Gonna start a thread here going through Mission: Impossible - Fallout shot by shot in the months leading up to #MI7. Cinemetrics shows Fallout as having 2600 some shots, so this could take a while. Let's light the fuse! #missionimpossible 
1/ After 38 seconds of bongos we cut into this serene scene of Ethan's dream wedding to Julia. Rob Hardy's hazey look creates the perfect dream/nightmare imagery. The urgency isn't lost tho, and the camera quickly pushes in for a tighter shot of the ceremony.
2/ Love the microexpressions from Cruise here as Ethan realizes who's officiating this ceremony. The vows begin to shift here from the usual fare to "to lie, to deceive, to live a double life..."
3/ First real look at Julia. Love how it cuts on Lane saying "to erase her identity". @Lornebalfe's 'Loves Reduced' cue really shines her, and sets the haunting tone of the dream and the stakes of the film.
4/ Love how this shot pulls back, blocking our view of Julia with Lane. "To take away all she has known in a selfish, futile, fleeting attempt to escape your own true self." Love how Lane is representing Ethan's own guilt here.
5-7/ Love the twist on the accepting of the missions notion here. Julia accepts her fate, and Ethan tries his hardest to get her to stop. Already, he's having to face the Fallout of his actions. \
8/ "You should have killed me Ethan." Our first real look at Solomon Lane. Everything so far has covered the backstory from MI3-RN efficiently and set up our conflict from the get go. And Lane is rocking the slicked back hair look, I must say.
9-11/ Love the Sarah Conner moment here for Ethan. Lays out where his character is at in less than a minute. The nuclear explosion effects on him are gnarly to go through frame by frame too. Also fun to note how both this opening and the ending bookend the film with whiteouts.
12/ and Ethan wakes up. On set they struggled to get this set to look cold, and they ended up using the space heater Tom was using between takes. The warm light actually makes it look colder, and we get a really rad lens flare as the camera tracks left.
@MissionFilm 13/ Prompted by a knock at the door, we see the doorway as Ethan moves down the stairs, gun drawn. Love the atmosphere here. The dingy barn like setting, the ominous strings from the score. It doesn't really feel like we're out of the nightmare.
14/ Love the silhouetting of Ethan as he comes down the stairs, gun changing hands. Reminds me of Rogers Deakins work on Skyfall. This shot always sticks in my mind from the trailer. Also love how run down this place looks, a nice contrast from the other M:I openings
15/ Close up on Ethan's gun on the doorway. Great sound design here, a really nice thunk. Ethan's ready to blast whoever's on the other side of the door. Hard to remember what my first viewing thoughts, but hard to expect we're in for the briefing and not an action scene
16/ And here's our messenger. Rain pouring. Shrouded in shadow, like a wraith. Love how half of the frame is just blackness, and how we can still see Ethan's gun hand to remind us of the tension. "Fate Whispers to the Warrior" he says.
17/
"A Storm is Coming."
"and the Warrior whispers back:"
"I am the storm."
The M:I theme finally kicks off as Ethan steps into the light. Great lens flair, and love the classic spy passphrases, which are a nice throwback. The score also uses these phrases as track titles.
"A Storm is Coming."
"and the Warrior whispers back:"
"I am the storm."
The M:I theme finally kicks off as Ethan steps into the light. Great lens flair, and love the classic spy passphrases, which are a nice throwback. The score also uses these phrases as track titles.
18-19/ The deliveryman hands Ethan the package. Love how ordinary this is. Love the cobblestone streets and the rain on the yellow package, very mundane.
20-22/ The deliveryman leaves into the rain. One wonders where he's off to next. Does he only deliver IMF briefing books? Is he hired on a contract basis? We'll never know, but I love how these characters, like the record shop girl in RN, adds a sense of realness to the world
23-24/ Ethan opens the package, love how he undoes that little tassel. Again, very mundane. And he pulls out a copy of Homer's the Odyssey. More on that in a second. Also gonna shout out the old wooden card table Ethan's using, reminds me of one my Grandparents had
25/ Homer's Odyssey. On the commentary Cruise mentions this reflecting how they wanted Fallout to feel like an epic, with huge emotional stakes. Much like Odysseus, Ethan's faced a long journey throughout the series. Both end with them returning to their wives (or ex with Julia)
26/ Hate the pin prick thingy tho! I'd be a terrible IMF agent. I do love the shallow focus on the shot, and that we linger for just long enough to see the pricker move back into the book, which is a nice detail.
27/ I never really noticed Ethan's middle name here, Ethan Matthew Hunt, which was dropped during the wedding scene in M:I-3. I like the green light on the left and the red of the finger prick (red light green light?)
28/ Like the way the projector springs up. And love how analog this briefing is. Like the record from RN, the disposable camera in M:I-3 or the tapes from the DePalma movie, this is a tape player in a book!
29-30/ "Good evening Mr. Hunt. The anarchist Solomon Lane." The viewing of the briefing on the brick wall is nice, and the voice of the briefing is none other than Fallout director @chrismcquarrie! Love his dulcet tones here, hard to imagine Baldwin doing the VO here.
31/ Ethan shifts uncomfortable at the sight of Lane, as the briefing recaps the events of Rogue Nation and his capture. In the two years Lane's been locked away, his mission has not been forgotten.
32/ I really like how they use the same photos of Syndicate operatives here. You can spot both the opera assassins and the Bone Doctor among the faces.
@MissionFilm 33/ The CIA's been on the hunt for Syndicate operatives. Look closely at the left and can spot ol' mustached Henry Cavill/August Walker/John Lark himself, which is a great detail i'd missed on the first few viewings.
34/ The Apostles. A biblical reference that adds another level to the epic feel of Fallout, and suggests the devotion to his ideals Lane inspires. Also just a really cool name for a group of bad guys. Love the wide here, that little space heater is still tucked in the background.
35/ Love this little pause in the briefing for Ethan to take in the gravity of that information. Also really appreciate the out of focus rain pattering on the window behind him, just layering on that atmosphere.
36/ A smallpox outbreak in Kashmir, wonder what that could be about... This seems like another throwaway in the opening but I love how it plants the seeds for the finale in the third minute. Sets up our stakes, and the presence of WHO (World Health org) at the site
37/ The projector for the briefing allows for a lot of great shots with those shafts of light, but this shot that moves into a frame filling lens flair takes the cake imho (I suspect many of these tweets will involve praising Rob Hardy's lens flairs)
38/ We're introduced to John Lark. What a great bad guy name, even the White Widow remarks on it. Dig the red text with Lark, and love the blank head filler photos. Lark's identity is taken by a few people in Fallout (bathroom decoy, Ethan, finally Walker), so no face is fitting
39/ Here's Lark's manifesto, and missing nuclear weapons specialist Delbruuk. Again the red text helps highlight the important info. And having both the manifesto and Delbruuk in the same shot helps link them in our minds, which is a great set up for the hospital gambit
40/ And now the Plutonium cores. Lark and the Apostles are working together, and with Delbruuk they can make portable nukes. Fun fact, N.E.S.T (Nuclear Emergency Support Team) is a real thing, tho I imagine they're not often dealing with missing plutonium (I hope)
41-43/ This cut here is essential for me. Ethan won't lose a single person on a mission, and these shots enforce that. These nukes could go off anywhere and "countless millions" are in danger. It sets up our huge stakes, and how difficult Ethan's choice will be in the next scene.
44/ "Your mission, should you choose to accept it.."
Love the change in the strings here, starts ramping up into that Mission theme we all know and love
Love the change in the strings here, starts ramping up into that Mission theme we all know and love
45/ "Is to prevent the Apostles from acquiring plutonium, using any means at your disposal."
Like the focus on any means, fits nicely with Sloane's suggestion later that Ethan should've let his team die for the plutonium.
Like the focus on any means, fits nicely with Sloane's suggestion later that Ethan should've let his team die for the plutonium.
46/ "If you or any members of your IMF team are caught or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. Good luck Ethan." This part of the briefings always gets me pumped. Also have always enjoyed the formal 'Good Evening' and 'Good Luck' in these briefings
47/ "This message will self-destruct in five seconds."
Love how the strings stop right as the light goes out: adding to that moment between this and the tape exploding.
Love how the strings stop right as the light goes out: adding to that moment between this and the tape exploding.
48/ Love how you can hear the rain on the windows in the pause before self-destruct, never noticed that before. And what a great pfff of smoke that is, great sound design.
(also, not that we're complaining, it's about 4.4 seconds between saying "seconds" and the tape exploding)
(also, not that we're complaining, it's about 4.4 seconds between saying "seconds" and the tape exploding)
49/ And our final wide of the Mission briefing. Love the silhouetting again on Ethan, the way the smoke moves as he closes the book cover, and that space heater still trucking away in the corner.
50-51/ And the smoke makes a smooth transition into the next scene in Berlin. Love the 1-2-3 set up here, moving from a single of Benji, to Ethan, and moving around as Benji talks about his uneasiness. Reminds me of those Spielberg oners, dynamic and effective.
52-53/ "You don't sound relaxed, Luther does he sound relaxed to you?"
"He sounds terrified."
Love these moments, great reintroductions for Benji and Luther. Glad they added these moments in reshoots, test audiences were losing some of the humor and comradery of the team
"He sounds terrified."
Love these moments, great reintroductions for Benji and Luther. Glad they added these moments in reshoots, test audiences were losing some of the humor and comradery of the team
54-55/ "Please, I'm not terrified I just have a bad feeling is all." Benji worried, Luther monitoring in the van, same old same old for the IMF. I'd be these camera here are the same little stick-on ones used before the Lane breakout and in their London safe house
56-57/ "it's entirely possible to be relaxed and extremely uneasy at the same time." Benji is our audience surrogate, and I love his refusal to back down from an oxymoron.
58-61/
"No it's not."
"You do it all the time."
"No I don't"
"Yes you do!"
Love Cruise's delivery on "No I don't", the two of them sound like middle schoolers arguing on the playground.
"No it's not."
"You do it all the time."
"No I don't"
"Yes you do!"
Love Cruise's delivery on "No I don't", the two of them sound like middle schoolers arguing on the playground.
62/ "No he doesn't." The three of them acting like an old married couple is really fun. I like how McQ finds the perfect balance between moments like these amid the drama of Fallout, which is definitely the most serious of the M:I films
63-66/ "I'm supposed to believe that you are perfectly relaxed, right here, now, in a dark alley, waiting to buy black market plutonium from a psychopath."
"Benji, I won't let anything happen to you."
There's another assurance from Ethan nothing will happen to his friends
"Benji, I won't let anything happen to you."
There's another assurance from Ethan nothing will happen to his friends
67-68/ "See Benji? You're perfectly safe."
"That's easy for you to say you're in the van."
"Well you wanted to be in the field, tough guy"
Good banter between the two IMF tech guys. Nice to chart Benji from deskie in M:I-3 to total field agent here, with Luther in the van.
"That's easy for you to say you're in the van."
"Well you wanted to be in the field, tough guy"
Good banter between the two IMF tech guys. Nice to chart Benji from deskie in M:I-3 to total field agent here, with Luther in the van.
69/ "And tonight Luther, I'd like to be in the van"
This exchange is a nice setup for the reversal in a moment where Luther is kidnapped and used as bait.
"He's here."
Fallout has an ongoing visual motif of hallways, lots of one perspective shots like these. More on those later
This exchange is a nice setup for the reversal in a moment where Luther is kidnapped and used as bait.
"He's here."
Fallout has an ongoing visual motif of hallways, lots of one perspective shots like these. More on those later
70/ Another great lens flair from Hardy. Ominous as the car slowly arrives with the Plutonium. On the @empiremagazine podcast McQ talks about this film looking like it was shot by Gordon Willis (who shot the Godfather), an it looks like a 70s crime movie. Shadowy and dangerous
71/ Really love how those background lights on the columns line up with the henchman's gun. It's a little thing, but it helps guide the eye to the vocal point.
72-73/ Love the little exchange and nod between these two. How far we've come from the Kremlin and Benji's babbling. McQ wanted to be sure they weren't assuming audiences to have seen other M:I movies, and moments like these add to sense of trust between these characters
74-76/ "Have that money ready Luther" I like how you can see a coffee cup on Luther's desk. I do miss his mustache though, his mustached look in M:I-2, 3, and RN is my fav look for him. He does keep his stylish hats from RN though which is great.
77-78/ Right as the bag is zipped the lights go out. Comms are dead. Suddenly the van doesn't seem so safe.
79/ And Luther has a gun in his face. This van moment was moved late in the edit, it was originally before Ethan says "have that money ready". Moving it makes him seem less oblivious. It adds tension bc Ethan/Benji think its all okay as the exchange begins, and we know it's not
80/ And here is Caspar Phillipson as 'The European' (the only name he's given is in the credits). His slow walk up is classic bad guy entrance material, and @Lornebalfe's score starts to creep back in with more eerie strings
81/ "Are we finally gonna do thing, or not?"
These wide, over the shoulder shots really showcase the location, and are helping establish geography. We know that those blue lights are on one end, there's a side tunnel, and where our bad guys came from.
These wide, over the shoulder shots really showcase the location, and are helping establish geography. We know that those blue lights are on one end, there's a side tunnel, and where our bad guys came from.
82/ "I have survived in this business with the help of a voice in my head. This voice is never wrong. And whenever I meet you, it tells me the same thing."
This guy opens with his bad guy philosophy to making deals. As they say in the Incredibles, "you got me monologuing!"
