domtaylor

Oppenheimer has phenomenal performances, cinematography and, for the most part, direction. It also has a superb score by Ludwig Görannson (and it has a lot of score, too - 94 minutes of it to be precise). Also, its use of practical effects is staggering. I have no idea how some of the shots were achieved.

The story is an interesting one, too, but its editing style nearly always kept me at arms length emotionally. The whole film is edited like the world's longest trailer, jumping from scene to scene so quickly that you rarely get chance to feel anything before being thrown into a new environment, timeline or perspective. Nolan seemed to adopt this editing style with his previous effort, Tenet; I wasn't a fan of it then and I'm certainly not a fan of it now. For a man who wants you to not "try to understand it", but to "feel it", this seems like a very strange choice. Yes, there is a lot to cover here but there is also 3 whole hours to cover it. The rapid editing doesn't do the length any favours either; it makes it feel its length because there are so many scenes and so much information is thrown at you in each and every one of them.

Where the film works best is when it actually slows down a little; the whole Trinity test sequence takes its time to build tension and is truly fantastic. The same can be said for a post-Trinity speech scene that really delves into the titular protagonist's psyche. That scene is my favourite of the entire year; its formalistic flourishes (the type of which Nolan typically tends to avoid) are used to perfection and create a really affecting atmosphere. I just wish more of the picture had taken its time to build emotion instead of being more concerned with rapidly throwing information at you left, right and centre. It's a good film for sure, and deserving of the many Oscars that are sure to be thrown its way, but for my money it's not one of Nolan's best.

Finally, a "Part One" that's not afraid to call itself "Part One". There's no Spider-Verse, Fast X trickery here. This one actually feels kind of complete by its end, too - even if there is definitely still more of this story to be told. Anyway...

Dead Reckoning Part One is the seventh instalment in the long-running Mission: Impossible franchise and, while it's not quite as good as Fallout or even Ghost Protocol, it's absolutely remarkable that it is as good as it is. We're seven films in and there are no signs of slowing down. Christopher McQuarrie returns to direct once again, but (like he did last time) makes this one feel distinct enough from its predecessors to fit the franchise's style of changing direction each and every time. After a slightly oddly-paced start, the remaining 135 minutes completely fly by; set-piece after set-piece of the highest calibre hit the screen and never let up. The action is great, it's got a lot of suspense, the characters are all good and overall it's just a blast. Hayley Atwell steals the show as Grace, the best new character to join the series since Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa Faust (who is sort of put in the background to give Grace the chance to shine I guess. Come on, Tom, you can have more than one strong female character sharing the limelight with you surely), and Tom Cruise manages to blow your mind with the things he does for your entertainment once again.

This is seriously one of the best film franchises to ever exist. Sure, Mission: Impossible II is part of it but that's good enough. When the worst in the series is good, the majority are absolutely fantastic, and the best is one of the greatest action films of all time, you know you've got something excellent on your hands.

For the first time in the franchise's history, a director returned to direct another film. I like that the first five Missions had their own unique voice and style to them, but McQuarrie just knows how to make one of these things work.

And, boy, does Fallout work.

Brad Bird laid the foundations for what this series could (and should) be in Ghost Protocol, McQuarrie took those foundations and built on them in Rogue Nation (a great film, but less successful than Bird's effort overall) and then he took the reins again and absolutely perfected the material. This is a perfect action film.

A lot of the story doesn't really make all that much sense and if you stop to think about it for even a second, some glaring plot holes become really obvious. This doesn't matter at all though as, thankfully, you don't get a second to think about it; the pacing is immaculate. 147 minutes of pure, unadulterated action of the highest order. There are fistfights, gunfights, car chases, motorcycle chases, foot chases, helicopter chases, and even a real HALO jump. On top of all that there is espionage, there are twists and turns, there are masks, there's humour, there's suspense, there's a sublime score by Lorne Balfe, there's Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg, Henry Cavill and Sean Harris, Rebecca Ferguson and Michelle Monaghan, Ving Rhames and Alec Baldwin...

Everything about it just works; it's phenomenal. This is the best Mission: Impossible.