). These characters have agendas which aren’t completely known.

There are two long fight scenes where the “bad guy” is a superior fighter than any one of the “good guys”. In these fights two of the “good guys” are needed to make the struggle even. These make for intense and stunning fight scenes. Mission: Impossible trickery and some “what might be” flash forwards keeps the audience guessing as to whether what they are seeing is what is actually happening.

With its mixture of mystery, action, and special effects even people who aren’t partial to action movies should find the movie riveting. As of August 16, 2018, the movie has grossed over $460 million worldwide. While some characters die others, and not just the “good guys”, live. This gives us something to wonder about for the next possible installment in the Mission: Impossible series, should they decide to make one.