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A 1996 time traveler arriving in 2018 would find it difficult to recognize the world in which he finds himself. But in the midst of a series of revolutions – economic, technological, political, cultural – there are few things as consistent as Tom Cruise in the role of Ethan Hunt, a role he's played for the first time 22 years ago. Running, punching, falling, shooting, blowing, being hanged, swinging, about to be killed, Ethan Hunt is an island of stability in a rough sea. And in this case, after more than two decades and six films, Cruise reminds us that he is capable of much more than that.
The "Mission: Impossible" movies are the oldest Hollywood franchise that endures without the need for innovations, long breaks or reboots with a younger star. Batman, Spiderman and the rest were there earlier (if we do not count the TV series "Mission: Impossible"), but these franchises did not stay whole. All have undergone metamorphoses and are restarting with new stars. But not "Mission: Impossible".
On the other hand, "Mission: Impossible", regardless of its success as a franchise, varies considerably in terms of the quality of its individual films. Its directors, prominent figures in the industry – Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, Brad Bird and Christopher McQuarrie – have produced very uneven films. This hindered the effort to add depth to Hunt's character and allow him to enter the major leagues with James Bond and Jason Bourne. Replacing most of the supporting actors in each film further hampered the development of the character, who had to forge new links every two hours. (Ving Rhames is here from the beginning, but his character, Luther, has not contributed much.)
"Mission: Impossible – Fallout", the sixth episode of the series, marks a real turning point in the consolidation of Ethan Hunt's status in the annals of movie spies. It's not so much that the character has evolved or changed, like his environment. Cruise & # 39; s Hunt is more stable and more credible than ever. The major change occurs behind the camera, in a way that allows the hero to do what he does best, and in practice to understand his character through his actions.
McQuarrie, who also directed the previous film in the franchise, "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation", is the first director to be invited a second time. Not surprising, given the chemistry that developed between him and the star. It's actually the fifth collaboration between Cruise and McQuarrie – as a screenwriter – and the third time that he's making Cruise. They also did "Jack Reacher" (2012) together, and refined the physical side of Cruise. In "Fallout," McQuarrie has more leeway to leave his mark, including solo scripts.
The plot begins about two years after "Rogue Nation", but it's not necessary to refresh the memory before seeing the new movie. A practical reminder comes in the form of the familiar note that self-destructs in five seconds. An anarchist group called "The Apostles", established on the ruins of the previous film syndicate, tries to get their hands on the plutonium in order to explode three nuclear bombs in the Vatican, Mecca and Jerusalem, and thus create a new world order. Hunt and his faithful team – Luther and Benji (Simon Pegg) – are sent to thwart the ploy and find out who is the leader of the Apostles.
But as in all the pictures, Washington has doubts about Hunt. The team is therefore backed by CIA agent August Walker, played with an impressive threat tune by Henry Cavill, who is more accustomed to disappointing viewers than Superman. MI6's agent, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), also returns several times, although, after his role in "Rogue Nation", his motives this time are a mystery.
From this point of the plot becomes as labyrinthine and devious as the loyalties of spies; people tend to dress like others, and hunting follows the chase with an aura of clbadic Europe. Apparently, this is just another regular episode of "Mission: Impossible", but apparently only. With the real stars of Hollywood box office hits these days being an army of special effects equipped with computer programs and showing a penchant for superheroes, "Fallout" offers an alternative: a return to the roots .
The body of the cruise
There are, of course, abundant special effects – that's 2018, after all – but the new movie inspires a lot of the past. Rather than focusing on visual effects, our focus is on cinematography, editing, sound and choreography. The action is integrated into the story in a manner relatively consistent with the progress of the plot and the development of the characters (if one does not take into account the tendency to climb all the familiar monuments of Paris and London). The use of music and sound design as a dominant tool, in the mind of director Christopher Nolan ("Dunkirk"), accords with the framing in which the camera refuses to let the character leave. In the center. Rob Hardy's cinematography forces the viewer to absorb each shot with Hunt – and he absorbs a lot of blows – without escaping to the outside with the help of a frantic montage.
McQuarrie, who gained fame as a screenwriter for "The Usual Suspects," understands that Hunt is at its peak not when he is a superhero, but when he becomes a punching bag. I had never understood the star's insistence on doing stunts except for ego reasons, especially after being injured while jumping from a roof while filming this movie. . But "Fallout" makes an extremely intelligent use of Cruise's body.
The fact that the public knows that he is the one who performs the stunts increases both the effect and our ability to identify with each punch and any accident on the floor . At the beginning of the film, the hero is described as a "chisel" compared to Walker, who calls himself a "hammer". After 22 years of work, Ethan Hunt looks tired, and it works to his advantage. If in previous movies all the blows that he took have not really been viscerally experienced by the onlookers, this time we are in free fall with him every dive of a building.
The result is a return to a rough physical action, clean and improbable in the best sense of the word. Whether on a motorcycle in the streets of Paris, walking on the rooftops of London or in a helicopter in the middle of the mountains, the new vulnerability of Hunt turns the film into a kind of roller coaster race, on which the hero is found as much by the force of circumstance as by his own will. Hunt can climb a thousand skyscrapers like the Burj Khalifa, but a fight in a small bathroom is one of the best scenes in the history of the franchise. Again, congratulations to the use of technology: it's one of the few films that is not excessive in its use of 3D, photography and even lighting for create complex, superimposed spaces that add to some Disneyland style gadgets. an object that is projected towards the camera.
In addition to the action, the most important innovation that McQuarrie brings to the franchise is a modest but notable attempt to distil and sharpen Hunt's character. After five films, the studio finally understood that you were not replacing a winning team; the fact that Hunt is surrounded by the same veteran partners allows filmmakers to broaden his story a bit and, in turn, differentiate him from his colleagues in the film world of espionage. At the heart of "Fallout" is an old dilemma that rests on the "trolley problem" of the world of ethics: whether to kill a person in order to save millions. If loyalty to the motherland and the love of a woman have been the driving forces of the previous images, the dilemma that Hunt confronts this time is starting to build him a truly human character, beyond that. a collection of impulses.
Thirty years ago, this month, "Die Hard", one of the best action movies of all time, came out, and the goodbye recalls what was lost in a world of superheroes and fantasy. The visual effects have not destroyed the cinema, absolutely not, but the surpbading of oneself sometimes encourages the creative laziness and makes forget some basic elements which are found in a radical action. Cruise, a stuntman in his soul, and McQuarrie, who continues to develop as a director, reach a common summit here. "Fallout" is the best film in the franchise "Mission: Impossible", and right now it 's also the best action movie of 2018, while dozens of avengers hang out far behind.
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