This guy opens with his bad guy philosophy to making deals. As they say in the Incredibles, "you got me monologuing!"
83/ "What's that?" Love Ethan's sly response here. Earlier he asked if they were finally gonna do this, so I wonder what his other meetings with the European were like. Were they always meeting in run down Berlin tunnels?
84/ "Nothing."
There's just something special about Ethan Hunt that no one can quite put their finger on. Nobody does it better (to steal a phrase from Bond). I think Hunley's 'living manifestation of destiny' in RN is the closest anyone has come to describing Hunt.
There's just something special about Ethan Hunt that no one can quite put their finger on. Nobody does it better (to steal a phrase from Bond). I think Hunley's 'living manifestation of destiny' in RN is the closest anyone has come to describing Hunt.
85-86/ Eyes dart as tensions rise. Benji's certainly playing things more cool than he used too, but you can still tell he's uneasy.
87/ "I'm here to do business. Tell the voice to flip a coin."
One of my favorite lines. It ties to the M:I "we'll figure it out!" mantra, as all missions are a coin toss away from failure. In a few moments Ethan himself has to make the hard choice that sets the stage for Fallout
One of my favorite lines. It ties to the M:I "we'll figure it out!" mantra, as all missions are a coin toss away from failure. In a few moments Ethan himself has to make the hard choice that sets the stage for Fallout
88/ I like how we hold here to get a full reaction from him before he calls up the Plutonium. Watching his eyes you can see him mentally flipping a coin about Ethan. Also, scrolling through his IMDB Caspar has played JFK in multiple movies and I can't unsee JFK in his face now
89/ Originally the European had a longer scene with Ethan, circling him in a 360 degree shot talking about Lark. McQ said it was "an extra minute we didn't have" so it went. You can't tell watching the scene now. With that his henchman comes up with a container that holds:
90/ Benji gets a moment to catch his breath. Notice the framing here. Throughout Fallout characters are framed into one half of the frame with the other half showcasing the depth of the location.
91/ Our three Plutonium cores. Here we can hear what @Lornebalfe calls the baddie (say it like bah-ddie) theme, with those two thundering notes actually being from the Lalo Schifrin 'The Plot' theme from the original M:I series (a tune Mission films know by heart by now)
92-93/ And cut to Ethan for his reaction. The stakes are real here with the Plutonium now in play. The European is watching Ethan's reaction very closely, one wonders what that voice in his head is telling him now
94/ Benji starts testing the Plutonium to ensure they're the real mccoy. The opening section of the film runs 16:23 until the title sequence starts, so time was of the essence. This moment almost got cut, being one of pure information over emotion.
95/ Benji's phone is acting as a Geiger counter. Fallout isn't nearly as gadget heavy as other entries, but I like the inventive uses of the IMF's phones here. Also a great rack focus from the cores to the Geiger counter as the sound spikes
96/ "What's that?" The European asks what the audience is asking over a nice wide here. Very nice, clean staging here. Every character and action is clear to see.
97/ "This is a beryllium rod, which is causing a reaction with the plutonium inside the core."
@eddiehamilton fought to keep this moment in the scene, saying that audiences like the science lesson and being taught about how the plutonium cores work. I'm glad they left it in
@eddiehamilton fought to keep this moment in the scene, saying that audiences like the science lesson and being taught about how the plutonium cores work. I'm glad they left it in
98/ I really like how the henchman holding the cores looks at the European here. From his reaction it doesn't look like he knew what he was really dealing with in that case
99/ and while the screencap doesn't show it, look at this shot in motion and you can see the henchman over the European's shoulder take a few steps back after hearing about the plutonium. Guessing these henchman didn't take many science classes before signing up for this exchange
100/ Ethan's eyes move to check in on Benji. The strings in the score are still hanging around, not dominating the sound but adding tension. Also, shot 100! We're about 7:51 into a 2hr20min film, so we got a long way to go. Thank you to everyone following for the support so far!
101-103/ Benji confirms "that's them," and the European asks for the money. There's a sting in the score (I don't know what instrument but it sounds like the strings) as it cuts to Ethan, reminding us of the trap sprung on them, almost like it's trying to warn him and Benji.
104/ "Bring the money." This is the first time this two shot is used in the sequence, and it shows A) How Luther isn't coming up with the money B) How vulnerable and exposed they are. Great reactions from Cruise and Pegg as they slowly realize everything is not alright
105/ Love the way the European cocks his head. Like, "really? this is what you're trying to pull on our Plutonium deal?" For only a few moments of screen time he makes quite the impression. With Delbruuk in the following scene there's a great band of smaller villains besides Lane
106-109/ And the score starts to kick in for action music. On his commentary @Lornebalfe talks about making sure the music doesn't dominate the dialogue during conversation scenes, but as we're shifting into a gunfight it starts to rise and shine
110-111/ "We're gonna need that money, Luther" I love how polite and insistent Ethan still is here. He's trying to stay calm and believe in Luther even until the final second before the situation explodes into violence as the score crescendos.
112/ "Kill them." The henchman raises his gun and in a nice reversal *he* gets shot and drops to the ground. You might've thought the European had kidnapped Luther, but now it's clear there's a third party after the Plutonium
113/ Both Benji and Ethan's reactions are great fun to watch frame by frame as they flinch at the surprise gunfire. On a few frames in this shot you can also see the muzzle flash over Ethan's left shoulder
114/ And the bongos are in full force for the action here. @Lornebalfe's enthusiasm for the bongos is a delight, and the score features 12 bongo players using a variety of styles (from hand drumming, to drumsticks, to bamboo sticks!) The bongos add a timeless sound to the score
115/ As the European shouts something, (it sounds like "Yield" to me?) he gets shot and falls. Going frame by frame I caught the actual gunshot appearing on his shirt. Gonna miss the European, he had a lot of spunk and a great chin.
116/ Another set of great reactions from Benji/Ethan as the European is shot. I love how wide Simon Pegg opens his mouth, very funny
117-118/ Henchman number 3 is dispatched and the Plutonium case falls to the ground. In my googling I found that Plutonium is super dense and a case of 3 cores that size would weigh 300 pounds give or take, so Benji must've really worked out to throw that case in a moment
119/ "I got it!" Benji races and scoops up the case. Like all the shots in this sequence, these wides really showcase the location and make the geography clear. Here we see the case, Benji/Ethan and where the bad guys are firing from. We also know which sides each go to for cover
120/ And Ethan and Benji find cover behind columns on opposite sides of the corridor. Again with the geography, there's no overcutting to show where everyone is. It's all in the wide, and that helps the action movie quickly and clearly for the audience to follow
121-122/ Another moment between Ethan and Benji as they check if the other is okay. Benji's hair is nicely ruffled, and you can see buildings with lit windows behind him. In my mind this alley is walled up on all sides, I never noticed those buildings behind in the background
123-125/ "Luther, do you copy? Luther! Luther, come in."
They both try peeking their heads around the corner but the gunfire boxes them in. The framing keeps us in their perspective, with an obscured view of the alley in front of them and they search for Luther and the shooters
They both try peeking their heads around the corner but the gunfire boxes them in. The framing keeps us in their perspective, with an obscured view of the alley in front of them and they search for Luther and the shooters
126/ "Luther's not here right now."
The sudden cut in to their comms is a great moment. And the calm of this voice. Originally it was a Russian voice, but at Cruise's suggestion the voice was changed because 'the Russians are always the bad guys'
The sudden cut in to their comms is a great moment. And the calm of this voice. Originally it was a Russian voice, but at Cruise's suggestion the voice was changed because 'the Russians are always the bad guys'
127/ "What can the Apostles do for you--"
And the music has dropped out for this moment of dialogue. The dialogue here was adjusted late in the game, clarifying that it was in fact the Apostles stealing the Plutonium and not left anonymous for audiences
And the music has dropped out for this moment of dialogue. The dialogue here was adjusted late in the game, clarifying that it was in fact the Apostles stealing the Plutonium and not left anonymous for audiences
128/ "--Hunt?"
Love how it cuts as the Apostle says Hunt. Love the ways he says it too, with pure villainous disgust. The music starts to rise again with those tense strings.
"What do you want?"
"You're boxed in, Hunt."
Love how it cuts as the Apostle says Hunt. Love the ways he says it too, with pure villainous disgust. The music starts to rise again with those tense strings.
"What do you want?"
"You're boxed in, Hunt."
129/ On the commentary with Cruise @chrismcquarrie says this shot looks "straight outta West Side Story” and you can see what he's getting at by putting shots from WSS side by side (no pun intended) with Fallout. What a pair of beautiful looking movies
130-131/ "You're boxed in Hunt. Give us the plutonium and walk away."
"Benji, get the car."
"I don't think I can do that."
Benji's still a little clueless, even as a fully fledged field agent.
"Benji, get the car."
"I don't think I can do that."
Benji's still a little clueless, even as a fully fledged field agent.
132/ "Benji..."
Look at how wide the lens is on this shot, you can see how it's subtly distorting the vertical lines of the columns and the edge of the street. Little things you don't notice as these shots last for just a few seconds in the film.
Look at how wide the lens is on this shot, you can see how it's subtly distorting the vertical lines of the columns and the edge of the street. Little things you don't notice as these shots last for just a few seconds in the film.
133-135/ "... Get. The. Car."
Benji's reactions here are so fun. Love the way he wags his finger like he's just had a major breakthrough. We also have a brief close up of him setting down the case with the Plutonium, to keep the audience aware of where it is.
Benji's reactions here are so fun. Love the way he wags his finger like he's just had a major breakthrough. We also have a brief close up of him setting down the case with the Plutonium, to keep the audience aware of where it is.
136-138/ Benji whips out his phone and fires up the car. Again with the gadgets, fun but not too crazy here. The phone/remote car bit has been done by Bond before but works here as a small set piece. Glad they don't overdo it though.
139/ We get a brief moment with the car just chilling, before the headlights turn on (we get an awesome lens flare which I'd never made not of) and the camera pans as the car takes a wide turn down the alley towards Benji. You can see bullets bouncing off it too as it drifts
140/ Another wide highlighting our location, and another sick lens flare as the car drifts its way towards our heroes. Really like how the percussion of the score and the Apostles' gunfire is blending together in the sound mix here, they sound of a piece
141/ And we get Benji's perspective on the alley as the car corners. It pans/pulls out for a nice wide. I wonder how this was shot, I assume someone was driving the car, but where Tom Simon and the actors for the dead henchman there at the same time? Could be a digital composite
142/ And the car door opens itself for Ethan. Very cheeky. Feels right out of Ghost Protocol actually, has that Brad Bird kinda playfulness. Doesn't feel the same in Fallout though, the tone here (while still having humor) is much more serious.
143/ And Benji throws over the Plutonium to Ethan.
This was originally more of a hero moment, with Benji throwing the case deliberately after Luther had been brought out at gunpoint. It was a nice moment for Benji, but it raised problems.
This was originally more of a hero moment, with Benji throwing the case deliberately after Luther had been brought out at gunpoint. It was a nice moment for Benji, but it raised problems.
144/ The length made the scene more complicated, it allowed more time for audiences to ask questions and check out of the scene emotionally. What's most important about the scene is Ethan's choice. So they moved the throwing and the car moment to before Ethan's choice was set up
145/ Ethan does a little staggering back movement here which is interesting to me. Maybe a holdover from when this moment was during his decision about Luther. Either way it expresses the gravity of the situation as we hear the Apostle say:
"We'll make you a deal, Hunt."
"We'll make you a deal, Hunt."
146/ (1/2) "Give us the plutonium..."
146/ (2/2) "and we won't kill your friend."
Split this shot into two to highlight the compositions. We move with Ethan as he looks around the corner to see Luther at gunpoint. The camerawork puts us right in his shoes, and the silhouetting makes Luther stand out in the distance.
Split this shot into two to highlight the compositions. We move with Ethan as he looks around the corner to see Luther at gunpoint. The camerawork puts us right in his shoes, and the silhouetting makes Luther stand out in the distance.
147/ "Don't you do it, Ethan! Not for me!"
Ving Rhames is just the best, isn't he? He adds so much weight and heart to Luther. Hard to believe he almost died in the first movie. After joking to DePalma about how black characters always die, he's become essential to the series
Ving Rhames is just the best, isn't he? He adds so much weight and heart to Luther. Hard to believe he almost died in the first movie. After joking to DePalma about how black characters always die, he's become essential to the series
148-149/ This is the crux of the movie. Ethan's choice. The Apostles are taking what makes Ethan a hero and using it against him. In the first M:I he says to Krieger "zero body count", and one wonders if his aim for no lives lost goes back to his team getting killed in that film.
150/ This is one of my fav shots in the movie. We start in Ethan's POV, the camera moving from the Plutonium, to the car, to the escape route, and pulling out with a rack focus to show Ethan thinking. Pure visual storytelling. Combining what could be 4 different shots into one
151/ A cut to Benji, who (because that throwing the case moment was moved earlier) helpless in this moment. The decision between saving Luther and escaping with the Plutonium is solely on Ethan here
152/ "I'm gonna count to three. One."
Love how this Apostle always stays in shadow, and how this frame fits him, his gun, and Luther into the same composition. You can see Luther's breath in the cold as he looks around, you can see him wonder if he's really about to die
Love how this Apostle always stays in shadow, and how this frame fits him, his gun, and Luther into the same composition. You can see Luther's breath in the cold as he looks around, you can see him wonder if he's really about to die
153/ "Two."
