[SPOILERS BELOW]
It seems that Mission: Impossible's title as a franchise is less of a reference to the intensely difficult missions that the IMF undertake, but is more so referring to the possibility of Ethan Hunt's death. In other words, much of the enjoyment I derived from Mission Impossible: - Fallout was not the 'If' Ethan would survive a perilous skydive or a helicopter crash, but more so 'How' Ethan would survive. We all know he is going to survive - it's practically a given at this point in the series' history. And I think the film achieved an incredible spectacle through that as the film could be as outlandish and extreme as it wants, because it doesn't have to worry about believability or feasibility. After all, I stopped questioning the realism of Mission: Impossible a long time ago because it's not the film's focus. Neither is narrative, truly - the narrative is merely a vehicle for the film's action, and action this film certainly has. It's the film's core impetus to keep the audience engaged - and to keep them engaged, there has to be variety. Without it, the film would get stale. Fortunately, the assured direction of the film means there is both focus on how the action is controlled and on how that action consistently builds and builds.
Through this building of action, I noticed something impressive about the film's direction - well-controlled cinematography (with barely any egregious shakycam, one of my biggest action film pet peeves), a variety of colour and colourful lighting and a focus on trying to do many stunts practically rather than doing them against a green screen. The no-music car chase was a truly standout scene for me in this regard as the film understood, at least for a brief moment, that simply having pure action, foley and the squealing of burning rubber was far more important than playing the heart racing orchestral film score to make what was happening onscreen more action-packed than it actually was.
There's also a charming obsession for twists wrapped in more twists like the revelation at the beginning of the film that the hospital the insane manifesto-writing weapons expert, Nils Delbruuk, is in is a set that dramatically falls apart when he gives the IMF the information they need. There are plenty of "Gotcha!" moments like this, with both the bad guys and the good guys one-upping each other, playing each other for fools - which is certainly indicative of what one could call classic spy-vs-spy espionage, I would think. And it has to be said that there was a moment near the end where it seemed as if the nuclear bombs were detonated and Ethan's friends, his wife and many, many others have just died - but actually it was just the rising of the sun over the mountains. "You got me with that one, but I'll get you next time, director of the film Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Christopher McQuarrie!"
There's also a charming obsession for twists wrapped in more twists like the revelation at the beginning of the film that the hospital the insane manifesto-writing weapons expert, Nils Delbruuk, is in is a set that dramatically falls apart when he gives the IMF the information they need. There are plenty of "Gotcha!" moments like this, with both the bad guys and the good guys one-upping each other, playing each other for fools - which is certainly indicative of what one could call classic spy-vs-spy espionage, I would think. And it has to be said that there was a moment near the end where it seemed as if the nuclear bombs were detonated and Ethan's friends, his wife and many, many others have just died - but actually it was just the rising of the sun over the mountains. "You got me with that one, but I'll get you next time, director of the film Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Christopher McQuarrie!"
It's not all perfect, obviously. One of the film's most glaring faults is its emotional scenes - neither Ethan's relationship with his ex-wife, Julia, or with Rebecca Ferguson's character Ilsa Faust really left an impact on me. The death of Alec Baldwin's IMF Director character also lacked a lot of punch, especially since he was only introduced in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, just before this one. A more prominent issue, however, would probably be the 'reveal' of the villany of Henry Cavill's August Walker. Yeah sorry, movie - that was kinda obvious of you...which is a real shame. Considering how well the rest of the movie can play the audience like a fiddle, Cavill's character could have been done way, WAY better. Hell, it would have been more surprising to me if he didn't turn out to be a villain.
Overall: mid-to-high 7, borderline 8 maybe?
Overall: mid-to-high 7, borderline 8 maybe?
Comments
Post a Comment