I hesistate to call this one a review, since it is going to be more free form than my reviews. Yesterday I saw the Mission: Impossible – Fallout at the movie theatre and decided that I could try to write about that.

So, I have always viewed the MI series of films as more of a knock-off James Bond, trying to cash in on the audience when the next Bond flick is in the making. That shows even more when comparing 007 Spectre and MI – Fallout, both are the culmination of previous films and villain(s). A secret shadowy organization like the Apostles or the Spectre are the villains of the both movies, there are also a few more similarities, but I find best not to write about them, as it would be spoiling the film for others. However, Fallout was far better than Spectre. Ethan Hunt is somewhat more human than 007, thanks to his teammates on who’s help he often needs, making him more vulnerable, where Bond feels like a terminator on both skills and emotions. As of right now, I feel like the MI is the better James Bond movie, than the actual 007. But Casino Royale is still my all time favourite, though.

But now, putting aside the comparison between the two juggernauts of the genre, we should talk more about the film. The first act and the second act of the film was really strong in my opinion, and I find that the performance of Henry Cavill was really good in this film and the fight scenes were well choreographed.

Where the film sort of falled flat on its face was in the third act, where Ethan Hunt had to defuse nuclear bombs in the nick of time. The movie makers hoped to create some sort of tension there, but c’mon, let’s be real here, you know it, I know it – the bomb is not going to explode. This sort of illustrates the problem with the whole spy genre, doesn’t it? This manufactured sense of urgency, which is really cliché and ultimately boring. I hate to bring up 007: Spectre again, but that movie did its third act better than Fallout, by being more personal to the main protagonist, but the movie failed on the first two acts, so there’s that.

I also took issue with helicopter chase scene (I do not consider it spoilers since it was in the trailer), where in the end there was a huge crash, which of course, the protagonist and the antagonist survived. This again, makes every crash in the movie seem tensionless and empty. Avengers: Infinity War was more true to physics in my opinion than MI – Fallout, due to the fact that Marvel’s universe at least acknowledges that they do not play by the rules of the new world, whereas the MI series tries to, but fails. I think that the spy genre could use a reform, by ditching the “saving the world” scenario and instead being more focused on smaller conflicts or don’t ditch the “save the world” and let the world suffer from time to time, that helps to keep the watcher guessing and more engaged throughout the movie.

I Verdict

I sort of beat down on the whole movie, but I enjoyed it still and I think it was a great film and I came out of the cinema pleasantly surprised. It was quite a long film – 2,5h, and it kept me engaged throughout, which is no small feat. If you like good action films or are a fan of the spy genre or enjoy action movies, go and watch this film, it is worth it, as it is easily the best Mission: Impossible film yet.

3/5 – Great