Mission: Impossible – Fallout review

The sixth outing for IMF (that’s the Impossible Missions Force, of course) agent Ethan Hunt and his team, this is not only the best Mission: Impossible movie of the series so far, but also one of the best action movies of the decade.

While we have come to expect Tom Cruise (as Hunt) to hang off buildings, planes and cliffs, race cars and bikes through streets, battle bad guys and scurry across rooftops for this franchise, in this movie he does all of that and more, with his most impressive feat being the ability to grab the audience so tightly you can’t breathe and not let go for two and a half hours.

After an IMF mission goes wrong, Ethan and his team (including Rhames’ Luther and Pegg’s Benji) are facing a nuclear threat that involves Rogue Nation’s baddie Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). To complicate matters, CIA chief Erica Sloan (Angela Bassett) insists to Ethan’s boss Hunley (Alec Baldwin) that a mission can only go ahead if one of her men – August Walker (Cavill) – goes along, and while they are bashing heads and hunting bad guys they also cross paths with former MI6 agent Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) who has her own agenda.

Wittily written and extremely clever, this works on every level. There’s humour, plot twists, and terrific performances from the star-heavy, perfectly chosen cast. Everyone gives it their all, and none more than Cruise himself (you’ll be able to spot the roof-leaping scene in which he broke his ankle in real life… and carried on filming) who often looks believably battered, beaten, bruised and completely knackered as he tries to save the day.

Thanks to Christopher McQuarrie’s tight, heart-thumping direction, this quickly shakes off a slow start and builds to an almost frantic pace as eye-widening set piece follows set piece. There’s a stunning Paris car chase, an edge of the seat helicopter battle, Tom’s athletic London rooftop antics and even an impressive fight in a men’s nightclub toilet, plus Cruise’s HALO jump scene from a plane (that you can watch here).

It’s breathtaking stuff that not only demands a second viewing (and a follow up) but also confirms Tom Cruise as the true Hollywood action star that he deserves to be.