Mission: Impossible – Fallout UHD Review

Mission: Impossible – Fallout is brilliant filmmaking. Its success doesn’t come from reinventing action filmmaking, but rather from embracing the very heart of action filmmaking, and doing it at the highest possible level. A strong story, characters we’ve come to adore following arcs that matter, and an embrace of the tangible stunt spectacle unheard of in modern filmmaking, make this not just one of the best action films of the year, but one of the best in years!

The Production: 5/5

“Your mission, should you *choose* to accept it.” I wonder, did you ever choose not to? The end you’ve always feared is coming. And the blood will be on your hands. The fallout of all your good intentions.

Having bested the ‘Rogue Nation’ syndicate and capturing the architect behind the villainous organization, Solomon Lane, the intrepid Impossible Mission Force find themselves dealing with the unintended consequences of a new power vacuum on the world stage. Out of the ashes of the syndicate comes The Apostles, apparently led by a terrorist, John Lark, and matters only get worse when a mission fails and the team loses three plutonium cores capable of creating nuclear devices. The team is given the mission of recovering the stolen plutonium cores, but the CIA demands oversight and one of their most capable and brutal assets, August Walker, to tag along and ensure the team does not fail again.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout is a standout piece of cinema, an action film of such earnest spectacle and visceral entertainment that, despite the high quality of most of the others in the series, leaps out in front as the very best. Director and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie demonstrates once again a fine directorial grip on the action, drama, humor, and execution of the story. He steers the big-budget and multi-location story with such a confident hand it belies the enormity of the task he took on. As the first director to return to the M:I franchise, McQuarrie crafts a story that delivers everything you want from a spy thriller, and bookends superbly not only the story spun in Rogue Nation, but the franchise to date (more consciously from M:I III onward, but there’s nods to even the first film). It’s a rewarding experience for newcomers and fans of the series since De Palma’s modestly received first entry.

Tom Cruise is in fine form here. More than just a fine actor, and more than just an action star for whom youth seems unable to relinquish its grip, Cruise is a consummate professional raising the level of spectacle and wonder far above expectations. Known for investing time, skill and energy into helping these films deliver ‘real’ stunts that forgo computer generated trickery, he’s managed to hang off the side of a mountain, on the outside of the world’s tallest building (the Burj Khalifa in Dubai), and been strapped to the outside of a Cargo plane as it took off. His dedication has given cinema some of its most spectacular thrills. For Fallout, not only did he learn to fly a helicopter so the pulse-racing sequence near the end of the film could be something exhilarating, he learned to perform a halo jump, leaping out of a plane at 25,000 feet. That’s a highly dangerous stunt that he and others spent a year performing, once a day, to try and capture the perfect shot. This kind of investment, not only in the wonder of the stunt, but the dedication to artistry to make it look wonderful, is a real gift fo us, the audience. Cruise offers a level of dedication that, when you watch the film, makes the thrill even more tangible, the palms sweatier, and the grip of the moment whole.

Joining Cruise again this time around is Simon Pegg, a welcome mainstay since the third film as the still-green field agent and funny man, Benji Dunn. Ving Rhames returns as technical genius Luther Stickell, and he’s a good as ever. Alec Baldwin shows up again as IMF head, and Rebecca Ferguson continues her storyline from the previous installment as Ilsa, the brilliantly effective British agent whose loyalties appear to blur once again. Michelle Monaghan makes her most prominent appearance as Julia since M:I III, and it’s an important appearance. The final returning character in this direct continuation is Sean Harris’ maniacal and menacing villain, Solomon Lane. The most unconventional of the series’ baddies, Harris remains a disconcerting and unsettling opponent despite being disadvantaged for much of the running time (he never feels the prisoner, even when chained). Scheduling conflicts kept Jeremy Renner from making third appearance as William Brandt.

New cast members for Fallout include Henry Cavill as CIA muscle, August Walker. Cavill is a formidable presence, physically and story wise, and makes for one of the best characters crafted for the series. Angela Bassett’s Erika Sloane, CIA head, is complicated, and our assessment of who she is and what she represents is purposefully tinkered with as part of the plot. Then there’s Vanessa Kirby’s The White Widow, an intriguing criminal with interesting lineage.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout is brilliant filmmaking. Its success doesn’t come from reinventing action filmmaking, but rather from embracing the very heart of action filmmaking, and doing it at the highest possible level. A strong story, characters we’ve come to adore following arcs that matter, and an embrace of the tangible stunt spectacle unheard of in modern filmmaking, make this not just one of the best action films of the year, but one of the best in years!

Video: 5/5

3D Rating: NA

Mission: Impossible – Fallout was majority filmed with a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, with several key sequences captured with IMAX cameras, opening up to 1:90:1 or 2.20:1. The overall quality of the video on this release is stunning, with the IMAX sequences with the opened-up ratio offering a magnificent level of detail. Flesh tones are natural, and colors are deep and rich courtesy of Rob Hardy’s fine cinematography. Sequences in Europe are a little colder, not surprising, and this allows for blacks and blues to really standout. The saturation of colors, fine shadow detail, is exquisite, aided by the superb HDR (Dolby Vision) grading.

This is a wonderful looking disc. Check out the Halo jump sequence for the power of twilight lighting, creating a beautiful mood, with crisp contrasts. The helicopter sequences offers a lovely and rich display of natural colors, mountains, rivers, and more that seem like they’ve been taken from a BBC ‘Planet Earth’ documentary.

A superb 4K disc.

Audio: 5/5

Paramount has given the sixth installment of their lucrative M:I franchise a terrifically effective Dolby Atmos® track. The breakneck pace of the action finds every corner of the audio available, and pounds and pulsates with Lorne Balfe’s propulsive, effective score*. Balfe may be less musically adept than his direct predecessor, the superb Joe Kraemer, but Balfe taps into a similar vibe to Hans Zimmer’s scores for Nolan’s Batman trilogy (the first two of which he co-composed with James Newton Howard) and the results for this latest mission are marvelously energetic and enjoyable.

Low frequency effects will just about shake your walls down during the most aggressive moments of the film, and the surrounds are used well in a number of sequences, with the helicopter chase, and the Halo jump, being standouts. The bathroom fight sequence, which delivers blow after brutal blow, is another sequence where the audio shines (and the sequence as a whole is very, very good).

*The soundtrack is available now from La-La Land Records.

Special Features: 4/5

Most of the special features will be found only on the accompanying Blu-ray with this release, while the three audio commentaries will be available on the 4K disc (something that has become pretty standard). Paramount has delivered a healthy set of special features for their top release in quite some time. This release also comes with a nice little booklet highlighting some of the film’s major stunt pieces.

The collection of extra’s approaches real depth at times, with the seven-part feature being standout (and the isolated score, something you don’t often see on major studio releases, being most welcome).

Behind the Fallout

Light the Fuse

Top of the World

The Big Swing: Deleted Scene Breakdown

Rendezvous in Paris

The Fall

THE HUNT is On

Cliffside Clash

Deleted Scenes Montage with Optional Commentary by director Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton

Foot Chase Musical Breakdown

The Ultimate Mission

Storyboards

Theatrical Trailer

Commentary by director Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise

Commentary by director Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton

Commentary by composer Lorne Balfe

Isolated Score Track

Overall: 5/5

Mission: Impossible – Fallout is a stunning action spectacle, made more so by the dedication and commitment of its star, Tom Cruise, and the style on the substance granted by writer/director Christopher McQuarrie. Very highly recommended!