Mission: Impossible - Fallout

The sixth Mission: Impossible film, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, is a mega-blockbuster getting rave reviews. Since I very much appreciated two of the previous M:I films (the original, directed by Brian De Palma, and the fourth  - Ghost Protocol, directed by Brad Bird), I had to rush to the cinema to see what all the excitement was about (despite the fact that the previous M:I film - Rogue Nation, also written and directed by McQuarrie, was my least favourite in the series).

And I suppose Mission: Impossible - Fallout was indeed an exciting enough film. But my review warrants only another episode of the good, the bad and the ugly (as for the plot, I’ll just say that the IMF team needs to prevent the simultaneous use of three nuclear bombs which will send the world into chaos):

The Good:

1) Location, location, location. Any film that sets its action in and around my favourite British landmark is going to get extra marks from me. Besides London (St. Paul’s Cathedral), there’s also Paris and Kashmir (the latter filmed in New Zealand and Norway). Gorgeous cinematography throughout!

2) Tom Cruise is a good actor and a good action hero. The support from the actors (Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames) playing his IMF colleagues is also very strong, as is the acting of Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan and Vanessa Kirby as three women playing key roles in the plot.

3) The overwhelming score is appropriate for a spy action thriller like this and I enjoyed it.

4) The pacing, and the tension it creates, is impressive.

5) Ethan Hunt’s concern for the lives of innocent people, and his inability to kill them regardless of the consequences, is laudable. 

The Bad: 

1) Henry Cavill has a major role in Mission: Impossible - Fallout as a CIA assassin. Why? I really hate saying this, because I like to be generous to actors, but Cavill is not a good actor. Every scene with Cavill in it (and there are many) suffers from his presence. Didn’t work for me at all. I also wasn’t impressed by the acting of Alec Baldwin and Angela Bassett (both good actors) in this film.

2) The writing certainly showed an ability to create the kind of tension/excitement that action-lovers crave. But as regular readers know, I am bored by action, so this kind of writing doesn’t particularly impress me. Besides that, to me, many of the action scenes felt unoriginal (the car and helicopter chases are straight out of Bond) and I predicted far too many of the plot twists. Add to that the fact that a couple of the dialogue scenes (like one involving Cavill and Bassett) were so badly written they made me cringe in my seat. The critics seem to think McQuarrie’s writing was stellar. I don’t get it.

3) Ethan Hunt’s ability to kill the bad guys without a thought puts a damper on the attempts to give him some kind of moral integrity. 

The Ugly:

1) So much violent action aimed at a PG audience. Endless violent action. Did I mention the overwhelming action?

I’m a huge fan of quiet intelligent spy thrillers. I’m generally not a huge fan of spy action films (like those featuring James Bond, Jason Bourne, Jack Ryan and Ethan Hunt), though I do appreciate a few of them (including the first Mission Impossible film, the first Bourne film and at least six Bond films). A good indicator of how much I appreciate a spy action film is the amount of action in the film: the more action in the film, the less I will like it. Since Mission: Impossible - Fallout is almost entirely action, it does not rank very high, regardless of how exciting that action might be. 

There is just enough location magic and that original M:I feel for Mission: Impossible - Fallout to sneak across into *** country, like Rogue Nation. But for me these last two Ethan Hunt films have been largely a waste of my time and my mug refuses to stand straight. I think the critics were wrong on this one, lost in the excitement of the action to the extent that they missed (or ignored) most of the flaws described above. I will, however, acknowledge that the vast majority of film viewers are looking for well-made action-heavy escapist entertainment. I don’t quite understand it, but I recognize that, for this majority, Fallout is a great film. And as far as action films go, viewers could do far worse (e.g. Avengers), so enjoy.