The horns are blaring, the strings are rising. You can catch Ethan licking his lips as he gets ready to take action.
The horns are blaring, the strings are rising. You can catch Ethan licking his lips as he gets ready to take action.
154/ "Luther... I'm sorry."
The horns crescendo as Ethan makes his choice. The wording here is great bc while it makes it sound like Ethan's gonna bolt with the Plutonium, he's really warning Luther he's gonna fire at his bulletproof vest (which I'd imagine isn't super fun)
The horns crescendo as Ethan makes his choice. The wording here is great bc while it makes it sound like Ethan's gonna bolt with the Plutonium, he's really warning Luther he's gonna fire at his bulletproof vest (which I'd imagine isn't super fun)
155/ And Ethan turns and fires. This moment reminds me of Speed, which is the definitive "shoot the hostage" moment. On the commentary Cruise and McQ commend Ving falling take after take on his knees, which aren't great. What a trooper, and he really sells that getting shot fall
156/ Not a lot of commentary here, just a cool looking shot. Tom Cruise's intensity is unmatched, and going frame by frame for frames with a muzzle flash is super fun.
157/ A really cool frame, lasts on screen for just about a second. This shot sticks out in my mind bc it was the first screencap McQ posted on his IG from Fallout, a few weeks before the teaser dropped. I remember looking at this shot and trying to imagine what the movie would be
158/ Benji run out of cover to back up Ethan. Love how there's no hesitation for him to jump right into the fray.
159/ Ethan runs forward as Benji goes for one of the henchman's rifles. Gonna use this shot as a place for some BTS photos on Instagram from McQ, DP Rob Hardy, and on set photographer Chiabella James. Amazing how different these locations look without the same lighting
160/Close up on Benji scooping up a rifle, you can really see the detail on the brickwork on the ground here. And up in the background you can still see those blue lights and Ethan running up to Luther, always with that geography
161/ And the reverse, with Ethan running past camera and Benji running up with cover fire. Really cool X here with the flare from that car behind Benji. The strings and bongos have begun to race again as Benji steps out, the action cues on the score are excellent throughout
162/ And they run up to check on Luther. Love the way those overhead lights are reflecting on the ground there, helps make a kinda box of light around Luther in the middle of frame. You can also notice two Apostles scurrying away in the far background
163/ Ethan checks on Luther. The lighting here rules, Ethan's face is basked in shadow. This looks right out of a comic book, big Alex Maleev Daredevil energy.
164/ And Luther's wearing a bulletproof vest. A first in the M:I films if I'm not mistaken? You can see the fired bullets rolling down Luther's chest as Ethan opens his shirt, great detail. Love the way he places his hand on Luther's chest, a real sign of their brotherhood
165/ "I'm sorry."
A line Ethan repeats throughout the film, roughly 10 times by my count. This moment specifically mirrors the traffic cop scene in my mind, as these are two of the most crucial scenes about Ethan's decisions and his regrets.
A line Ethan repeats throughout the film, roughly 10 times by my count. This moment specifically mirrors the traffic cop scene in my mind, as these are two of the most crucial scenes about Ethan's decisions and his regrets.
166/ "I didn't know what to do."
A line added in ADR (additional dialogue recording) to help clear up Ethan's intentions with shooting Luther. You can hear those gorgeous strings from the "Loves Reduced" cue start up here, right as Ethan says he's sorry.
A line added in ADR (additional dialogue recording) to help clear up Ethan's intentions with shooting Luther. You can hear those gorgeous strings from the "Loves Reduced" cue start up here, right as Ethan says he's sorry.
167/ And Ethan helps Luther up. Love Benji covering them in the background, and I'd never noticed Luther coughing here before. Two gunshots isn't gonna be great for your chest, bulletproof vest or not.
168-169/ "You okay?"
Great reverses here, the two ends of this alley have such a different look, from the blue lights to the tungsten. Love those flares over Luther's face too, just such a unique look this film has.
Great reverses here, the two ends of this alley have such a different look, from the blue lights to the tungsten. Love those flares over Luther's face too, just such a unique look this film has.
170/ "I should be dead."
In an effort to make the opening of the movie shorter, moments like this were initially cut too short. But as Cruise says "it doesn’t matter how long it is, it matters how long it feels”. A shorter movie would feel longer bc the pace wouldn't be right.
In an effort to make the opening of the movie shorter, moments like this were initially cut too short. But as Cruise says "it doesn’t matter how long it is, it matters how long it feels”. A shorter movie would feel longer bc the pace wouldn't be right.
171/ "We should all be dead."
Love this hero shot for Benji, again the kinda hero shot you wouldn't see for him in GP or RN. The light on those windows in the background is also nice, gives it a unique look.
Love this hero shot for Benji, again the kinda hero shot you wouldn't see for him in GP or RN. The light on those windows in the background is also nice, gives it a unique look.
172/ "Why aren't we?"
A crucial moment they have to let breathe for audiences, cutting too fast kills it. In this moment Cruise says they want you to feel something's up, to feel Lane behind everything. As Ethan pauses those "Loves Reduced" strings take center stage.
A crucial moment they have to let breathe for audiences, cutting too fast kills it. In this moment Cruise says they want you to feel something's up, to feel Lane behind everything. As Ethan pauses those "Loves Reduced" strings take center stage.
173-175/ "Where's the Plutonium?"
A hard moment to sell, bc it can easily look like our heroes are stupid enough to let the plutonium get away. Per McQ, “All movies rely on the careful application of bullshit”
A hard moment to sell, bc it can easily look like our heroes are stupid enough to let the plutonium get away. Per McQ, “All movies rely on the careful application of bullshit”
176/ Love how Tom turns here so all three of their faces are in the light. The three of them are posed like it's on a poster. And a great horizontal flare is cutting across the frame. Beautiful shot that lasts for maybe a second.
177/ As @chrismcquarrie says, "They had to lose the plutonium. I could spend a lot of time doing it or a little time doing it. I’m thinking of you (the audience)”
Also, we want to get into the next scene with Delbruuk in the Hospital, which is more fun.
Also, we want to get into the next scene with Delbruuk in the Hospital, which is more fun.
178/ And those ominous drones of the baddie theme join the strings here as they run to see that the Apostles have taken the Plutonium. Love moments like these that let the music shine.
179/ "It's gone." A tough shot to figure out how to shoot, how do you show that the plutonium isn't there? They shot it a few different ways, settling on a crane shot that pulls out from the space the Plutonium was. Love the high note the score settles on, highlights the despair
Not a shot but gonna highlight the dissolve here. One of only three in the movie by my count. An old editor adage @eddiehamilton says in the commentary: "If you can't solve it, dissolve it." It works perfectly here to bridge into the scene of Ethan's worst fear coming 'true'
180/ (1/3) This shot is a long and important one, so breaking it up into chunks. The camera pulls out from the TV to a close up on Ethan in a roughly 40 second shot, which is probably the longest non-HALO-jump shot in the film that I can think of.
180/ (2/3) Wolf Blitzer talks us through the attacks. Three nuclear explosions, at the Vatican, in Jerusalem, and in the holy city of Mecca. The death toll is "catastrophic". This moment plays even on repeat viewings when you know it's all a set-up. For Ethan, it's not fake.
180/ (3/3) While nuclear attacks haven't happened yet, they could happen any minute because of his choice. His regret is real. And for audiences, even if they realize it's a ploy later, for half a minute you think the M:I franchise has gone to hell and you're in for a dark movie.
181/ And here's Nils Delbruuk. In the @LightTheFusePod interview w/ McQ he said his name is taken from the brain in the jar in Young Frankenstein. He was originally Hans Delbruuk just like in YF, but was later changed to Nils to be less obvious (McQ's godson is also named Nils)
182/ And he soon finds he's handcuffed to his hospital bed. There's a little rack focus to the cuffs as he raises his hand. I like this little chunk of time we get with just Delbruuk. It's only 20ish seconds but it gives him personality before we get into the meat of the scene.
183/ "The question now is who would attack all three of these holy sites? And why?"
Wolf continues, and the more detail we get the more it feels real. Also starting to set up the geography of this set, with the tv at the end of Delbruuk's bed. The bait is laid and the trap is set
Wolf continues, and the more detail we get the more it feels real. Also starting to set up the geography of this set, with the tv at the end of Delbruuk's bed. The bait is laid and the trap is set
184/ Love the way he starts to sit up as he realizes what the news is saying. Gorgeous lighting here, creating a perfect sunset approximation that still makes sense when you realize it's all fake later. And there's what I presume is another IMF agent as the nurse behind him
185/ Kristoffer Joner just kills it as Delbruuk. This is such a unique take on a bad guy learning his plan to kill millions worked. It's glee, but with terror. He's emotional about what he's done, it's not just mustache twirling villainy. It looks like he's on the verge of tears
186/ And a wide of the hospital room as Luther walks up. Love the silhouette here, makes Luther look like Indiana Jones. And it's a little thing, but the gate they have to open to get to Delbruuk adds to that 'boxed in' feeling we're supposed to have.
187/ And the reverse angle as the gate opens. Love how Luther is leading here as opposed to Ethan, which is a nice touch one might not expect. It allows Ethan to sit with his guilt more as Luther takes lead. The good cop/bad cop routine is a classic for a reason
188/ It's a little thing, but the way he mutes the TV here reminds me so much of the way he places that stone into the prison wall in GP. After working with Brad Bird Cruise continues to use these motions in his films that are very Buster Keaton-silent comedy influenced. Love 'em
189/ And Luther even takes his hat off for Delbruuk. It might just be him playing up the 'good cop' for Ethan's 'bad cop', but I feel like this is a genuine Luther move. He's a polite and dapper man, even when talking to a deranged nuclear scientist.
190/ I'd suspect this shot was used to cut the scene down. We go from Luther: "Dr. Delbruuk" in the last shot to Ethan: "We know who you are" on this shot off screen. Starting lines OS on a no dialogue shot can smooth over a cut chunk of scene. Maybe @eddiehamilton can confirm?
191/ "We read the manifesto, we found your lab."
The first cut of this scene was 9 minutes (final is just under 6). The longer this scene went, with Delbruuk asking more questions, the more time it gave audiences to ask questions and start to figure out the ruse.
The first cut of this scene was 9 minutes (final is just under 6). The longer this scene went, with Delbruuk asking more questions, the more time it gave audiences to ask questions and start to figure out the ruse.
192-194/ Some cool frames as Luther throws the dossier on Delbruuk onto his bed. Love the way the light glares off those laminated pages in shot 193, and Delbruuk's kinda smug 'these guys have a file on me' look in shot 194.
195/ (1/2) And he looks at their dossier, and ends up looking at Lark's manifesto. If you look closely on Delbruuk's copy you can see lines underlined, and “They are not who you thought they were” written on the side. Reading the manifesto is also interesting, very dark stuff
195/ (2/2) And as far as I can tell from this instagram pic McQ posted on set, this is @chrismcquarrie's cameo in the movie! (beyond his voice in the mission briefing and the as of yet unfound second voice cameo). We love a good director hand cameo.
Here's a cool thread with more director hand cameos. Including James Cameron, Peter Jackson, Rian Johnson, and many more.
https://twitter.com/NickdeSemlyen/status/1088522232689840128?s=20
196-198/ "There has never been peace without first a great suffering. The greater the suffering, the greater the peace."
Lark's manifesto is in exact opposition to the IMF. And these knowing looks between Luther and Ethan as the manifesto become the focus of their talk rule
Lark's manifesto is in exact opposition to the IMF. And these knowing looks between Luther and Ethan as the manifesto become the focus of their talk rule
199/ "See, this will unite them. Hmm? When they read this manifesto, they'll all understand."
It's a little thing, but I like how there are real paper dossiers and files in these movies. There's a good amount of tablets too, but the paper files give it that sweet retro spy feel
It's a little thing, but I like how there are real paper dossiers and files in these movies. There's a good amount of tablets too, but the paper files give it that sweet retro spy feel
200/ "Nobody's gonna read that manifesto, ever. I can promise you that."
The way they bring up the manifesto (not too often) and how it will never reach an audience really work into selling Delbruuk and the viewer on their ruse. Their manipulation feels organic and not too winky.
The way they bring up the manifesto (not too often) and how it will never reach an audience really work into selling Delbruuk and the viewer on their ruse. Their manipulation feels organic and not too winky.
201/ A quick shot of Luther. Notice how the TV with the news is constantly being framed in these shots. It's even in reflections on medical equipment in Delbruuk's shots. McQ is making sure you're not forgetting about that TV throughout the scene by keeping it in the frame
202/ "What day is it? How long have I been here?"
Originally there was some more dialogue with Delbruuk asking if they're CIA, FBI etc with Ethan saying “We’re the last resort.”
"The Last Resort" does turn up on the score for Fallout as the cue after they finally defuse the bombs
Originally there was some more dialogue with Delbruuk asking if they're CIA, FBI etc with Ethan saying “We’re the last resort.”
"The Last Resort" does turn up on the score for Fallout as the cue after they finally defuse the bombs
203/ "What's the last thing you remember?"
"I was driving. Someone hit me."
Slow push in onto Delbruuk as he remembers. Love the pauses he takes to try and remember what happened, love his wavering delivery. And if you hadn't noticed it before, that cut on his head stands out now
"I was driving. Someone hit me."
