There is much that is good about Fallout as a standalone action movie. There are thrilling bike rides and car chases. There is a very poetic run through of a scenario with music in the background which is particularly special. We see Hunt pull it off yet again with the climax being particularly noteworthy. Yet, it doesn't feel like Mission Impossible - the scale needs to be there. I don't care enough about how 'true to life' the action' is, how exaggerated the gadgets are - in that moment, in that context - it just seems do-able, on the edge of impossible, but not out of reach for Hunt.
Another thing is, it is relentless - there's no time to catch a breath, not for Hunt and not for the audience either. Both with Rogue Nation and with Fallout, the movie slows down at multiple points, the stakes suddenly seem to disappear, the action is much more emphasized and not for its scale but how it gets pulled off. The cinematography and action is more than great but there's nothing jaw-dropping about the whole situation. Seeing Hunt manage to steer a motorbike against the run of traffic and figure out bylanes in a city is fun - but not thrilling. For the persona, we have of Hunt, this is a day job for him. There are many moments like this. Its either that, or he pushes forward - with no known skill, plan or agenda in a seemingly desperate move to not let his team down - sorry, but that's not the Mission Impossible we know and love. I don't care whether the critics find it ludicrous - it needs to be fun. Not every franchise needs to take the 'Skyfall' route.
Then there is the story which is not the franchise's strong points. Apart from the original which had a kickass storyline and plot progression, the others just managed to push through on a wafer thin plot. To its credit, Fallout tries to re-create some of the magic of the original. It too has that one moment where the movie raises the bar and moves to another level. Unfortunately it comes crashing back to normal post that pretty quickly. Much like its predecessor, it doesn't know what to focus one - characters and plot progression of the original or gravity defying action of the next installments. It does a bit of both and hits it out of the park with neither.
Character development is another chink in the MI armor. One of the reasons, the original was so brilliant is because it spent time with its characters. They were all knew, you didn't know whom to suspect and you were as bewildered as Hunt through the journey, trying to put the pieces together. Fallout, unfortunately, doesn't take you along for that ride. Its ambitious with where its trying to take the storyline and its characters, but the journey isn't smooth - its just a jump from this to that.
Rebecca Ferguson who was such a refreshing addition to the previous installment adds to the complexity. She pulls off, this time minor, role well enough - but her character just complicates things too much. Then there's Walker - who's played by the suave Henry Cavill, who's character could've been the ace in the pack but ends up being the joker for the way his character is handled. Simon Pegg, otherwise the funny man in the previous installments has the weakest and goofiest lines.
Cruise is, astonishingly, still pulling it off without a hitch and I'd called that marvel in the last movie itself - I'll have to find new words to describe it this time around. He just seems to keep going and going defying his age with every installment. I now fully expect him to be around if there's a no.7 as well.
Its apt to recall a line by Anthony Hopkins from MI 2 at this point to bring it closer to what the franchise really has been - this isn't Mission Difficult Mr. Hunt, its Mission Impossible. I think the franchise needs to heed those words more carefully and scale bigger heights than the Burj Khalifa in its next installment if its going to get back to its thrilling ways. One way to do that - bring back Brad Bird - he seemed to know what to do with Hunt and his team better than anyone else.
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