Mission: Impossible-Fallout (2018)

It's very rare that a film franchise achieves what the 'Mission Impossible' series has in that each entry seems to top the previous ones and while I won't say these films are masterpieces or anything, they provide exactly what you expect and does it very well. Tom Cruise and his production company have these movies down to an exact science, knowing what to change and what to keep, resulting in 'Fallout' being the best sequel yet. Continuing a few years after 'Rogue Nation', the film sees agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) attempting to stop the remaining group of Solomon Lane's radicals, but end up losing three plutonium cores that threaten the entire world and in the process Ethan's past comes creeping back and could be the end of him and the IMF.

Joining the cast this time around is Henry Cavill of Superman fame and while he is given more time to shine here, his character is two-dimensional and comes off as a cliche rival of Ethan's and it's a shame the man doesn't get characters with more charisma. Angela Bassett is our other new member to the series and she's about the same here as in other films. I personally just don't see her appeal but she does alright. The returning cast are just as good here, with Ving Rhames getting some more screen time than usual and he also gets some of the best and funniest lines in the film. Simon Pegg does his usual fun self but is in the film a lot less than before, while Ethan's love interest is merely okay seemingly shoved into the plot midway and her story feels a little unnecessary.

'Fallout' has some of the best action scenes of the series, with a major helicopter chase as its centerpiece and seeing the film with the special Dolby Atmos sound system really enhances the fun and in IMAX, it's absolutely stunning. Even on the ground, the hand to hand combat and gunfighting sequences are done with style and have a slick look to them, with a fun homage to James Cameron's 'True Lies' in there as well. Where 'Fallout' really falters is it's length, running at almost three hours. It slows down a lot during this long running time, and the usual twists to the plotlines you see in the 'Mission: Impossible' films can become convoluted and make your brain hurt if you're not paying attention. Despite these faults, they can be forgiven for the most part as this is one of the best action films of the summer and one I highly recommend.

9.0