Slow push in onto Delbruuk as he remembers. Love the pauses he takes to try and remember what happened, love his wavering delivery. And if you hadn't noticed it before, that cut on his head stands out now
204/ "That was two weeks ago."
"Two weeks?"
"Two weeks."
McQ said this ruse is based of the original M:I show episode "Operation Rogosh" (S1 episode 3) where the IMF use a similar fake room ruse. There, their target thinks it's been 3 years since he was in a car accident.
"Two weeks?"
"Two weeks."
McQ said this ruse is based of the original M:I show episode "Operation Rogosh" (S1 episode 3) where the IMF use a similar fake room ruse. There, their target thinks it's been 3 years since he was in a car accident.
205/ Love Delbruuk's mile long stare here. He's like "shit was I out for two weeks?" And while I mentioned it before, here you can see the tv reflected in the monitor on the right of frame. It's little things like that that make going through a movie like this so satisfying.
206/ And here's Delbruuk's phone, the lynchpin of the ruse, sporting some excellent graphics from @BLIND_LTD. Next time you watch Fallout pay attention to all the graphics in the film, their work is finely detailed and adds so much to the film.
207/ "This is yours, isn't it? It's how Lark communicated with you."
"....Lark?"
Really fun just how much Delbruuk shifts uncomfortably at Lark's name. His poker face is awful, and the fact that he's not a spy shows through here.
"....Lark?"
Really fun just how much Delbruuk shifts uncomfortably at Lark's name. His poker face is awful, and the fact that he's not a spy shows through here.
208-210/ "John Lark. We know all about him."
"You know nothing."
We go from a wider to a tighter shot on Ethan as we cut back, taking time to linger on his reaction. This is a different angle on Delbruuk than we've seen, as it's the first time him and Ethan are talking directly
"You know nothing."
We go from a wider to a tighter shot on Ethan as we cut back, taking time to linger on his reaction. This is a different angle on Delbruuk than we've seen, as it's the first time him and Ethan are talking directly
211/ Notice the camera above Ethan, when the walls fall you can see that feed being monitored by agents.
And see how Luther's eyes are framed by that light overhead. It naturally frames his face so your eyes are drawn to him in the shot. Great framing/directing.
And see how Luther's eyes are framed by that light overhead. It naturally frames his face so your eyes are drawn to him in the shot. Great framing/directing.
212-213/ If you close your eyes and just listen to this scene, you can hear a lot of good sound work in the background. Distant conversations, footsteps, the heart beep on the monitor, and even a few planes passing overhead. That and the lack of music here make it feel realistic.
214/ "Shut up."
Ethan is tipping into full Les Grossman mode. And you buy it! Even if the nukes haven't gone off, his anger and desperation is coming from a real place. And angry Tom Cruise is a very fun to watch Tom Cruise. He yells so well.
Ethan is tipping into full Les Grossman mode. And you buy it! Even if the nukes haven't gone off, his anger and desperation is coming from a real place. And angry Tom Cruise is a very fun to watch Tom Cruise. He yells so well.
215/ "We don't care about you. We want Lark."
It's a nice line because it shows that while Delbruuk is important now, he's ultimately a small cog in a larger machine being orchestrated by Lane. And wow, the way the light bleeds in this shot is just extraordinary.
It's a nice line because it shows that while Delbruuk is important now, he's ultimately a small cog in a larger machine being orchestrated by Lane. And wow, the way the light bleeds in this shot is just extraordinary.
216/ "What if we make a deal?"
Again look at the framing here. Luther is over on the right side of frame, and it's no accident that the TV is again featured so prominently in this shot while he floats a deal to Lark.
Again look at the framing here. Luther is over on the right side of frame, and it's no accident that the TV is again featured so prominently in this shot while he floats a deal to Lark.
217/ "No, there's no deal, Luther. Step outside."
Ethan attacks Delbruuk, Luther restrains him. On the commentary McQ and co point out that this is where many begin to realize something's up, but even this isn't too unrealistic. Ethan's desperate and you buy him starting to snap
Ethan attacks Delbruuk, Luther restrains him. On the commentary McQ and co point out that this is where many begin to realize something's up, but even this isn't too unrealistic. Ethan's desperate and you buy him starting to snap
218/ A look of pure fear from Delbruuk. I would have a similar reaction if Cruise went at me like that. This also doubles as a reaction from the audience, because we don't want to see Ethan have to use these means to save the world. The IMF are better than that.
219/ "Give me five minutes with this guy."
The original idea for Fallout was Ethan having to make dark choices posing as John Lark to get a Mission done. While they went away from that concept (McQ: "It just wasn't Mission") moments like this show what that movie could look like.
The original idea for Fallout was Ethan having to make dark choices posing as John Lark to get a Mission done. While they went away from that concept (McQ: "It just wasn't Mission") moments like this show what that movie could look like.
220/ Same look from Delbruuk. Can still see that TV reflection in the background. These quick shots of Delbruuk really sell him and the audience buying into the ruse, as he's genuinely rattled here.
221/ "Ethan, I can't let you do that. That's not who we are."
"Then maybe we need to reconsider that."
What an iconic moment from that perfect teaser trailer. We don't wanna believe there's conflict between them, and the scene's edited closely to not show it's all a performance.
"Then maybe we need to reconsider that."
What an iconic moment from that perfect teaser trailer. We don't wanna believe there's conflict between them, and the scene's edited closely to not show it's all a performance.
222-23/ "What if they read the manifesto on the air?"
"What? You can do that?"
"We can do it with a phone call."
Delbruuk buys into it right away. Again, keeping the scene short and tight removes time for the audience (or Delbruuk) to sit and think about what's happening.
"What? You can do that?"
"We can do it with a phone call."
Delbruuk buys into it right away. Again, keeping the scene short and tight removes time for the audience (or Delbruuk) to sit and think about what's happening.
224-25/ "Well, if he reads Lark's manifesto..."
The rare POV shot in the movie here, as Delbruuk looks at the TV and the camera slowly pushes in. Also poor Benji, he's been reading the news for like 3 minutes to no-one while the TV's been muted.
The rare POV shot in the movie here, as Delbruuk looks at the TV and the camera slowly pushes in. Also poor Benji, he's been reading the news for like 3 minutes to no-one while the TV's been muted.
226/ Ethan saying "No." here sounds ADR'd to me, it doesn't seem to match up exactly to his lips. Maybe they did it to make it sound clearer, or maybe I'm just overthinking it! Either way a great performance from Cruise, love how his nose flares in anger.
227/ "...I'll give you the passcode."
Love Delbruuk's here. He might've been slightly sympathetic at the beginning of the scene, but now he's just delighting in Ethan's misery. Good bad guy stuff.
Love Delbruuk's here. He might've been slightly sympathetic at the beginning of the scene, but now he's just delighting in Ethan's misery. Good bad guy stuff.
228/ And Luther has to fight to keep Ethan back. A unique angle here, we're basically on Delbruuk's shoulder in a pseudo-POV shot, really puts you in his shoes. And love how loud the sound is when he lunges and hits the bed on the cut into this shot, really startling.
229-31 "Think, Ethan. Think of the greater good, please."
"Yeah, you do that."
Delbruuk is fun here, a real airy, kinda catlike laugh as he goes full on cackling villain here. I like how he gets to be sassy and throw insults at them too.
"Yeah, you do that."
Delbruuk is fun here, a real airy, kinda catlike laugh as he goes full on cackling villain here. I like how he gets to be sassy and throw insults at them too.
232/ And Ethan shakes loose of Luther's grip. The way they struggle and hold each other here feels very brotherlike, and I like how aggressive and angsty Tom gets while throwing Ving's arm off his shoulder.
233/ A small moment here with Ethan and Luther as they stare each other down and catch their breadth. I like how the camera is positioned so we can still catch Ethan's face here. And that TV still framed prominently in the background.
234/ And Delbruuk's eating it up. Having him be so delighted and happy at the anarchy here makes the rug pull and his confusion/disappointment all the sweeter at the end of the scene.
I wonder what happens to Delbruuk after this, just prison I guess?
I wonder what happens to Delbruuk after this, just prison I guess?
235/ Ethan takes out his phone to show Luther, like "See? I'm doing it", very passive aggressive. And while the music had dropped out when they entered the hospital room, the strings slowly begin to creep back in here as he begins to make the call. Building anticipation
236/ Delbruuk's smile fades as he realizes they're serious about reading the manifesto. It's a nice moment in his performance that helps Delbruuk feel like a real person, not just a stock villain
237/ "Sir. No, he won't cooperate."
Lorne calls this music cue a “flutter”, as we feel that the IMF has lost. Originally the 'Loves Reduced' cue was here, but changed late in the game to keep the pace of the scene up.
Lorne calls this music cue a “flutter”, as we feel that the IMF has lost. Originally the 'Loves Reduced' cue was here, but changed late in the game to keep the pace of the scene up.
238/ There's a very subtle nod from Luther here at Ethan as their plan works, which Delbruuk can't see. It doesn't give away the game yet but it's a nice detail. (on the commentary @eddiehamilton and McQ talk about loving moments like these you can't catch on your first viewing)
239-40/ "Yes, sir. If we read the manifesto on the air. I'm sorry, sir."
I'm guessing Ethan's calling Hunley (if he's actually calling anyone at all). I like how slowly he sits down too, adding that gravitas to the phone call. Delbruuk's expressions get even more astonished here.
I'm guessing Ethan's calling Hunley (if he's actually calling anyone at all). I like how slowly he sits down too, adding that gravitas to the phone call. Delbruuk's expressions get even more astonished here.
241/ This little motion here as he lowers his phone really sells the 'we've lost' energy. Like I mentioned earlier with him shutting off the tv, since working with Brad Bird Cruise has really excelled in these silent, wordless motions throughout his films.
242/ Luther turns up the volume on the TV for an increasingly overwhelmed Delbruuk. Nice little flair over Luther's elbow there from the windows. I like how we stay in Delbruuks's perspective here as the manifesto is read, we're (maybe) buying the ruse with him
243/ "Stand by. I'm told we're about to get some additional information."
At this moment on my first viewing, even though I was catching onto the ruse, I thought this was the real Wolf Blitzer. And note how more rising strings join into the score as Wolf is handed the manifesto.
At this moment on my first viewing, even though I was catching onto the ruse, I thought this was the real Wolf Blitzer. And note how more rising strings join into the score as Wolf is handed the manifesto.
244/ Delbruuk sits up as his name is mentioned. Watch Luther in this shot, he's keeping a close eye on him to make sure he buys it. Ving Rhames is the best at making these subtle moments play without overdoing them and tipping the scene's hand.
245/ "I've been asked to read this manifesto in its entirety."
A small push into the TV as he begins to read the Manifesto. @wolfblitzer is really great in this scene, hard to imagine it without him. Also, I saw it pointed out to McQ that the TV is @ 5:03 AM in the whole scene.
A small push into the TV as he begins to read the Manifesto. @wolfblitzer is really great in this scene, hard to imagine it without him. Also, I saw it pointed out to McQ that the TV is @ 5:03 AM in the whole scene.
246/ A strong piano cue on this cut to highlight his despair. Ethan's body language really sells the scene. Even though it's a dialogue heavy one, the visuals are strong enough you'd get everything you need watching it silently.
247/ As Delbruuk takes this in, there's disbelief, and an expression that that looks like pride to me. He's proud that the suffering he's helped cause will help bring the world "toward the ultimate brotherhood of man." Sick stuff, but more great work from Kristoffer Joner
248/ "Well it's not gonna help you now."
Look at Luther in this shot, you can see him look over at Ethan, tense up, and relax ever so slightly as Delbruuk unlocks the phone. And love how arrogant Delbruuk is here, he's loving rubbing their 'defeat' in their faces
Look at Luther in this shot, you can see him look over at Ethan, tense up, and relax ever so slightly as Delbruuk unlocks the phone. And love how arrogant Delbruuk is here, he's loving rubbing their 'defeat' in their faces
249/ "What's done is done."
A cut on action as Delbruuk's hand falls. And a final close up of Delbruuk being all smug before the rug is pulled out from under him. The music has been continuously building and you can hear it getting close to reaching its crescendo.
A cut on action as Delbruuk's hand falls. And a final close up of Delbruuk being all smug before the rug is pulled out from under him. The music has been continuously building and you can hear it getting close to reaching its crescendo.
250/ Ethan slowly looks up to meet Delbruuk's gaze as he waits for Luther to make sure they got the info on Lark. You can see him thinking about what Delbruuk said, and I'd bet he's getting that "What's done is done when we say it's done" comeback ready for later.
251/ Luther goes and plugs in the phone. Not much to say for this shot, so let's talk about how McQ hates using temp music, so the film was temped in editing using pieces @Lornebalfe wrote early on in production (pieces like 'Loves Reduced' which was over this scene originally)
252/ And the graphics on Luther's decoder are by the great team @BLIND_LTD. Looking closely you can see communications between Delbruuk and Lark, and the server in Iceland they're traced to that Hunley brings up in the next scene.
253/ "Did we get it?"
This line is straight out of the opening of the DePalma mission, with Claire asking Ethan after their mousetrap works. @chrismcquarrie has said it was a case of unintentional line stealing, and I love it as a callback to the original.
This line is straight out of the opening of the DePalma mission, with Claire asking Ethan after their mousetrap works. @chrismcquarrie has said it was a case of unintentional line stealing, and I love it as a callback to the original.
