^{Image: Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible © Property of Paramount Pictures.}

★★★★☆

Tom Cruise returns back again to the franchise that has kept his career as an action hero going and further justifying time and time again why he stands tall above the rest. Ethan Hunt and the IMF team are offered another “impossible mission” – should they choose to accept they are faced off against familiar allies and familiar racing against time as a mission goes wrong.

_{Director: Christopher McQuarrie. Starring:  Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Alec Baldwin [12A]}

Mission Impossible Fallout is everything James Bond wishes it still was. Fallout brought me back to an elegant, classical, blood pumping, spy thrilling kind of storytelling. Filling my veins with an invigorating juice that I haven’t felt for a while…Fallout certainly tops the list as best action movie of the year so far. Everything from the mission to the relationships to its villain. Mission Impossible oozes classical cool.

Equally oozing his usual classical cool is Tom Cruise. Returning as Ethan Hunt to pull off yet another mind-bogglingly crazy stunt for either the purpose of Cruise’s own death wish or our revealing in the authenticity of action. Regardless it reminds us that Cruise is a film star of old, jumping from helicopters and hanging from the sides of aeroplanes. He is a man dedicated to his craft and his love for this film series knows no bounds. It’s this kind of passion from cast, crew and director alike that blind side a viewer when walking into Mission Impossible Fallout. It’s an indulgence. An indulgence of our love of seeing wince inspiring punches and spies trying to save the world from a deranged genius.

Fallout’s plot certainly living up to the conventional tropes and familiar stylings of the less refined action movies or old school James Bond Blofeld-esque missions. Except for the main antagonist and mystery of Fallout of the double agent is not only heavily underplayed but marvellously obvious. I say marvellously because not only does this kind of blind spot seems so appropriately silly that you could almost believe the movie was made a few decades ago. But it’s so damn fun. Henry Cavill generates charisma on command as his stern and intimidating agent and makes a tremendously impactful addition to the cast of characters. What I’m getting at is that while some audience members may find the classic storytelling a negative aspect. I found it returned the action movie to the highs of its past. Stripped of the saturated overused techniques and bored filmmaking. Fallout is full of wide cinematic landscapes, sweeping cameras through action scenes and shots that let you see and feel the action rather than be nauseated by the intense cutting.

While Fallout fails in its attempt at any kind of innovation on the series and its narrative goes in one ear and out the other and seemingly being inconsequential to the main interest of the double agent. Fallout succeeds in stimulating a more intellectual filmmaking and thus equally stimulating our eyes and our hearts with its gorgeous framing and blood pumping action. Mission Impossible Fallout is by far the high of the series and remarkably close to being the apex of the spy action thriller.