By Michael P Coleman
This latest installment of the popular Tom Cruise franchise is very aptly named, I almost fell out from a heart attack in the theatre. At one point, I felt like the lead character on the television classic Sanford & Son: “Elizabeth! I’m coming to join you, Honey!”
You know by now that I won’t spoil the film for you. So I’ll take a clue from one of my favorite Saturday Night Live characters: Mission Impossible: Fallout has EVERYTHING!
Well, maybe not everything — but everything it needs to be the best movie I’ve seen this year. The core team, including Ving Rhames, is back, and joined by Angela Bassett, who plays the CIA’s new chief. As always, Bassett is ravishing and riveting in the role. I can’t wait to see more of her in the next installment.
Another newbie this time around is Henry Cavill, Hollywood’s current Superman. After seeing him in this one, you’ll walk away with an assurance that Cavill won’t be typecast as the Man Of Steel.
Mission Impossible: Fallout features an exceptional script and a single line that should go down in Hollywood history as one of the greatest of all time, right next to “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” “There’s no place like home,” “I have a bad feeling about this,” and “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” I won’t give it away, but it’s spoken by Cruise’s character to Cavill’s. An instant classic!
Another thing Mission Impossible: Fallout has is a ticking clock. The whole franchise is built around one of those, but the time-worn technique for ramping up the heart rates of moviegoers has, perhaps, never been better used than in this movie. You’ve heard the term “edge of your seat?” Have you ever really been there? Well, I was there for the final 15 minutes of this movie. Hell, I held my breath, literally, for two or three of those.
And the car chase! THE HELICOPTER SCENE! ALL of the action sequences delivered — especially with the well-publicized knowledge that the movie’s star does most of his own stunts.
So let’s talk about that star. Even with everything that Mission Impossible: Fallout has going for it, it would all fall apart if not for the magnetic performance, once again, of Tom Cruise. He may be a slightly unhinged Scientologist, jumping around on Oprah’s couch, in real life, but the man was born to play Ethan Hunt.
Go see this movie, on as big a movie screen as you can find. I saw it in one of Cinemark’s XD theaters, and as large as the screen was, I wished it had been IMAX. If only for the helicopter scene. Oh. My. God.
Mission Impossible: Fallout is in theaters everywhere.
Connect with Sacramento-based freelancer Michael P Coleman at michaelpcoleman.com or follow him on Twitter: @ColemanMichaelP.
