Mission: Impossible – Fallout bathroom fight
Choosing a favorite action sequence in Mission: Impossible – Fallout is like choosing a favorite color of the rainbow: they’re all different, and each contributes to the whole in its own way. The HALO jump supplies the giddy rush of seeing the image expand to fill an IMAX screen, synced to Lorne Balfe’s restless score. The climactic helicopter chase is bone-achingly tense and mildly terrifying. The Paris street chase has Lucy Cork riding a motorcycle. The rooftop chase has Tom Cruise running.
In terms of pure fun, though, it’s the simplest sequence that takes the cake. Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and Henry Cavill’s August Walker corner a weapons dealer in the bathroom of a night club in an attempt to steal his identity, and fisticuffs ensue. What stands out about the scene, other than its close-quarters set-up, is its precision. For the most part, Fallout zips along with improvisational energy (this is by design), but the bathroom fight feels choreographed down to the second, from Ethan and Walker’s positions on either side of the sinks as they ambush their quarry to the use of the pipe. The faint beat of music from the club lends the violence a propulsive rhythm, creating order out of chaos.
The scene is also a master class in how to take advantage of your performers’ physicality. Every maneuver is tailored to fit the specific capabilities of the actors executing them: Cruise is all scrappy instinct, Cavill all brute force, and Liang Yang displays a combination of durability and agility that fully convinces you he could kick both Cruise and Cavill’s asses without breaking a sweat. It’s a feast for the eyes, the ears, and the adrenal glands.