10 Reasons Mission: Impossible - Fallout Is The Best Ever

2. The Third Act

Mission Impossible Fallout
Paramount

Mission: Impossible - Fallout is an escalating film. Each and every scene builds upon the last, with it only growing tighter and more impactful as the film carries on. Which is a remarkable thing to be able to say about a film that features an unbroken one-take of Tom Cruise jumping out the back of an airplane in the first thirty minutes.

But it is absolutely true because just about everything in the third act of this film is mind-blowing. The film makes the most of its IMAX cameras, filming Hunt and Walker's final showdown entirely in IMAX. This, naturally, features the two of them flying helicopters and Hunt attempting to crash Walker's helicopter to stop him from escaping.

Pretty much every single shot of this sequence is unbelievable. From Ethan climbing up the rope to the helicopter at the beginning to the two of them crashing and then engaging in a fist fight on the side of a gargantuan ledge, it is unreal. All of this is intercut with Luther and Julie attempting to defuse the bomb and Ilsa and Benji fighting Lane, great sequences in their own right, that only add more power to the cuts back to the chopper showdown.

Everything else is filmed in film, so when it cuts back to Hunt and Walker and the aspect ratio of the shots jumps back to IMAX, it feels all the more impactful.

Contributor
Contributor

A film enthusiast and writer, who'll explain to you why Jingle All The Way is a classic any day of the week.