254/ More great @BLIND_LTD graphics, with Delbruuk's phone bringing up the bomb designs that Benji uses to figure out how to defuse them later in the film. These are clear graphics that help tell the story efficiently, and they're on screen for maybe 6 seconds. Great work.
255/ "We got it."
Love Luther's excited, hushed tones (which don't alert Delbruuk) here as they succeed in their mousetrap. Great performance choice from Ving. Also a cool little sound effect with the decoder here sifting through the bad guy data on the phone.
Love Luther's excited, hushed tones (which don't alert Delbruuk) here as they succeed in their mousetrap. Great performance choice from Ving. Also a cool little sound effect with the decoder here sifting through the bad guy data on the phone.
256-57/ A small, final Leone-style faceoff between them as Ethan looks up to Delbruuk's grin, which we'll see for the last time in this shot. And Delbruuk's wheezing laugh is really great, love how it's not a trite villainous cackle.
258/ "Go."
And the music, which has been building for over a minute, drops out. The pivotal moment.
“We’re still in Ethan’s nightmare, until this moment it’s all Ethan losing… and then he says 'Go' and now the Mission: Impossible movie starts” - @chrismcquarrie
And the music, which has been building for over a minute, drops out. The pivotal moment.
“We’re still in Ethan’s nightmare, until this moment it’s all Ethan losing… and then he says 'Go' and now the Mission: Impossible movie starts” - @chrismcquarrie
259/ And the lights go out, right on the cut with a sudden sound. As a bonus, here's a shot from DoP Rob Hardy's Instagram showing the lighting rigs for the scene, which we can see (most of) as the walls fall in a moment. Love how theatrical and dramatic the reveal is here.
260/ Ethan rises as the walls of the room fall. Great parallel visual action. There's a double cut on the action, in the last frame of this shot the walls are lower than they are in the start of the next shot. When watching it's seamless, and heightens the impact of the action.
261/ And the walls are down (they're on hinges too, which I just noticed). Love that this looks like they're on a studio soundstage, which adds a nice meta level to the movie. And you can see Benji/Blitzer walking off screen on the TV. This move is such a power play.
262/ A similar wide to shot 186 when they first enter the room. They're using a really wide angle lens on this shot, notice the fish eye curving effect happening on the doorway and the ceiling, to really give you a sense of the façade of the room.
263/ Another wide to show the studio space they're in. You can see some IMF agents here at the left, monitoring the room, and the CNN stage and cameras in the deep background.
The M:I theme starts picking up here, with “Bongos, obviously" - @Lornebalfe on his commentary track.
The M:I theme starts picking up here, with “Bongos, obviously" - @Lornebalfe on his commentary track.
264/ And Delbruuk is just shaking in disbelief. His world has been shattered. Compare this shot to the same angle but inside the room, the whole temperature of the scene as changed from warm to cool as the situation has calmed down. Great stuff.
265/ "Did we get it?"
"Of course we got it."
Our trio. Love how we can still see Delbruuk's face and reaction in this shot. And @wolfblitzer gives a really fun performance as Benji, as we realize he's been in a mask! Great slow ripping sound on that mask reveal too.
"Of course we got it."
Our trio. Love how we can still see Delbruuk's face and reaction in this shot. And @wolfblitzer gives a really fun performance as Benji, as we realize he's been in a mask! Great slow ripping sound on that mask reveal too.
266/ Delbruuk’s full body reaction to the mask reveal are probably the closest to what a normal person's reaction would be, as he's never seen a Mission: Impossible movie. He’d think they’re really ripping their faces off (to steal from a great John Woo film).
267/ (1/2) Here's the Wolf Blitzer mask they used on set (that's Simon Pegg giving the finger to on set photographer Chiabella James). Notice the markers on the mask for VFX tracking. A gift mask was also given to @wolfblitzer for appearing in the film.
267/ (2/2) Benji gets to use a mask! Scenes were cut from GP and RN of him using one, for it to finally happen in the opening here. This also helps not telegraph the second mask gag with Benji. And he still has the voice chip on so we get Wolf's voice, which is always fun.
268/ "I don't understand. The attacks didn't happen?"
Having Delbruuk question what happened helps the audience catch up if they haven’t already that it's all been a ruse. And its fun to see Delbruuk squirm and realize he’s been played like a fiddle.
Having Delbruuk question what happened helps the audience catch up if they haven’t already that it's all been a ruse. And its fun to see Delbruuk squirm and realize he’s been played like a fiddle.
269/ (1/2) This little side bet, passing of money moment (Benji bet they'd get it, Luther bet against) is lifted directedly from Karl and Theo in Die Hard.
These little moments add so much to the movies and characters (and I'm glad I saved @chrismcquarrie's tweet from xmas '18)
These little moments add so much to the movies and characters (and I'm glad I saved @chrismcquarrie's tweet from xmas '18)
269/ (2/2) "The car accident you were in, that was an hour ago."
"I was driving the other car."
Love Luther and Benji's delight at telling Delbruuk how they've conned him, their faces are great. The music is intensifying here with the strings as we get ready for the titles.
"I was driving the other car."
Love Luther and Benji's delight at telling Delbruuk how they've conned him, their faces are great. The music is intensifying here with the strings as we get ready for the titles.
270-71/ “What’s done is done when we say it’s done.”
The mantra for Ethan and the IMF, and the mission (if you'll pardon the pun) statement of the movie. They'll do all they can to prevent a doomsday.
“This poor flute player could hardly breathe” - @Lornebalfe on his commentary
The mantra for Ethan and the IMF, and the mission (if you'll pardon the pun) statement of the movie. They'll do all they can to prevent a doomsday.
“This poor flute player could hardly breathe” - @Lornebalfe on his commentary
272/ Ethan injects Delbruuk (with the same device used later in London). Originally “we passed out with his point of view” and faded to black per McQ, but it's a stronger cut with the injection going straight into the fuse lighting. Keeps the energy and the pace up.
273/ And the fuse is lit. Here starts the amazing title sequence by the folks @FilmographLA, who also did the title sequence and curtain call on RN. For posterity sake I'm calling the whole title sequence shot 273, and I'll be going through some cool moments and not every frame.
273/ First couple shots. These titles, like all of the Mission films, has very quick cuts that tease the events of the film without giving much away, just like the original show did. Fun to go frame by frame through the sequence to see what flies by so fast in roughly 45 seconds
273/ Here's a fun triple cut matching the action with Decoy Lark, Isla, and Ethan all flipping or rolling in different action scenes. There's a number of these little match cut sections in the sequence.
273/ The entire sequence was designed around the idea that it wasn't just the fuse burning, it was as if the film itself had caught fire. Really fun seeing how that concept is implemented, like the fire originating from the action of Ethan smashing the Lark Decoy into a column.
273/ These flame streak transitions are ridiculously cool, and they add so much energy to the title sequence. Also love how unique each shot is, the flames are running down the Paris streets around the Arc de Triomphe!
273/ These shots are some of my favorites, with the flames moving as if they were affected by the wind and speed of the bikes. Also a match cut to a shot of Ethan that is in the actual chase scene, but mirrored! (more likely the title sequence shot was mirrored for the match cut)
273/ This looks like Ethan's trying to outrun the flames as they circle around him. And that panning shot makes another wipe into the White Widow and her butterfly knife.
A similar fire closing in shot with Ilsa on her bike. And as a bonus, here's a clip @Lornebalfe shared of the brass recording session on the main titles for Fallout. Love the big, brassy, John Barry sound of it all. Such a great score.
https://twitter.com/Lornebalfe/status/1021091241247813632?s=20
273/ And this was easily my favorite discovery going through the title sequence frame by frame, Ilsa is throwing fire through the screen! Such energy for a shot lasting only 9 frames.
273/ Another match cut section with our IMF team all quickly aiming or firing their guns. We even get a side angle of Ethan's quick draw in Paris that isn't in the actual scene in the film.
273/ More cool shots with the truck and Paris chase. Fun how unique each shot is, some have circling burns, lines running across or through the frame, and just the feeling that the flames are closing in around the IMF.
273/ Love how Ethan's diving into the flames from the HALO jump, and the car drifting into the transition to Ilsa is another fantastic high energy move. These shots are so interesting you hardly notice the billing on the other sides of these frames.
273/ A brief glimpse of Julia from Ethan's dream, and I love the way the fuse reappears for a few frames as Ethan hurls that chair through the office window, as if that chair caused an explosion.
273/ More Ethan getting chased by the flames through the London foot chase, and we even get the side angle of Tom's ankle breaking jump in the film (the jump scene uses the overhead shot, and the curtain call credits uses the front angle at the end of the film)
273/ And among the coolest images in the opening titles, the long line Ethan falls down and catches gets lit and turns into the fuse.
273/ We get another nice closeup of the fuse running before we finally get to our title. Like the sequence, it's on fire. Sparks and embers everywhere. And right before we cut the flames pick up and engulf the titles, which adds to the chaos of this great sequence.
273/ The ending of the title cue on the score is interesting. As @Lornebalfe says he put the melody in half time, with the bass in double time. McQ had the idea to have the theme resolve by going down three steps, which adds drama and weight to this epic entry in the franchise.
274/ And here's the return of Alec Baldwin as Alan Hunley, as of now the only returning secretary of the IMF (until Kittridge returns in #MI7). He was a fun addition to the franchise in Rogue Nation and I'm glad he returned for Fallout.
275/ Love these car shots where they start wide and crane in so we can see Cruise driving. This shot is just like the ones in the car chases, but this one kinda gets lost in the shuffle because it's not in an action scene. Appreciate how the same techniques are used.
276/ Another cool low angle track in shot, where we get a rare car title card wipe. @eddiehamilton experimented and threw it in and it stuck. Cool trumpet licks on the score over strings playing a version of the M:I theme, in one of my favorite cues in the film.
277/ "That phone you unlocked led us to a server in Iceland where we managed to decrypt a communique between John Lark and this woman:"
And so begins our second briefing, this time in a walk n talk. Everything is moving forward in this movie, there's rarely time to sit and talk.
And so begins our second briefing, this time in a walk n talk. Everything is moving forward in this movie, there's rarely time to sit and talk.
278/ "Alana Mitsopolis, activist and philanthropist, whose charity work has earned her the nickname the White Widow."
Again, love the real dossiers. The manila envelopes with real pictures adds such a classic spy feel to the scene. And its our into to the WW and her brother Zola.
Again, love the real dossiers. The manila envelopes with real pictures adds such a classic spy feel to the scene. And its our into to the WW and her brother Zola.
279/ "It's all a front for her real trade: arms dealing, money laundering. Extensive political connections provide her with protection. Lark and the Widow are meeting tonight..."
Here's some BTS shots of this scene from the Blu ray, the light looks much different on the airfield.
Here's some BTS shots of this scene from the Blu ray, the light looks much different on the airfield.
280/ "to negotiate delivery of an unspecified package, which we can only assume is our missing plutonium."
That line about assuming plutonium is an ADR addition (watch scenes for lines playing over characters backs, getting a shot like this is useful to add lines in ADR)
That line about assuming plutonium is an ADR addition (watch scenes for lines playing over characters backs, getting a shot like this is useful to add lines in ADR)
281-82/ "They'll make contact in a private lounge at the Grand Palais in Paris during her annual fundraising event."
Ethan flipping over the image of the Widow to see the Palais connects the two, in addition to the dialogue. Also gives us a visual of the Palais for the HALO jump.
Ethan flipping over the image of the Widow to see the Palais connects the two, in addition to the dialogue. Also gives us a visual of the Palais for the HALO jump.
283/ "The details are in the file. If Lark isn't there by midnight, the Widow will leave and sell the package to the highest bidder."
The setup for the next chunk of movie are set. McQ talks about bringing those small background lights out to enforce that dusky look of the scene.
The setup for the next chunk of movie are set. McQ talks about bringing those small background lights out to enforce that dusky look of the scene.
284/ "Which gives you two hours from now to find Lark."
All these gorgeous violet hues were brought out in color timing, which gives a beautiful dusky look. In a few shots I'll compare this scene to shots in the trailer, you can see how the color timing affects to look of a scene
All these gorgeous violet hues were brought out in color timing, which gives a beautiful dusky look. In a few shots I'll compare this scene to shots in the trailer, you can see how the color timing affects to look of a scene
285/ "Sir, I think there's something you need to know. I don't-"
A moment of doubt for Ethan and his choice. Hunley stops him before he finishes, but Ethan's regret about the plutonium is clear. Millions could die because he saved Luther. How do you deal with that?
A moment of doubt for Ethan and his choice. Hunley stops him before he finishes, but Ethan's regret about the plutonium is clear. Millions could die because he saved Luther. How do you deal with that?
286/ "You had a terrible choice to make in Berlin: Recover the plutonium or save your team. You chose your team, and now the world is at risk."
Lil recap (useful info they used in the trailer) but I really like how different of an IMF director Hunley is. He understands Ethan.
Lil recap (useful info they used in the trailer) but I really like how different of an IMF director Hunley is. He understands Ethan.
287/ "Some flaw deep in your core being simply won't allow you to choose between one life and millions."
Fallout is the first M:I to really try and figure out who Ethan Hunt is. This is a clear distillation of everything he's been about since his team died in the first Mission.
Fallout is the first M:I to really try and figure out who Ethan Hunt is. This is a clear distillation of everything he's been about since his team died in the first Mission.
288/ "You see that as a sign of weakness. To me, that's your greatest strength."
