MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT (2018) - The apotheosis of action movies

Mission: Impossible - Fallout is a 2018 action spy film written, produced, and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (the director of Rogue Nation, making him the first to direct more than one M:I movie) and starring Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Alec Baldwin, and Angela Bassett. The film follows IMF agent Ethan Hunt and his team as they track down stolen plutonium after a mission gone wrong. Monitored by untrusting CIA agent August Walker, the team must recover the plutonium in order to prevent a terrorist group known as the Apostles from exploding some extremely dangerous nuclear bombs.

The term "apotheosis" is defined as the perfect form or example of something, the absolute culmination of being, and it's this term that I feel best describes Mission: Impossible - Fallout. No, it's not some incredibly artistic masterpiece that will change the way you view the world, and it's no contender for Best Picture at the Oscars, but this film is very much among the best that the action genre has to offer.

Great acting, amazing choreography in its chase and fight scenes, great stunt work, really well done direction and cinematography, thrilling set pieces; Fallout has everything a great action movie requires, with each part representing the very best of its kind. A bathroom fight early in the movie caught me off guard with just how brutal it was, with people being smashed through mirrors, beating each other with pipes, and getting pummeled with Henry Cavill's reloading biceps, all accompanied by great direction and stuntwork.

It's difficult to explain, but in the world we live in today where every action movie is dominated by bad lighting and stunt doubles and enormous amounts of green screen and CGI, being able to witness a real fight scene with real stunt work by the actors in a well-lit environment is truly a spectacle to behold, and Fallout does it in strides.

And that's only talking about one single brawl early in the movie. I don't even know where to begin with gushing about the chase scene in France, the helicopter fight, or the fight between three characters in a cabin at the movie's finale. Basically, think of your favorite action scenes and your favorite chase scenes, and imagine they're all in one movie.

Probably the weakest aspect of Fallout is its story, mostly in that it's a fairly basic one you'd expect from a summer action blockbuster: bad guy has nukes, go stop them. That might bother some people, but it's totally fine for me. As long as an action movie has a serviceable plot that is able to connect the fight scenes and action set pieces, that's good enough for me. What really surprised me about Fallout's story though is just how much it expects its audience to really pay attention. There are a lot of times in the movie where you are left to question who's really on whose side, and whether or not a situation is really what it seems. There are plot twists and there are red herrings, both of which will likely catch you off guard every time.

Peek that beard that grows as Daddy Cavill reloads his Superman arms.

Final Verdict

Mission: Impossible - Fallout is being referred to by many critics as among the best action movies of all time, and I'm inclined to agree. Pretty much every fight scene and action set piece is among the best of its kind, with some great direction, cinematography, and real stunt work by the actual actors that places them several notches higher than the typical CGI-filled fights with stunt doubles, poor lighting, and the dreaded shaky cam that plagues 95% of action movies these days.

It's action-packed, it's well acted, it's loads of fun. If you have extra money to dish out, I'd recommend watching in IMAX to really experience all the great set pieces. I'd also recommend watching Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation first since a couple of story threads are carried over from that movie, although it's really not necessary.

Score: A