To stop a worldwide disaster, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and the IMF team – Luther (Rhames) and Benji (Pegg) – must team up with CIA assassin (Cavill) after an initial effort to reclaim stolen plutonium from terror group The Apostles is botched. With the weapons now missing and in real danger of falling into the wrong hands, Hunt and the gang must track the plutonium down in a race against time before it’s too late.

 

McQuarrie, Cruise, and co. had a mission and, boy, did they choose to accept it. By the time any franchise reaches its sixth installment, there’s always the real fear that things could get a bit stale and/or monotonous. It’s as if McQuarrie realised this, used his loaf and decided to go the other way. By fully incorporating the previous movies into Ethan Hunt’s character and story, things really felt natural and the bigger story was helped by this fact. The story itself is very good, as is the writing, acting and, of course, the action – some of the set pieces and stunts are mind-blowingly good. Do yourselves a favour, see it on the biggest screen possible and be blown away by one of the best action movies in decades.

 

Tom Cruise once more shows that he is a real action star – it’s well known that he performs his own stunts but it’s worth mentioning once more because some of the stunts in Fallout are exceptional. The man shows no signs of slowing down and he’s as good as ever here. Henry Cavill and moustache are big, beefy, handsome and imposing with Pegg, Rhames, Ferguson, and Baldwin all excellent as well. Having Maverick, Nicholas Angel, Superman, The Boss Baby and Diamond Dog on screen together was always going to be ace.

 

Set piece-wise, this movie is sensational. The much-talked-about HALO jump over Paris is breathtaking – combined with stunning imagery – and an exhilarating motorbike chase later in the movie is a fine example of how a city chase should be done. The action is brutal (particularly a toilet battle early in the movie) and I wouldn’t fancy bumping into a pissed off Cavill either. DoP Rob Hardy does a fine job here as well with some beautiful imagery and scenes that further fuel the movie – not to mention Lorne Balfe’s majestic score.

 

What I particularly took joy in was the fact that the movie never felt long or bloated with its 147-minute runtime, the pacing was just right and there’s something in every scene to keep you glued to what’s going on. Were some of the events contrived or maybe even overblown? Sure, but in a movie this good, it’s forgivable.

 

Delivering the best movie in a franchise that’s already five efforts in a marvellous feat from McQuarrie, Cruise et al and Fallout is more than deserving of the acclaim. It’s big, exhilarating, breathtaking and simply just bloody good – accept the mission.

 

This review may well self destruct in five seconds...