It's what separates Ethan from others. He's concerned most with keeping those he loves (and the world) safe. I love Hunley making sure Ethan knows that sticking to that is not a failure on his part.
It's what separates Ethan from others. He's concerned most with keeping those he loves (and the world) safe. I love Hunley making sure Ethan knows that sticking to that is not a failure on his part.
289/ "It also tells me I can count on you to cover my ass. Because coming over here from the CIA was a lateral move,"
A couple of lines here that function to recap their relationship from Rogue Nation, and while this scene is about information it's also about their friendship.
A couple of lines here that function to recap their relationship from Rogue Nation, and while this scene is about information it's also about their friendship.
290/ "...some say a step down. But I did it because of you. Don't make me regret it."
They understand and back each other. This was also shot before Hunley's fate and had been decided on, and that line about regret has more weight because of his eventual death later.
They understand and back each other. This was also shot before Hunley's fate and had been decided on, and that line about regret has more weight because of his eventual death later.
291/ And Ethan takes a short moment to let that sink in.
After Hunley's line “don’t make me regret it” there were more lines telling Ethan to find out who stole that plutonium in the first place, introducing a subplot if they needed it, and was cut because it wasn't.
After Hunley's line “don’t make me regret it” there were more lines telling Ethan to find out who stole that plutonium in the first place, introducing a subplot if they needed it, and was cut because it wasn't.
292/ With footsteps being heard over the cut, we're introduced to Sloane and Walker. This hallway was built at that airstrip (at no small expense) so their intro could be like Lee Marvin's in Point Blank (1967), of which McQ and DP Rob Hardy are big fans.
https://twitter.com/vashikoo/status/1233898672322015232
293/ @ImAngelaBassett, one of greats, as Erika Sloane. An amazing addition to the franchise, I do wonder what she'll be up to in #mi7. She enters the scene with power and stride. Also love the score here by @Lornebalfe, the bongos/percussion accentuating their steps.
294/ And here's Henry Cavill as August Walker, with a more casual pace and checking his watch. Looking dapper in that suit too.
(fun fact: August Walker is the real name of actor Nicky Katt, and was used as a placeholder by McQ and was never changed)
(fun fact: August Walker is the real name of actor Nicky Katt, and was used as a placeholder by McQ and was never changed)
Here are photos of them filming this hallway scene. First one is from the blu ray, second from @chrismcquarrie's instagram. Fun comparing the more neutral look on set with the warmer look in the finished film. Also lets appreciate the great Peter Wenham production design.
And, for the first time thus far, I get to talk deleted scenes. At the end of the Hallway scene Sloane was originally stopped by a security guard. While he recognizes her, he still says he still needs to see ID. Sloane takes the badge, hands it to Walker, and keeps walking.
Walker looks at the badge and says to the guard: “Enjoy Afghanistan private”
Test audiences found it mean. "There's a difference between tough and mean" and so they cut it. It was a 10 second scene that was just making Sloane dislikeable.
(pic from @eddiehamilton's editing room)
Test audiences found it mean. "There's a difference between tough and mean" and so they cut it. It was a 10 second scene that was just making Sloane dislikeable.
(pic from @eddiehamilton's editing room)
295/ "Make the call."
The arrival of Sloane and Walker adds a conflict to the second briefing, with Ethan and Hunley meeting their foils. Also, next to the door there's a notice in both German/English, which sells this as an airstrip in Berlin (and not England where it was shot).
The arrival of Sloane and Walker adds a conflict to the second briefing, with Ethan and Hunley meeting their foils. Also, next to the door there's a notice in both German/English, which sells this as an airstrip in Berlin (and not England where it was shot).
296/ "Shut 'em down."
Again, notice those little lights on the top of the hangar behind the C-17 that help sell that it's dusk, and the sun's about to set. Also, look at Henry Cavill's shoulders here. Superman indeed.
Again, notice those little lights on the top of the hangar behind the C-17 that help sell that it's dusk, and the sun's about to set. Also, look at Henry Cavill's shoulders here. Superman indeed.
297/ Hunley and Ethan notice the C-17's engines die and turn to see trouble coming their way. I like how Hunley has his overcoat draped over his arm. In the background there are little pockets of soldiers walking around, adding depth and some subtle movement to the shot.
298/ "It may be your mission, but this is the CIA's plane. It doesn't take off without my say-so."
A wide moves into an over the shoulder as Erika walks up to meet Hunley. Simple, effective blocking. Like how Erika is center framed, allowing us to see Walker and Hunley too.
A wide moves into an over the shoulder as Erika walks up to meet Hunley. Simple, effective blocking. Like how Erika is center framed, allowing us to see Walker and Hunley too.
299/ "We don't have time for this."
And Hunley starts to hash out the details with her. This shot is also framed so we see Ethan in the background, but the scene isn't about him and Walker yet.
And Hunley starts to hash out the details with her. This shot is also framed so we see Ethan in the background, but the scene isn't about him and Walker yet.
And here's a comparison between two shots from the first teaser trailer and the film. What a difference the finished color timing makes to scene. The trailer is more blue and closer to how it looked on the day. Such a different mood without those violet shades over the runway.
300/ "I have a team in Paris ready to grab Lark as soon as he leaves the Palais. A G5 standing by to rendition him to Gitmo, where a waterboard is waiting."
I like how the two different methods of the IMF and CIA come head to head here. Theatrics vs brute force.
I like how the two different methods of the IMF and CIA come head to head here. Theatrics vs brute force.
301/ "Spend 24 hours we don't have to pull a confession we can't trust from a man we haven't positively identified? No. We need reliable intelligence, and we need it now."
Fun bit of dialogue here. Baldwin really makes it sing, and it plays to his sarcastic strengths.
Fun bit of dialogue here. Baldwin really makes it sing, and it plays to his sarcastic strengths.
302/ "The IMF is Halloween, Alan. A bunch of grown men in rubber masks playing trick-or-treat."
Love how she says trick-or-treat. Provides a nice callback for Walker in London. This is a plausible reaction to the IMF from real govt officials. She's in Hunley's position from RN.
Love how she says trick-or-treat. Provides a nice callback for Walker in London. This is a plausible reaction to the IMF from real govt officials. She's in Hunley's position from RN.
303/ "And if he had held on to the plutonium in Berlin, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"And his team would be dead."
Our first cut to Ethan here as Sloane critiques his choice as an agent. She doesn't see what Hunley sees in him, she sees Ethan Hunt as a liability.
"And his team would be dead."
Our first cut to Ethan here as Sloane critiques his choice as an agent. She doesn't see what Hunley sees in him, she sees Ethan Hunt as a liability.
304/ "Yes. They would. That's the job."
Her entire philosophy in just 6 words.
After Cavill's fist reload, the most iconic moment from the first teaser. Bassett just kills these lines, and it's a scathing counterpoint to Ethan's ideals. Agents should follow orders to the end.
Her entire philosophy in just 6 words.
After Cavill's fist reload, the most iconic moment from the first teaser. Bassett just kills these lines, and it's a scathing counterpoint to Ethan's ideals. Agents should follow orders to the end.
305/ "And that's why I want one of my own men on the scene."
This scene is fun because these are “the two power brokers, and their players behind them. They’re negotiating the fate of the world, right here, who’s going, it’s their pawns, their players.” - Tom Cruise
This scene is fun because these are “the two power brokers, and their players behind them. They’re negotiating the fate of the world, right here, who’s going, it’s their pawns, their players.” - Tom Cruise
306/ "Agent Walker, Special Activities."
First time the power brokers are acknowledging their players. Fun detail, August Walker's full name is never used in the film. He introduces himself as just Walker to Ilsa, Benji and Luther later in the film.
First time the power brokers are acknowledging their players. Fun detail, August Walker's full name is never used in the film. He introduces himself as just Walker to Ilsa, Benji and Luther later in the film.
307/ "His reputation precedes."
Baldwin really puts a lotta flavor on this line reading, with the way he says "preceeeedes". Gives Walker a reputation and a sense of danger as a possible obstacle for Ethan. Great way to introduce Walker as a CIA battering ram with a rep.
Baldwin really puts a lotta flavor on this line reading, with the way he says "preceeeedes". Gives Walker a reputation and a sense of danger as a possible obstacle for Ethan. Great way to introduce Walker as a CIA battering ram with a rep.
308/ "You use a scalpel."
And we cut to Ethan and Walker once they're the point of the scene. These descriptions fit both the men and their agencies. Ethan and the IMF are the slick, under the radar spies. Precise instruments.
And we cut to Ethan and Walker once they're the point of the scene. These descriptions fit both the men and their agencies. Ethan and the IMF are the slick, under the radar spies. Precise instruments.
309/ "I prefer a hammer."
While Walker is a blunt instrument. The CIA are knocking down doors and taking names, with less intricate spywork which is reflected in Walker's cool and confident demeanor.
While Walker is a blunt instrument. The CIA are knocking down doors and taking names, with less intricate spywork which is reflected in Walker's cool and confident demeanor.
The two size each other up. The scalpel/hammer dynamic carries through the film, namely in the bathroom fight (Ethan tries using the needle, Walker smashes him with the mask machine). Scalpel and Hammer is also the track title for their cliff fight on @Lornebalfe's score.
310/ "The answer is no. I have operational authority here, direct from the President. You have a problem with that, you take it up with him."
You wonder what Hunley/Sloane's working relationship has been until now. I'd imagine it was filled with a lot of bickering like this.
You wonder what Hunley/Sloane's working relationship has been until now. I'd imagine it was filled with a lot of bickering like this.
311/ "I have already, and he agrees with me. My man goes, or no one goes."
Hard to argue with that, especially with two hours before Lark's meeting in the Palais. Her delivery here, drawing out "or no one goes" is fun, and Sloane makes a strong impression w/ only a few minutes.
Hard to argue with that, especially with two hours before Lark's meeting in the Palais. Her delivery here, drawing out "or no one goes" is fun, and Sloane makes a strong impression w/ only a few minutes.
312/ "No one comes between you and that plutonium. Not Hunt, not his team, not anyone."
Love Hunley's blank stare as he realizes he can't convince her, and just walks away. And the camera pulls back as Slone turns around to address Walker. Simple, effective blocking/shot design.
Love Hunley's blank stare as he realizes he can't convince her, and just walks away. And the camera pulls back as Slone turns around to address Walker. Simple, effective blocking/shot design.
313/ A quick nod from Walker and he's off. Sloane turns to camera and has a moment to think about what might happen, and then she's on her own way. The simple blocking turns what could be two shots (one of Walker and one of Sloane) into one, and I always love that effectiveness.
And as a bonus, here are some more BTS photos from shooting this scene, everyone's having a good time and joking around. It's weird to see Walker smile in that second pic.
314/ As Ethan and Walker head up into the C-17, we get a credit to Bruce Geller for the original tv series. Also love how casual Walker is with that bag, it's like he's going on vacation and not about to skydive into Paris. The mission theme is building up as we make a transition
315/ The rare 100% CGI shot in the film, done by the amazing folks @dneg. It wasn't practical to shoot out of a C-17 at another C-17, so McQ wanted it as messy as possible to add realism. Give him the shot he would get if they did it for real, not the dream shot he'd like to get.
And here are the storyboards for shot 315, done by @MarkBristol1. Will have more of these boards to add to the thread the further we get into the film, most of the storyboards I've found are from the Paris bike chase and the helicopter duel from the end of the film.
316/ (1/2) "The White Widow has spies at every level of government. This plane is posing as a commercial airliner so we can jump into France undetected."
This line was added late into post via ADR, to help clarify for audiences why they have to HALO jump into Paris.
This line was added late into post via ADR, to help clarify for audiences why they have to HALO jump into Paris.
316/ (2/2) We're just over 21 minutes into the film, and finally getting our "Directed by" card for McQ. Linked is a @tvaziri thread discussing late title sequences, with other notable examples being "The Fugitive" and "The Departed".
https://twitter.com/tvaziri/status/981931019606478848?s=20
317/ "The Widow's meeting Lark in the VIP lounge at midnight."
Ethan walks up to camera and starts setting up the plan for the Palais. Getting through more setup here about the wristbands and tracking down Lark means once we get to the Palais there's no more need for exposition.
Ethan walks up to camera and starts setting up the plan for the Palais. Getting through more setup here about the wristbands and tracking down Lark means once we get to the Palais there's no more need for exposition.
318/ "No one will be admitted without a pre-issued electronic I.D. band."
A wide establishing the two, and showing their helmets and chutes in the foreground. This scene was shot in the C-17 on the same airfield we saw in the last scene, and not in mid air (for practical reasons)
A wide establishing the two, and showing their helmets and chutes in the foreground. This scene was shot in the C-17 on the same airfield we saw in the last scene, and not in mid air (for practical reasons)
319/ "We have acquired the unique RFID number for Lark's band,"
So I looked it up and RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification, which is primarily used for short or long range tracking of objects. It's used accurately here for the IMF's objective.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio-fre…
So I looked it up and RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification, which is primarily used for short or long range tracking of objects. It's used accurately here for the IMF's objective.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio-fre…
320-22/ "allowing us to locate it with these. Find that I.D. band, you find Lark."
Clean graphics on the phones, again by @BLIND_LTD. They remind me of the tracking app on the iPhone in Ghost Protocol, and the iconic motion trackers in Alien and Aliens.
Clean graphics on the phones, again by @BLIND_LTD. They remind me of the tracking app on the iPhone in Ghost Protocol, and the iconic motion trackers in Alien and Aliens.
