Mission: Impossible is a more consistently entertaining franchise than 007

There have been 6 total Mission: Impossible movies since the original came out in 1996, and I would argue that 5 of them have been great to excellent.  With the exception of the wildly disappointing second installment, these films have set the gold standard for the spy genre.  Yes, even more so than James Bond or Jason Bourne.  For my money (no thanks to MoviePass blacking out all showings of M:I 6), these films top all others in terms of quality and entertainment.  If you compare the best 5 Bond movies and all 5 Bourne movies, The Mission: Impossible stories are tighter, the stunts more extreme, and the entertainment more rewarding.  Mission: Impossible Fallout is no different.  It may be the most exciting M:I movie yet, and after 22 years, this franchise shows no signs of slowing down.

Fallout is a direct sequel to 2015's Rogue Nation, and picks up a few years after the events of that movie.  Ethan Hunt and company (minus Jeremy Renner for some reason) are tasked with picking up the pieces after the downfall of the Syndicate.  Now known as the Apostles, this group of faceless terrorists wants to steal plutonium and finish the Syndicate's work by exploding three nuclear bombs, simultaneously.  It's up to Ethan Hunt and the IMF to stop them before it's too late.  This film doesn't disappoint in any level.  Queue the best theme song in the game... here's 6 reasons why I loved Fallout.

1)  At 56 years young, Tom Cruise proves he's still the king of the action movie hill.  Much has been written about Cruise performing his own stunts for these movies.  His stunts have become iconic.  From the CIA break-in in the first movie, to hanging off the highest building in the world in Ghost Protocol, to breaking in to a plane mid-air in Rogue Nation, Cruise pushes the limits like no one else.  Fallout is no different.  Two scenes really stood out to me.  The first was a motorcycle chase through Paris that would leave Jason Bourne jealous.  And the second is the climactic helicopter chase scene that you have to see to believe.  Cruise actually learned how to fly a helicopter to add to the drama of this chase.  They may have to shoot Cruise into space in the next one to top himself.  Speaking of stunts...

2) The stunts don't take away from the story.  Lost in all of the hullabaloo is the fact that Fallout had a kick ass story that was fun to watch.  It tied together previous films nicely and set up the series for future espionage.  Fallout was probably the closest to the first M:I film in terms of espionage, and I felt like that was a welcome surprise from the more recent action oriented films.  Speaking of espionage...

3) There isn't a more fun movie moment than the M:I mask reveal.  There were so many twists and turns in this one, that just when I thought I had it figured out, they switched it again and again.  I like that after 6 movies, I can still be surprised.  There was a twist early in the film that I won't ruin, but it had me chuckling out loud.  Kudos to the entire team for keeping it fresh and exciting.  Speaking of teams...

4)  The IMF (Impossible Missions Force) team is fantastic!  From Cruise, to Ving Rhames, to Simon Pegg and down the line, there's not a team in movies that works better than the IMF.  They all compliment each other really well.  The newest addition to the team, played by Henry Cavill (Superman himself), was a welcome character to this series.  Speaking of Cavill...

5)  The mustache that ruined the DC Cinematic Universe is displayed in all its glory.  This didn't actually add anything to the film, it's just nice to see Cavill without a weird CGI face that was so distracting in Justice League.  And finally...

6)  Mission: Impossible is a series that knows what it is.  The M:I movies blend the right amount of seriousness while at the same time being completely self-aware.  Just when you think these movies are taking themselves too seriously, there will be a wink or nod to the audience to keep the mood light.  The best part of these moments is that they never take away from the story.  At times, the Bond movies are guilty of being too cheeky in their humor.  I never got that sense in these Mission: Impossible movies.

I'm giving Fallout 3.8 stars out of 4.  It's not the best film in the series, but it's damn close.  It's the most exciting action movie of the summer and a definite must-see.

Ant-Man And The Wasp is a fun escapist movie... even though nothing really happens in it.

Ant-Man And The Wasp is in a weird position in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).  It is being released after Avengers: Infinity War and yet it takes place before the events of that monumental film.  It's a largely self-contained story that seems to be unrelated to the larger events of the MCU.  Yes, there are references to Scott Lang's (the always enjoyable Paul Rudd) role in previous MCU films, but this one shies clear of any references to Thanos and his powerful glove.

This film shows what happened to Scott Lang after he got out of jail at the end of Captain America: Civil War.  He's on house arrest for his role in the battle in that battle royale.  He's trying to go legit once again by starting a security firm.  Michael Pena steals every scene he's in as the CEO of the company.  Stay alert for any time his character has to tell a story.  The only problem is that he can't leave his house... which also tells you why he wasn't fighting alongside his fellow Avengers during Infinity War.   Yes, it's a lame excuse, but I'm OK with it since that movie was overstuffed with superheroes.

Ant-Man And The Wasp focuses on the effort to get Hank Pym's wife (played by Michelle Pheiffer) back from the quantum realm.  There's a lot of scientific jargon thrown into this movie to make it feels like it's smarter than it actually is.  What I love about this is that Scott Lang acts like you and I would during any of these over-scientific lingo scenes.  He's basically just as confused as anyone would be.  His best line that reflects his confusion is "do you guys just put the word quantum in front of everything?"  It's the great comedic timing by Paul Rudd that makes these scenes work.  Evangeline Lilly is also effective as The Wasp in this film.  She's equal parts badass and super genius, and a refreshing addition to the MCU.  Though, her over-affection for Scott Lang seems a little over the top.

In addition to getting back the original Wasp back from the quantum realm, our heroes have to stop The Ghost, a mysterious phasing character who nips at their heels the entire movie.  She's a decent yet forgettable villain that gets a little wasted here.  The true star of this film is the comedy.  There's no doubt these characters have impeccable timing with one another and that's what makes this film so much fun to watch.  I feel that it'll be largely relegated to a forgotten entry to the MCU, and that's OK.  Not every film needs to have the impact of a Black Panther or Infinity War.  Sometimes, you just need a good laugh.

I'm giving Ant-Man And The Wasp 2.75 stars out of 4.  It's a fun yet forgettable romp that doesn't really add much to the MCU.  Stay tuned for a mid-credit and post-credit scenes.  The mid-credit scene ties this film into the events of Infinity War in an interesting way.