If you’ve waited for the summer blockbuster to arrive, the action is finally here in MI: Fallout.
From every Tom does-his-own-stunts Cruise classic rooftop run to helmet-less Top Gun throwback motorcycle ride, the now quintessential action hero must face harder crashes and crazier action, taller towers and gravity-defying thrills.
Throw a mustachioed Superman in there and the fists of fury will fly.
Now toss in a little romantic tension and the gang of old friends going rogue with Tom yet again in order to diffuse a few plutonium bombs.
Add a chopper chase, stormy parachute drops, street races in Paris, and London tower climbs, and you’ve got a #1 summer film.
It’s a stunt movie fueled by themes of mercy for the innocent, for the weak, for the one and for the many.
It’s a cavalcade of mind-bending feats, each one topping the next. The decent script offers a load of exposition, but enough twists and tension to keep it interesting. The mission, if you CHOOSE to accept it…
“A storm is coming…”
“I am the storm.”
One of Pete’s Dragon‘s fatal flaws had to lie in casting: Karl Urban plays the nicest bad guy, Bentley gives off disinterested dad vibes, Howard sadly looked constipated for most of the film, and Redford must have filmed his short scenes all in about a day.
Sadly the magic of this film was mostly lost in long, streaming dialogue, kid-film slapstick, and overly dramatized pauses. Those lingering gazes of wonder at the empty sky must have made for long days of filming and a lot of hopeful discussions with CG artists. Not even the interspersed narration by Robert Redford himself could heal the dragon’s lackluster character.
Splatter: on FILM 