Rating of
3.5/4
Fallout - Review
Matthew Brady - wrote on 07/29/18
“Your mission, should you *choose* to accept it." I wonder, did you ever choose not to? The end you've always feared is coming.”
WOAH!
You know, I normally stay cool and collective when movies with this amount of hype blows up, but f**k it. This freaking lived up to the hype. I mean, wow. Probably one of the best action movies of the year. From start till finish, you’re captivated by the practicality of these action sequences. Never feeling repetitive or boring. Foot chase, car chase, or helicopter chase - It’s going to be awhile for any action movie to top what they did.
This franchise has age like fine wine.
First Things First, the action scenes - where do I begin? Or which scene to talk about. Oh yeah, THE BATHROOM SCENE! Holy sh*t, talk about a white-knuckled hand to hand fight. No dialogue, no music, and no shaky cam whatsoever. Rough and brutal with nothing pretty about it. Also Henry Cavill reloading his arms was the cherry on top. We will come back to Cavill later.
The halo sky dive scene was amazing and nuts, but what’s even more nuts when you find out Tom Cruise did the stunt over 100 times. Along with poor Craig O’Brien, who captured the stunt from the massive IMAX camera. This explains why it was so intense to watch. Of course the helicopter sequence, which could have been 2 hours and 27 minutes long and I wouldn't be bored.
The sound design is really fantastic and really detailed with everything that's going on. You can hear the whoosh when someone throws a punch. Gunshots hitting brick walls or whizz by, brought up the intensity.
Christopher McQuarrie returns as director for the sixth installment and I think he outdid himself. This guy knows how to set up ’the domino’ effect with certain scenes to surprise and make your jaw drop. Masterpiece in film making and shot composition - beautifully done by cinematographer Rob Hardy. While it’s unknown (right now) who will take over directing for the seven movie, but oh boy they got some shoes to fill. I don’t think McQuarrie can top himself. Then again, I said something similar about ‘Rogue Nation’. I will never learn.
And hey, the villains were pretty menacing this time around. A rare thing sometimes in these movies.
Tom Cruise is nearly 60 years old and yet, continues to prove age is just a number. You can hate or criticize Cruise all you want, but you gotta respect someone who puts this much dedication in life threatening situations for the right take. An action star who puts in the hard work. He’s basically killing himself for two hours.
Henry Cavill makes a welcome addition to the franchise as a mustache twirling agent. Cavill is best known for playing superman and made a big name for himself, however the movies themselves failed to meet his success. In this movie, he plays a big bully who isn't afraid to kill on instinct. There’s something deeply unpleasant about him. Every time he walks in frame with this stone cold look adds to the uneasiness. Especially during the fight scenes where Cavill shows off his physicality and fast brutal punches. This is the best I've seen from him. Justice League? Never heard of it.
The team dynamic was excellent and gives plenty of room for character development among the anarchy. Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Rebecca Ferguson are all terrific.
How is the actual story of the film? Well, nothing original just like the previous ones. Elevating on presentation and ties in with events on the other movies - Involving plenty of twist and turns. Some people may have an issue with that which I can understand. The film demands your attention throughout, as references are dropped left and right. The movie builds a lot off the previous film which you have to see or remember about, because if not, then you’re lost.
If I have to pick any issue, it will have to be some of the score. Now don’t get me wrong, I thought the score was good and blends perfectly along with the action scenes, but it did sound familiar. Yeah, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ score. People have already brought this up, so I become more aware when listening. Bit distracting as I had the Every Frame a Printing video on ‘Hollywood Scores & Soundtracks’, in my mind. That’s it really.
Overall rating: Please do yourself a favor and see this on the biggest screen you can. The action, sound work, characters, and acting were all superb. Believe the hype!
