Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Despite the overwhelming positive reviews for Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018), I was not as impressed as I’d hoped I’d be. Although I recognize that it can be difficult to conjure up new and innovative ideas for films such as this, I feel that it would have been better to leave well enough alone after Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) rather than create another addition to the franchise that borrowed heavily from the plots of its predecessors.

Nils Debruuk (left) and Kurt Hendricks (right) - both mad scientists.

The first time I started to notice a common thread between this new release and the other Mission: Impossible films was quite literally 5 minutes into the film when Ethan Hunt was being given his mission and there was mention of a radical nuclear physicist, Nils Debruuk, who had the potential to devastate the world with his specialized skill set. I was immediately reminded of Kurt Hendricks from Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) who similarly had dark intentions to use nuclear weapons to achieve his goal of peace through mass genocide. Just as Hendricks was discredited for his polarizing thinking, so was Debruuk in Mission: Impossible - Fallout.

In addition, we watched the Secretary of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) (played by Tom Wilkinson) killed during that same movie, just as Alec Baldwin's rendition of the character was killed in this one. Finally, in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, the machine that makes those uncanny life-like masks malfunctions, forcing Ethan to go into a meeting with an assassin hoping they won't realize he's not the person they were looking for. The same situation arises in the new release after Agent Walker smashes the computer that would have otherwise been used to render a mask, once again thrusting Hunt into the limelight without a disguise to shield him.

Moving onto another common theme, there is oftentimes a bait-and-switch method used in the Mission: Impossible films. Take, for instance, Mission: Impossible (1996) where Hunt assumes Jim Phelps’ identity in order to ascertain whether Claire could be trusted or not. She unwittingly confesses to him that she's been a mole throughout the duration of the movie, not realizing it's Ethan under the mask. We then see Sean Ambrose, the antagonist of Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), use the same method on Nylah to figure out whether she is his friend or foe, ultimately leading to her being used as leverage against Hunt. Earlier in that film, Hunt took on the role of Dr. Nekhorvich in order to extract information from John McCloy by setting up a false hospital scenario (just as he did in this movie with Debruuk). Again in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, Hunt adorns the face of Atlee so that the British Prime Minister will freely admit that there is, in fact, a rogue terrorist organization referred to as "The Syndicate." And lastly, in the most recent film, Hunt disguises Benji as Solomon Lane to uncover whether Agent Walker will admit to his double-identity. So, you see, it’s quite an overused tool, in my opinion. If all problems can be solved with a fake mask and a voice emulator, it detracts from the overall creativity of the plot.

If you didn't notice, there were also quite a few action sequences that we've seen in previous films, such as the high-speed motorcycle chase (similar to that of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation), the rock climbing stint (seen in Mission: Impossible 2), and the near-death hang-over-a-cliff scene with the two helicopters (which is the same as the car accident scene between Nylah and Hunt in Mission: Impossible 2). There is also an ongoing joke between franchise enthusiasts about Tom Cruise's running scenes in the movies (see right). As we saw in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Hunt had a sprinting scene where he was directed by Benji to Julia's location while she was being held hostage in Beijing. We see essentially the same running sequence in the new film while Hunt is chasing Agent Walker through London, leaping between buildings and through windows, all while being guided by Benji once again.

One more little tidbit you may or may not have noticed was the introduction of Max's daughter (and son, but mostly her daughter) in Mission: Impossible - Fallout. If you don't recall, Max was the British broker that intended to sell the CIA's NOC list in the first Mission: Impossible film. This makes it especially interesting when her daughter, the White Widow, is presented as the broker between Hunt and the plutonium he so desperately wants to keep out of the wrong hands. Although I didn't love seeing most of the recycled themes from previous films, I really did enjoy that little gem. It's insane to realize that over 20 years has passed between the original Mission: Impossible film and this one, allowing plenty of time for Max's fictional children to grow up and take over the family business.

So, would I recommend this movie? Yes and no. I think I made a mistake in rewatching all of the films in the franchise just before the release of the new movie. Doing so made it much easier for me to associate common themes. I would instead advise that you go see Mission: Impossible - Fallout first and then rewatch its predecessors. Otherwise, you’ll be well equipped to guess the plot before it even unfolds, and that’s no fun at all.