10 Reasons Mission: Impossible - Fallout Is The Best Ever

Right in the middle of the film, there is a prolonged chase sequence that is an absolute masterclass in how to maintain sustained tension in action sequences.

Chase sequences have long been a staple of the Mission: Impossible franchise. Heck, when it boils right down to it, just about every action setpiece in a Mission: Impossible film is a chase sequence to some degree. Someone is always trying to capture something or someone by chasing after them.

In other words, car chases and motorcycle chases are nothing new here. Which ups the ante and means that Fallout could not have ever just phoned in a car chase like so many modern action films do. Instead, McQuarrie and the production team went above and beyond to create a symphony of a chase scene.

Ethan and Walker begin the chase in a giant truck, before moving to motorcycle, then to foot, then to boat, then to car. All the while, the sequence has practically no score, working solely off of the diegetic sounds of the vehicles themselves to drive the momentum of the scene, which is expertly edited by Eddie Hamilton.

What makes this all work so well is McQuarrie's insistence on introducing a new action beat for every moment. Whether it is moving from one vehicle to the next, a new challenge presenting itself along the path, Hunt having a wordless intimate moment of anger with Solomon Lane in the passenger seat, or Ilsa showing up trying to stop him, the sequence moves at a breakneck speed and never lets up.