I know I’m late to the game, since most people have already seen Mission Impossible: Fallout and given their own great reviews of this movie. One of the best things about this movie is that it proves that a long-running action movie franchise can still impress in its sixth instalment. It’s not as if this latest adventure of Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF is not again faced with stopping another group of world-destroying terrorists led by some kind of maniacal genius, or that the team has to use clever technical tricks and death-defying saves in order to win the day — all that is part of the magic. However, this time the story gets as much attention to detail as the stunts, the fights, and the spectacle. When a group of anarchical zealots try to get their hands on some weapons-grade plutonium that Hunt let slip through his fingers, the plot starts to grow more and more complicated, with twist after twist and layer upon layer of intrigue.

Unfortunately, I did not rewatch the prior MI movies, so I had not studied up for the return of MI6 agent Ilsa Faust and super-terrorist Solomon Lane from Rogue Nation, or Hunt’s ex-wife Julia from Ghost Protocol and previous instalments. Thankfully, their roles and their motivations were pretty well explained eventually, but it did throw me for a loop in a movie that surprisingly resisted the need for exposition. Similarly, a lot of the plot concerning global terrorism as well as the politics of CIA vs IMF oversight also made things more complicated with less than expected exposition. Nevertheless, by the time the plot really kicked into gear, the script had done just enough to help me understand everything without over-explaining. I was impressed with a greater degree of depth this time around that was more akin to a good Bond or Bourne movie than your typical Mission Impossible.

That being said, it still did not skimp on the action. There were some spectacular, nail-biting scenes, even apart from numerous car and motorcycle chase scenes throughout Paris and London (including a tireless foot-chase on the rooftops of London). The climax was a tense helicopter  battle against a gorgeous backdrop of mountains in northern India (we’re talking breath-taking scenery that was quite distracting). I am still amazed at how these kinds of scenes could possibly be choreographed and staged. It’s very impressive.

Tom Cruise shows no signs of stopping as both his charm and physicality make him perfect for this role. The other two team members, however, definitely showed their age: Simon Pegg as Benji and Ving Rhames as Luthor both seemed ready for retirement. They did very little, and in comparison to new addition Henry Cavill, as a CIA agent, it seemed like they were dead weight. While it was easy to see why Ethan Hunt was indispensable and necessary for saving the world, those other two seem like they should have been replaced and put out to pasture.

In the end, just like how Hunt proved that he and his team should keep going on missions to save the world, this movie proves that we should continue to have more movies about those missions. Rather than running out of steam, writer-director Christopher McQuarrie has honed the series to an art form. I look forward to the next Mission. (4.5 out of 5)