Mission Impossible is a movie franchise that gets better and more intense with age. Something else extraordinary about the series is Tom Cruise and company have conjured up a myriad of stunts that not only push the envelope of what we’ve seen in Mission Impossible films, but what is possible, stunt-wise, for action films in the scope of the history of Hollywood. Breathtaking is certainly one word to describe the stunt work in his latest, Mission Impossible: Fallout—now out on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital formats. Another phrase would certainly be jaw-dropping.
Mission Impossible: Fallout finds Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and his team of super spies at IMF operating under intense scrutiny since Hunt’s handling of Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), a terrorist who is trying to get his hands on a nuclear weapon. The CIA’s Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett) has brought in August Walker (Henry Cavill) to not only join Hunt’s team, but to keep a close eye on it so that they don’t go rogue—as we know all too well from the series that they are prone to do!
There is a nuclear weapon that is loose in the world.Hunt and his team—including Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Benji Dunn (SimonPegg) and Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) will stop at nothing to retrieve it before Lane or his cohorts use it.
What sets Mission Impossible: Fallout apart from the rest in the series (and these are some top-notch films) is that the stakes have never been higher in a MI movie. This is the real deal, thousands upon thousands will die if Hunt and his team fail in their mission. Due to that heightened premise, all the emotions on the spectrum are elevated. Toss in the fact that audiences have to hold their breath through those sizzling stunts that permeate the entire film, and it all adds up to the best in the series and a no-question best action flick of 2018, if not this decade!
Much of the credit for that is the film’s writer-director, Christopher McQuarrie. Between his knack for penning a compelling story that has the highest of costs, pulls us all in from the get-go and until the final moments, as well as further develop and enthrall us to characters that we’ve known for years now… it is nothing short of the highest achievement a writer-director can have for a film, much less one that is on its sixth installment. His orchestration of the stunts is a lesson in achieving action greatness while not sacrificing one ounce of story and character power.
The ensemble is terrific, including Alec Baldwin as Alan Hunley—who makes his second appearance in a Mission Impossible movie. Cavill is a terrific edition and his little double punch pump in that bathroom scene has already become the stuff of meme legend. Pegg and Rhames are delightful once again and it’s great to see both have to do more than just stare into computer screens for 120 minutes. Then, there is the hurricane that is Bassett. She owns her scenes, albeit the few that she appears in. The women of Mission Impossible are brilliant, from Ferguson to Vanessa Kirby’s The White Widow and of course, Michelle Monaghan’s Julia.
Cruise kills it again and to see him subject himself to all these “I do the stunts myself” extraordinary stress, one immediately wonders… does this guy age? Seriously, he is better than ever and after what I witnessed in Mission Impossible: Fallout,one could think Cruise could keep making Missionmovies for another decade easy.
The twists and turns throughout will keep you guessing. That is one of the reasons the Mission Impossible movie series has been so well-thought-of and endeared to the audience. Those behind the scenes have delivered, especially with this latest chapter, some unforeseen places that the drama and action take us. This is a spy movie, first and foremost, an action movie second. As such, there are certain tropes that are sprinkled throughout and in McQuarrie’s film, how it all plays out will not be resolved until the screen goes black. It truly is stunning.
For more on the film itself, check out our theatrical Mission Impossible: Fallout review.
The $789 million worldwide blockbuster comes home on Blu-Ray, DVD and digital formats with the following bonus features as highlights.
Disc one of the Blu-Ray release contains the film as well as four interesting ways to take in the instant classic. One can see the film with three different audio commentaries. The one with McQuarrie and Cruise is sublime as these are the two pillars of awesomeness that is Mission Impossible: Fallout. These are the guys who bring the brilliance of this stellar motion picture and to hear their insight, as director and star, achieves two things. One, further proves that these two should be making all their future movies together and two, that we have never seen a helmer and his lead be more on the same page. There’s chemistry and there’s what McQuarrie and Cruise possess. The fourth way to witness the film is with the Isolated Score Track, which features the film’s music—all without sound effects and dialogue, presented in the impressive Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
Behind the Fallout gets into the meat of the “how did they do that?” making-of part of the featurettes. It is a 53-plus minute look in seven parts that commences with Light the Fuse.It’s a nice 11-minute full scope overview that covers the plot of the sixth film in the series, a look at the cast and their characters and a terrific bit on Cruise’s injury on the set while attempting that jump between two building stunt. Oooh, and don’t miss the bit on how the esteemed director used IMAX photography.
One of the ways in which Mission Impossible: Fallout manages to top all previous Mission movies is that HALO jump sequence. We’ve never seen Cruise leap out of an airplane at this height. Sure,we’re witnessed him ride an airplane from the outside (in the last film) but leaping out when one is merely feet away from where the atmosphere turns to outer space, that is a whole new level of commitment to giving the audience something they’ve never seen before. Top of the World shows us how that incredible sequence was achieved and its insight into Cruise and how and why he does his own stunts is a revelation.
The premiere for Fallout was in Paris, where a large part of the film takes place. All involved’s passion for the City of Lights is seen on every frame of the picture.Therefore, it’s hardly a surprise that the same endearing sentiment is all over the featurette Rendezvous in Paris.This bonus extra is a solid look at shooting in the French city and even gives us some insight into the risky car stunts that puts a spotlight firmly on Cruise’s skills as an action stunt driver.
Both The Hunt Is On and The Fall are featurettes that focus on a certain breathtaking sequence that features a helicopter. The first highlights the copter chase scene that involves Cruise and Cavill in dueling helicopters. It’s a breathtaking action scene (of course, of many!) that truly gets a brilliant breakdown in the featurette. Meanwhile, The Fall showcases another highly risky stunt that involves Hunt falling from a helicopter onto some cargo. It’s dazzling, to say the least. What is so fabulous about the former featurette is its focus on the dangers of the stunt as well as illustrating the New Zealand locations where the pivotal chase scene was shot.
Every action film worth its salt will have a climax where the two characters that are on a collision course, finally have their battle. Cliffside Clash explores Hunt and our baddie’s big moment. It’s a great moment in the film and the featurette that highlights how it was achieved doesn’t disappoint.
Deleted Scenes Montage is a terrific and the most unique of takes on showcasing the deleted scenes in a manner that doesn’t just put them on the bonus features, one after the other. The montage works great due to commentary by McQuarrie and the film’s lead editor, Eddie Hamilton.
I love it when a film’s composer gets a shout-out in the bonus features and that is certainly the case with the fabulously fine Foot Chase Musical Breakdown. Composer Lorne Balfe gives priceless insight into how the music was applied to one of the film’s most pivotal action sequences.
Last, but not least, we must salute The Ultimate Mission. The almost three-minute, highly informative piece, finds Cruise extolling the virtues of the Mission Impossible franchise. Of course, all one has to do is watch these films and it becomes clear that the superstar has the highest of adoration for the series. But, hearing it after witnessing the latest in the series and everything he endured making it(including broken bones), really brings that passion into focus.
Film
Grade: A+
Bonus Features: A