Review: Mission Impossible: Fallout

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

I've often found myself complaining that a majority of summer blockbusters are set-piece driven and filled with visual effects that often mute out the elements - such as characterization or context - that tend to make films more interesting. Then again, there's something to be said for a breathless action movie that finds its rhythm and leaves you gripping your seat, white knuckled. "Mission Impossible: Fallout," the sixth and - possibly best - entry in the franchise, is such a movie.

Much like Edgar Wright's gripping "Baby Driver" or George Miller's visually stunning "Mad Max: Fury Road," this latest "Mission Impossible" movie is wall to wall action. It sails by so quickly and furiously that the storyline might come across as slightly convoluted and the motivations of its characters - outside of one group of people wanting to blow up the world and the other wanting to stop this from occurring - only secondary to the action. But this is a rare occasion in which this matters little - this is a film with absolutely incredible stunts and camerawork and further proof that Tom Cruise is, at age 56, Hollywood's most dedicated action star.

To no one's surprise, the plot of "Fallout" revolves around a group of sinister characters - led by Sean Harris' Solomon Lane - who aim to wreak global havoc after having collected a series of nuclear devices. It is up to Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team - Ving Rhames' Luther, Simon Pegg's Benji, Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa and a newbie, Henry Cavill's Walker, who may or may not be trusted - to stop them.

From the get-go, "Fallout" is a fast-paced and brilliantly choreographed action movie. Whether it's flying through European cities on a motorcycle with cars in pursuit, dangling from a helicopter, hanging from a cliff or taking part in the craziest bathroom fight since "Eastern Promises," the characters and the actors who portray them appear to be risking life and limb nearly every step of the way.

But for a movie that emphasizes nonstop action over story, there's a fair amount of thematic relevance knocking around in "Fallout," from the concept of how much one should personally sacrifice for the greater good to the idea of whether the characters' actions, while seemingly good, have inadvertently caused harm. There's also a camaraderie between the characters that makes this team more likable and watchable than many of the other franchise teams that populate blockbuster filmmaking. During a crucial moment late in the film, in which the characters' fates hang in the balance, this camaraderie especially pays off.

So, while "Fallout" does little to reinvent the wheel of the summer blockbuster, it is an example of a franchise movie made extremely well and, surprisingly, for a two-and-a-half hour movie, there's little fat. This is an intense, often vertigo-inducing action movie that proves that Cruise still has the goods and this series is far from out of gas. I'd imagine it'll be the best blockbuster you'll see this year.