Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Tom Cruise is his maniac self in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, the sixth installment in his steady franchise and proof that the actor is spectacularly certifiable. The movie is one “Wow!” moment after another—and proof that the guy shows no signs of slowing down more than half way through his sixth decade. The movie stacks stunt after stunt featuring Cruise doing everything from jumping out of airplanes to scaling cliffs to piloting his own helicopter. It also features Cruise leaping from one rooftop to another and breaking his ankle against a building. That stunt shut down production for weeks but remains in the film in all its bone-breaking glory. Thankfully, the plot is the sort of fun, twisted story that has become the hallmark of this series, so you’ll be interested even when Cruise isn’t risking his life. Yes, there are a lot of “Hey, haven’t I seen that before?” moments—lots of masks being ripped off—but the labyrinthian hijinks still feel fresh overall. Henry Cavill ups his stock worth with a great performance as an agent sent along to shadow Cruise’s Ethan Hunt; Cavill finally gets a chance to really show what he’s made of as an action star. Cruise is sick in the head for a myriad of reasons. Thankfully, one part of his sickness provides for movie stunts like the ones mentioned above. Cruise, in re-teaming with frequent Cruise director Christopher McQuarrie, now the only director to have helmed two M:I films, pulls off his most spectacular cinematic feats yet.