323/ "Then what?"
Another two shot as Ethan opens up the portable mask making machine. Walker's skepticism about the IMF's methods are a fun wrinkle for his character, and help add tension to what could be just exposition scenes. “Turn information into conflict” says McQ.
Another two shot as Ethan opens up the portable mask making machine. Walker's skepticism about the IMF's methods are a fun wrinkle for his character, and help add tension to what could be just exposition scenes. “Turn information into conflict” says McQ.
324/ "Then.."
Love the face scanner Ethan uses here, a new addition to the mask making tech which has evolved over the franchise. A practical addition to the IMF arsenal, easier on the job to use than photos (like we see in M:I-3 and Ghost Protocol).
Love the face scanner Ethan uses here, a new addition to the mask making tech which has evolved over the franchise. A practical addition to the IMF arsenal, easier on the job to use than photos (like we see in M:I-3 and Ghost Protocol).
325/ Walker does not take kindly to having his face scanned. This plays comedically on first viewing, but on later viewing you realize that Ethan has Lark's face and identity (unbeknownst to him). A fun moment that works for both exposition (setting up the masks) and character.
326/ "I assume his identity."
That line becomes somewhat ironic when Ethan has to become Lark sans mask. The mask machine generates Walker's face, and I've added photos that show how great @BLIND_LTD's detailed work is here. You really get a sense of how this system would work.
That line becomes somewhat ironic when Ethan has to become Lark sans mask. The mask machine generates Walker's face, and I've added photos that show how great @BLIND_LTD's detailed work is here. You really get a sense of how this system would work.
327/ "Make contact with the Widow, she takes us to the package."
This short scene was rewritten and reshot after the ankle break, when they had a better sense of Walker’s character. The earlier iteration of the scene wasn't setting him up just right.
This short scene was rewritten and reshot after the ankle break, when they had a better sense of Walker’s character. The earlier iteration of the scene wasn't setting him up just right.
328/ "People actually fall for this shit."
An amazing set up for Walker, who falls victim to the same mask gags he and Sloane are ridiculing here. Plays into Walker's confidence and the CIA's (reasonable) disbelief at the IMF's methods. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
An amazing set up for Walker, who falls victim to the same mask gags he and Sloane are ridiculing here. Plays into Walker's confidence and the CIA's (reasonable) disbelief at the IMF's methods. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
329/ "How do you intend to make Lark cooperate?"
A sly little smile from Ethan at Walker's disbelief at the masks. Reminds me of that moment between him and the record store agent in Rogue Nation. Even Ethan Hunt has a hard time believing what the IMF pulls off.
A sly little smile from Ethan at Walker's disbelief at the masks. Reminds me of that moment between him and the record store agent in Rogue Nation. Even Ethan Hunt has a hard time believing what the IMF pulls off.
330/ "I bump him in the crowd."
A carrying case for the needle (useful for skydiving). Looking closely there's 2 other vials of knock out juice for the needle, which is a nice detail of prop design. There's also some words on the top of the case, but they're too small to make out
A carrying case for the needle (useful for skydiving). Looking closely there's 2 other vials of knock out juice for the needle, which is a nice detail of prop design. There's also some words on the top of the case, but they're too small to make out
331/ "In ten seconds he'll look like any other drunk at the party, incoherent and completely pliable."
A rack focus to the needle (which springs out with a nice sharp sound). As Sloane said, the IMF is like a scalpel. Ethan's needle here is a visual representation of that idea.
A rack focus to the needle (which springs out with a nice sharp sound). As Sloane said, the IMF is like a scalpel. Ethan's needle here is a visual representation of that idea.
332/ "After I borrow his face, you walk him out the front door and hand him to Sloane's extraction team."
The borrow his face line is a lot of fun, very casual Face/Off vibes. I wonder what happened to Sloane's extraction team. Did they keep waiting for Walker outside the Palais?
The borrow his face line is a lot of fun, very casual Face/Off vibes. I wonder what happened to Sloane's extraction team. Did they keep waiting for Walker outside the Palais?
333/ (1/2) "You're not getting rid of me that easily, Hunt."
Originally Walker wasn't the hammer, he was a liability for Ethan. He's was gonna be an unexperienced nuclear specialist who had to tag along on the mission. Kinda like Brandt in GP, an analyst. Still the villain tho.
Originally Walker wasn't the hammer, he was a liability for Ethan. He's was gonna be an unexperienced nuclear specialist who had to tag along on the mission. Kinda like Brandt in GP, an analyst. Still the villain tho.
333/ (2/2) "If you'd made the hard choice in Berlin, I wouldn't be here."
There was a diff actor in mind (McQ hasn't said who) that passed, and the part made its way to Henry Cavill. Once Cavill got involved the character evolved into the headstrong roadblock in Ethan's way.
There was a diff actor in mind (McQ hasn't said who) that passed, and the part made its way to Henry Cavill. Once Cavill got involved the character evolved into the headstrong roadblock in Ethan's way.
334/ “And if you hadn't gunned down every Syndicate agent they sent you to find, I wouldn't be here.”
Walker is set up as the opposite of Ethan Hunt, and it's fun to see Ethan face a knuckleduster. But, TC and McQ didn’t want you disappointed when Walker’s revealed as a villain.
Walker is set up as the opposite of Ethan Hunt, and it's fun to see Ethan face a knuckleduster. But, TC and McQ didn’t want you disappointed when Walker’s revealed as a villain.
335/ “That's right, I know all about you.”
If their relationship was set up wrong, you’d expect them to go from hating each other to being buddies at the end of the movie. This is “Not the beginning of a beautiful friendship” - Tom Cruise
If their relationship was set up wrong, you’d expect them to go from hating each other to being buddies at the end of the movie. This is “Not the beginning of a beautiful friendship” - Tom Cruise
336/ “You're why we don't have a living witness who can identify John Lark or the Apostles.”
And that’s why John Lark remains an enigma. Nothing more airtight than killing those with information on your terrorist alter ego yourself.
And that’s why John Lark remains an enigma. Nothing more airtight than killing those with information on your terrorist alter ego yourself.
337/ “If you have a problem with my methods, you can always stay behind. Your mission, should you *choose* to accept it."
This is a running theme of the movie, with both Lark and Walker throwing the mission acceptance phrase back at Ethan. Why does Ethan Hunt continue to accept?
This is a running theme of the movie, with both Lark and Walker throwing the mission acceptance phrase back at Ethan. Why does Ethan Hunt continue to accept?
338/ (1/2) “Isn't that the thing?”
One of my favorite little lines in Fallout, Cavill has an excellent, cheeky delivery as he throws that in Ethan's face. Ethan doesn’t get a chance to answer him as...
One of my favorite little lines in Fallout, Cavill has an excellent, cheeky delivery as he throws that in Ethan's face. Ethan doesn’t get a chance to answer him as...
338/ (2/2) “Two minutes to decompression.”
The light momentarily go out, and come back on to bathe the C-17 in red. Also, the voice on the speaker always sounds like comedy actor Chris Parnell to me. Haven't been able to find who actually did it, maybe @chrismcquarrie knows?
The light momentarily go out, and come back on to bathe the C-17 in red. Also, the voice on the speaker always sounds like comedy actor Chris Parnell to me. Haven't been able to find who actually did it, maybe @chrismcquarrie knows?
339/ “Suit up. The Widow is meeting Lark in 30 minutes.”
The scene has been the rare one w/o score, and here the strings come back with full force. We’re fully gearing up for the HALO jump now. Love Walker’s little grin there too, he thinks he has Ethan Hunt figured out.
The scene has been the rare one w/o score, and here the strings come back with full force. We’re fully gearing up for the HALO jump now. Love Walker’s little grin there too, he thinks he has Ethan Hunt figured out.
340/ I'm assuming this C-17 shot is another 100% CG shot by @dneg like the other one at the top of the scene, and their work is incredible. Sets the dusky look (and height!) of the sky for the HALO jump, and the spinning camera move adds energy along with the building strings.
341/ (1/3) This is a nice long shot that visually lays out the gear for the HALO Jump. First up is the Helmets. As Ethan flips down his visor the guidance system pops up, with graphics by @BLIND_LTD appearing. Simple, slick designs (notice they're flipped so Ethan can read them)
341/ (2/3) Ethan makes sure the nozzle on his oxygen is well secured (they take time showing this so you know what's wrong when Walker rips it out). The camera tilts down as he opens the oxygen container on his chest. The layout of their equipment is all set up in one shot.
341/ (3/3) And the camera tilts back up after he opens his oxygen to see the vapor in his helmet disappear. This vapor (and the HUD graphics) were both added w/ CG. Seamless visual effects. With 15 seconds we understand how everything works without having to be told in dialogue.
342/ "Ten seconds to decompression."
The lights click down from red to green as the plane's ramp is about to descend. It's such a mundane image, like a traffic light, but on a plane hurtling through the air at roughly 25,000 feet.
The lights click down from red to green as the plane's ramp is about to descend. It's such a mundane image, like a traffic light, but on a plane hurtling through the air at roughly 25,000 feet.
343/ And Ethan looks over at Walker, helmet filled with vapor, struggling to get his oxygen started. While they laid things out visually in shot 341, having Walker struggle allows Ethan to walk him (and the audience) through the details of the how and why of a HALO jump.
344/ "Is your oxygen on?"
Great delivery here from Cruise, as Ethan is shocked Walker isn't adept at using this gear. Love the way the C-17 looks all in red, with Ethan and Walker's faces standing out with the warmer diffused light in their helmets (more on those helmets soon).
Great delivery here from Cruise, as Ethan is shocked Walker isn't adept at using this gear. Love the way the C-17 looks all in red, with Ethan and Walker's faces standing out with the warmer diffused light in their helmets (more on those helmets soon).
345/ "There's no atmosphere at this altitude. I don't need you blacking out on me."
A tease for Walker's eventual problem, and clears up why they need for oxygen in a HALO jump. Spending the time to explain how this all works is essential for making the sequence suspenseful.
A tease for Walker's eventual problem, and clears up why they need for oxygen in a HALO jump. Spending the time to explain how this all works is essential for making the sequence suspenseful.
346/ (1/7) "Open your chute when the system says, not before and definitely not after, or the last thing that goes through your mind will be your kneecaps. Is that clear?"
"Crystal."
Some of my fav dialogue in the film, love Ethan's quick explanation and Walker's blunt reply.
"Crystal."
Some of my fav dialogue in the film, love Ethan's quick explanation and Walker's blunt reply.
346/ (2/7) This shot runs 31 seconds, and it involves a number of transitions to lead us right into the jump (hence the 7 part breakdown). @Lornebalfe's score with its rising strings and thundering brass is instrumental in creating and building the anticipation for the HALO jump.
346/ (3/7) This shot is the switch from shooting handheld anamorphic film from shot 345 (and the rest of the film sans Helicopter Chase) to shooting digital for the HALO jump. The whole sequence was shot at 6k on a Red Weapon Dragon with a 24mm Primo 70 prime lens.
346/ (4/7) The @AmericanCine mag article provided lots of these technical details, I recommend checking it out. Also here's @chrismcquarrie's answer to my questions about this shot and it's complexity, I'd love to see a BTS shot of the crane in the C-17 if you've got one handy.
346/ (5/7) This shot is also the transition between the regular 2.39:1 aspect ratio of the film and the 1.90:1 IMAX ratio for the HALO and Helicopter sequences. The transition is seamless, the frame expanding as Ethan walks forward to look out of the C-17, rising with the score.
346/ (6/7) This shot used a "50-foot Technocrane inside the C-17 to follow him and rise up to look out to see the storm below; for this, we lit a huge greenscreen that was erected on the tarmac.” - DP Rob Hardy.
Great VFX work here. Wish there was a BTS pic of that crane setup.
Great VFX work here. Wish there was a BTS pic of that crane setup.
346/ (7/7) And lastly some very cool frames of the lightning storm as Ethan looks down on it, just stunning VFX work by DNEG. If you look closely you can see Ethan clenching his hands as he begins to work the numbers in preparation for the jump.
347/ (1/) And we're off to the races. Here we start shot one of the three that make the HALO jump, stitched together to appear as one long 2 minutes and 33 second shot. This first shot, following Ethan within and jumping out of the C-17 at camera runs roughly 40 seconds.
347/ (2/) This sequence wouldn't be possible w/o camera operator Craig O'Brien, a badass who wore a camera on his head while skydiving backwards to get the shots for the HALO jump. In this BTS video you can see the complex choreography in this first shot.
https://twitter.com/mia_mali/status/1170928788252831744?s=20
347/ (3/) Blocking between Cruise and O'Brien has to worked out and trained meticulously to get these shots perfect, because he can't see through the camera and had to frame shots and get them in focus off feeling.
Linked is a fun interview with O'Brien.
skydiveperris.com/blog/the-falli…
Linked is a fun interview with O'Brien.
skydiveperris.com/blog/the-falli…
347/ (4/) While inside, First Assistant Camera David Penfold pulled focus remotely from the cockpit; once they jump out of the C-17 he turns his system off and focus control goes into O'Brien's hands. The camera's battery only allowed for one take, so timing was crucial.
347/ (5/) "We gotta talk. Need to rethink this."
Back to the shot, with the camera following behind Ethan as he tries to talk Walker out of skydiving into a storm (I do wonder what alternative he would've arrived at). The score also kicks back in w/ strings after a brief pause.
