Mission: Impossible - Fallout

NOTE: THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER-FREE Hi there, Jason here from the Kleeberg Family Blog. The Mission Impossible series did what no other movie franchise can seem to do - improve exponentially with each installment. Fallout is the sixth in the series and it’s the most ambitious by a long shot. This movie is not only my favorite in the franchise, but it might be in my top five action movies of all time. This was my second time seeing it and I’m already looking forward to watching it again. The story is a direct continuation from the 5th movie in the series, Rogue Nation - so it’s probably a good idea to see that first if you haven’t already. In fact, each movie is referenced here, so do yourself a favor and just see the entire series all over again. In text, the plot seems very similar to spy movies you’ve watched for years - Ethan Hunt and his team are tasked with bringing in plutonium that terrorists are interested in using for three nuclear bombs. Fortunately, the story gets a lot more personal, which I think always makes a movie better. As per usual with Mission Impossible movies, there are a lot of twists and turns. The action is absolutely insane. Fallout corrects the one complaint a lot of people had about the previous films - they save the best scene for last. In the past, the climax never really lived up to the biggest set piece in the film (climbing the Burj Khalifa in Mission Impossible 4, for example), but Fallout delivers. The very moment you don’t think it can get better and more impressive, it does. Even upon the second viewing, I was on the edge of my seat. A lot of this is due to the franchise’s star, Tom Cruise. He’s known for doing his own insane stunts, and some of the stuff he did for this film was crazy. It makes a huge difference seeing Cruise instead of cutaways and stunt doubles. The 4K Blu-Ray looks fantastic, as expected. The limited edition Steelbook is impressive and comes with a small booklet outlining Cruise’s stunts. If you’re like me, you’ll want to ignore this booklet until you’ve seen the movie as not to spoil anything you’re about to see. It includes three ways to watch the film - 4K Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, and digital. I watched the Blu-Ray for my main viewing because of the sound system I have with my projector setup. It looked fantastic in 1080p. I picked a few scenes and played them on my Sony OLED just for reference and it’s a flawless picture. The blacks are true and the colors really pop. My system is a beefy 5.1 and the disc really took advantage of it - the vocals were nice and clear (whether from the center or surrounds) and the explosive action sounded made it sound like I was in a theater. It’s coded in Dolby Atmos, so if you’re lucky enough to have an Atmos setup, this will take advantage of it. The score is my favorite of any Mission Impossible movie. There are plenty of extras here. Making of, stunt explanations, story boards, deleted scenes, and the extras I’m most looking forward to digging into - the commentary tracks. There are a few commentary tracks here - Tom Cruise and director Chris McQuarrie, McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton, and the composer Lorne Balfe to talk about the score. This is my favorite film of 2018, and I highly recommend it. Get the best resolution your system will handle, crank this sucker up, and enjoy.