MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE FALLOUT arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD December 4 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. Here is my review:
The best intentions often come back to haunt you. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong. Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Vanessa Kirby also join the dynamic cast with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returning to the helm.
Review
The sixth entry in the action spy franchise that I personally hail as superior to the Bond legacy is here and it is stunning in 4K Blu-ray. Mission Impossible Fallout concludes the new trilogy of films where Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) continues to track down and neutralise the threat of a terrorist organisation hellbent on causing a nuclear disaster in the most unlikely of places. Director Christopher McQuarrie is the best filmmaker to tackle the Mission Impossible series and his work here in Fallout is gorgeous. The movie clocks in over 2 hours in length but it moves at the speed of a bullet taking us around the globe and bringing us to a finale in the mountains where you’ll forget to breathe because the tension is so damn palpable.
Tom Cruise has to be the most famous stuntman of all time right? I know people like to talk about how he does all these insane things himself as opposed to getting a stunt double, and I’m sure the studio has to cough up a ridiculous amount of money to insure the movie star, but his dedication and work to bringing such a realistic spectacle to the audience is much appreciated. This is the best Cruise has ever been when it comes to action cinema. Fallout is hands down the best blockbuster of 2018 and features some of the most dangerous and crazy stuntwork I’ve ever seen in a film.
But — aside from all the glorious action, which includes a badass brawl in a bathroom complete with Henry Cavill’s perfect choice to lock and load his punches, to the Halo jump which has never before been attempted to be filmed for the bigscreen — Aside from all of that spectacle, what makes Fallout truly work in every way, are the pitch perfect performances from the cast and a fulfilling story which doesn’t feel like an afterthought. McQuarrie and Cruise should make movies together forever because what they created here with Fallout is something truly special.
Special Features*
Stunts. There is a very in-depth and lengthy documentary that explores all the work that went into creating Mission Impossible Fallout. We all know that Cruise is a legit badass by now, but even with that knowledge going into the meaty bonus segments included here, I was not prepared to hear words from seasoned Halo jump veterans who declared that Cruise was pulling off sky-diving techniques that they’d never even seen before. That jaw-droppong Halo sequence? Real. The helicopter finale? That was Cruise, flying a freaking helicopter, which he trained to do for over a year in order to prepare for the movie. Let’s not forget that the scene IN THE MOVIE where Ethan Hunt jumps from one rooftop to the other and almost misses – is the take where Cruise BROKE HIS LEG in real life. That’s the shot they kept.
There’s something magical that just translates so much better to the screen when the stunts and scenery are REAL. I know that digital can look amazing and sometimes we can’t even tell when we’re watching a movie, but even before I knew that Cruise was FLYING A HELICOPTER FOR REALS, I watched the movie and I almost passed out from lack of oxygen due to the tension in that sequence. The special features are jampacked so if you wanted to see some of the coolest BTS stuff of 2018 – you’ll find it right here on the MI Fallout blu-ray.
- 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
*BONUS FEATURES ON 4K ULTRA HD COMBO, BLU-RAY COMBO & DIGITAL*