Back to the shot, with the camera following behind Ethan as he tries to talk Walker out of skydiving into a storm (I do wonder what alternative he would've arrived at). The score also kicks back in w/ strings after a brief pause.
347/ (6/) "Out of my way, Hunt."
The dialogue here was being adjusted w/ ADR throughout post production and test screenings to make everyone's motives clear (notice how rarely we see faces/lips when they're speaking in this sequence). This line sums up Walker's blunt methods.
The dialogue here was being adjusted w/ ADR throughout post production and test screenings to make everyone's motives clear (notice how rarely we see faces/lips when they're speaking in this sequence). This line sums up Walker's blunt methods.
347/ (7/) "Walker, we've got a problem. There's a storm and we need to..."
I've seen talk around Walker here, if he was deliberately trying to sabotage Ethan etc. McQ is fond of saying "don't try to outthink Mission." There's no big picture goal from him here, he's just rash.
I've seen talk around Walker here, if he was deliberately trying to sabotage Ethan etc. McQ is fond of saying "don't try to outthink Mission." There's no big picture goal from him here, he's just rash.
347/ (8/) And there's a punch from the brass as Ethan's oxygen is ripped out. The strings shift up here, rising as we get ready to jump, with bongos (Lorne's favorite!) being thrown into the mix. Linked below are the strings being recorded for 'Free Fall'
https://twitter.com/Lornebalfe/status/1020597289612709888?s=20
347/ (9/) "Enough talk. I'll see you in Paris."
Quick lines that tell us how Walker is impulsive and doesn't like to sit around. He's a hammer and he dives right into that storm (also, if he had some big plan to sabotage Ethan here, it would've gone to hell with that lightning)
Quick lines that tell us how Walker is impulsive and doesn't like to sit around. He's a hammer and he dives right into that storm (also, if he had some big plan to sabotage Ethan here, it would've gone to hell with that lightning)
347/ (10/) And as the camera pans around Ethan, we see Walker jump out of the plane. But, that's not Henry Cavill. Due to many reasons (mainly due to a lack of training, i'm guessing the JL reshoots ate into his time) Tom didn't think he was ready and he wasn't allowed to jump.
347/ (11/) And the camera spins to face Ethan as he struggles to fix his oxygen (great detail work on the vapor appearing again in his helmet). This shot uses a classic technique called a Texas Switch to have Henry Cavill in the scene but have his double jump out of the plane.
347/ (12/) Henry Cavill rips out Tom's oxygen, and he steps out of frame. The camera moves around and we see the HC double jump, and while Cavill's out of shot he stays behind the camera and hides behind those crates behind Tom in the fourth picture here - unseen by camera.
347/ (13/) It's a simple, effective technique to make it look like Cavill's leaping out of the plane without expensive digital effects. Takes a hell of a lot of practice and precision though. Here's McQ's tweets answering my questions about this moment and the Texas Switch.
347/ (14/) For more on the Texas Switch here's a thread by @tvaziri and a great article in beforeandafters by @ianfailes on the technique, with plenty of great examples in films like Speed, T2, The Naked Gun, and a bunch of Bond's.
beforesandafters.com/2019/04/16/tex…
beforesandafters.com/2019/04/16/tex…
https://twitter.com/tvaziri/status/1118357582203088896?s=20
347/ (15/) "Come on, come on come on..."
Fallout has more action scenes with Ethan on his own, and these moments with him talking to himself help keep him relatable (and in the helicopter sequence, offer valuable information). Ethan is vulnerable like John McClane/Indiana Jones.
Fallout has more action scenes with Ethan on his own, and these moments with him talking to himself help keep him relatable (and in the helicopter sequence, offer valuable information). Ethan is vulnerable like John McClane/Indiana Jones.
347/ (16/) You can hear the oxygen nozzle click into face and he runs towards camera. For Ethan to jump out of the plane face first (like all the action in Fallout, the HALO jump is designed to show it's Cruise doing the stunts) O'Brien has to jump out of the plane backwards.
347/ (17/) Here's a nice, wide BTS shot that shows them getting ready to jump. You can see the hand of the safety skydiver behind O'Brien in the foreground, who taps him on the shoulder to let him know he has two steps to take before jumping out of the back of the C-17 backwards.
347/ (18/) With the intensity of the sequence it's easy to miss, but right before he jumps out Tom gets right up in the lens and it's a very funny image to me. Look's like he's photobombing.
347/ (19/) As they jump out of the plane, the camera needs to make an iris pull since they're switching to natural sun(set) light. “We were shooting inside at T2, and then we pulled to a T2.8½. The DIT (Digital Imaging Technician) did the iris pull.” - First AC David Penfold
347/ (20/) And here's a great BTS shots from the many test jumps they did multiple times a day for the sequence, and you can see just how close Cruise is to O'Brien. I think I also spot @chrismcquarrie in the back of the C-17 filming on his phone.
347/ (21/) And we're out of the plane. Here the focus pulling is now in camera operator Craig O'Brien's hands. His focus ring was limited to between 3 and 30 feet, to allow to simplify finding his marks (Cruise was never gonna be more than 30ft away).
347/ (22/) This frame jumps out (pun intended) as one of the few frames in the initial jump that has Tom's face in focus (I remember it being used as a promo image around the film's release). Amazing how massive the C-17 looks here, and how small it gets in the frame in seconds.
347/ (23/) And here are some frames from the pre-vis animation of the HALO jump, which they include a few seconds of on the Blu-ray BTS. Looks almost exactly like the sequence as is (even their suits look similar) only Ethan and Walker are jumping at the same time into the storm.
347/ (24/) And here's a comparison between the jump in the film and the storyboard by @MarkBristol1, which is translated faithfully to screen. Check out his site for more Fallout and Rogue Nation work (I can't wait to see what he's cooking up for MI7-MI8) markbristol.squarespace.com/concept-and-st…
347/ (25/) The HALO jump was originally scripted to happen in the dead of night, until DP Rob Hardy pointed out that you'd only really see their illuminated faces as their jumpsuits would blend into the background. So he urged they shoot the scene at sunset.
347/ (26/) At this time of night, “you can see the curvature of the Earth. Even a half hour or 40 minutes after sunset, you can still see a glow on the horizon. From a visual standpoint, that was the best condition in which to do the jump.” - Rob Hardy
347/ (27/) After 3-4 practice jumps in the morning, the hero jump happened around 15 minutes after sunset. This allows Hunt and Walker to fall “into darker blue night as the freefall takes place," as Gaffer Martin Smith describes in the American Cinematographer article.
347/ (28/) And @Lornebalfe's 'Free Fall' cue is in full effect here, w/ this video he posted showing the ridiculous talent of the brass players on the score. Strong John Barry Bond vibes from those brass rips, and a fun threatening take on the M:I theme.
https://twitter.com/Lornebalfe/status/1212516383034150912?s=20
347/ (29/) A reminder that at points in the HALO jump, Cruise and O'Brien are travelling at 200mph in freefall. This is one of the trickier moments to coordinate, with Cruise speeding towards camera and trying to stop in front of the camera while maintaining sharp focus.
347/ (30/) To keep focus Cruise has to land exactly three feet from O'Brien. Not 2.5, not 3.5, exactly three feet. All off instinct, feel, and a ridiculous amount of practice. This is also the classic 'hanging with arms outstretched' moment that's been used since the og M:I
347/ (31/) You can see Cruise and O'Brien practicing here with a tape measure, making sure they both know what that 3 foot distance feels like so they can nail it in midair.
347/ (32/) and here's another BTS shot that shows Cruise and O'Brien hitting their marks in free fall, with the C-17 still hanging out in the background. A really picturesque BTS shot with that gorgeous sunset sky.
347/ (33/) "Altitude: 25,000 feet."
The voice in Ethan's helmet counting down the altitude is from Victoria Freund, an assistant sound editor on Fallout. The count down is another great addition to the HALO jump, keeping you aware of just how quickly the ground is approaching.
The voice in Ethan's helmet counting down the altitude is from Victoria Freund, an assistant sound editor on Fallout. The count down is another great addition to the HALO jump, keeping you aware of just how quickly the ground is approaching.
347/ (34/) This close up is a good time to talk helmets. The scene is designed around seeing Cruise make the HALO jump for real, so this helmet was designed to show and light his face so you can see him skydiving. This offered a number of logistical challenges for production.
347/ (35/) Since it's a HALO jump, the helmet had to work as a life support with working oxygen. And to light his face, they needed to find lights that wouldn't fail or spark, as any problem would create a fire with the pure oxygen around Tom Cruise's head (which isn't ideal)
347/ (36/) Action props supervisor Toby Shears had to design it so the lights were diffused enough to wrap around the whole face while not getting light into the divers eyes. A late addition was a switch for divers to turn off the lights to help their eyes adjust before landing.
347/ (37/) Batteries and cables for the helmet lights had to put in a small compartment and hid in the back of the parachute between the chute capsule and the padding support. It was up to Stitch Master Ray Armstrong to alter chutes to make these fit and not interfere with dives.
347/ (38/) But enough on helmets, back to the jump. Love the little head shaking moment Ethan gives after scanning for Walker, another moment that keeps him relatable. As the camera follows he tucks in his arms and begins to dive right into the storm (courtesy of the folks @dneg)
347/ (39/) This lightning flash covers the full frame to mask the seamless VFX transition from Cruise skydiving to the digital doubles for Hunt and Walker (so they can get hit with lightning). It's also designed so you're not seeing Ethan's face here, so there's no real cheat.
347/ (40/)
The idea for the storm complicating the HALO jump was inspired by McQ seeing a cross section of the anatomy of a storm and imagining jumping through that with Ethan Hunt. We see the storm from above, dive through it, and suddenly Paris is there rushing towards us.
The idea for the storm complicating the HALO jump was inspired by McQ seeing a cross section of the anatomy of a storm and imagining jumping through that with Ethan Hunt. We see the storm from above, dive through it, and suddenly Paris is there rushing towards us.
347/ (41/) "Walker?"
"What's the matter, Hunt? Afraid of a little lightning?"
Famous last words, and a nice line to crystalize Walker's hubris before nature literally throws a lightning bolt his way.
"What's the matter, Hunt? Afraid of a little lightning?"
Famous last words, and a nice line to crystalize Walker's hubris before nature literally throws a lightning bolt his way.
347/ (42/) The lightning bounces up from the right, clipping Walker and going right past Ethan. A very sudden burst of sound corresponds with the bolt, and the sonically hectic scene with the storm, the choir on the score, and Ethan's breathing all cut out for a moment.
347/ (43/) "Chris [McQuarrie] and I were talking about what would happen in that instance if you were hit by lightning and you weren’t grounded. There would be an impact but also everything would probably go quiet because you’d be in such shock" - Sound designer James Mather
347/ (44/) "We all talked about experiencing lightning and how everything goes super quiet afterwards because it compresses your eardrums. Your ears shut down momentarily and then the sound creeps back in." - Mather
347/ (45/) The sound cutting out was "just something we tried on the mix stage that wasn’t preconceived. The lightning visual effects were coming in and they were slightly different from one day to the next. So that scene was one of the last things that we really did." - Mather
348/ (1/) Right after the lightning hit we seamlessly transition into the second shot of the HALO, as Ethan's tumbling around and can see Cruise's face again. The music has cut out here, and for a few seconds all we hear is the soft rumbling of the storm and clouds moving past.
348/ (2/) "Tom’s last note on the final screening was, “Can we hear some more of my breath slightly earlier out of that lightning hit?” Then Eddie Hamilton suggested that we use it as an exit on the lightning hit as well, so that we keep Tom’s presence in that moment." - Mather
348/ (3/) "It’s the subtlest addition but that solved it for all of us. It feels like Tom’s been hit and he’s coming to and the sound is coming back. It reinforced the perspective that the audience is experiencing what Tom is experiencing." - Mather
348/ (4/) Cruise was very specific about the sound for the HALO jump, and recordings of his breathing were among the final elements finalized for the scene.
And we pass through the clouds, we get that real anatomy of the storm moment, before we see the Paris skyline below Ethan.
And we pass through the clouds, we get that real anatomy of the storm moment, before we see the Paris skyline below Ethan.
348/ (5/) "Altitude: 20,000 feet."
We quickly track into Ethan as he snaps back into focus from the lightning hit (love the under the breath 'sonofabitch' we hear from him) with the sound slowly returning. Love that weird ominous string (and flute?) sound on the score too here.
We quickly track into Ethan as he snaps back into focus from the lightning hit (love the under the breath 'sonofabitch' we hear from him) with the sound slowly returning. Love that weird ominous string (and flute?) sound on the score too here.
348/ (6/) Here's another side by side w/ a BTS shot, you can see just how close Cruise and O'Brien are at points to get these dramatic close ups with Ethan during the HALO jump.
348/ (7/) "Walker? Do you copy?"
Ethan flips on his back as the camera rises up, revealing the Paris skyline below in a fluid motion. You can even see the Palais right beneath him, The HALO jump was shot over Abu Dhabi, and Paris has been painstakingly added by the wizards @dneg
Ethan flips on his back as the camera rises up, revealing the Paris skyline below in a fluid motion. You can even see the Palais right beneath him, The HALO jump was shot over Abu Dhabi, and Paris has been painstakingly added by the wizards @dneg
348/ (8/) As Ethan flips back over the camera levels with him and we see Walker falling in the distance. Walker is doubled by skydiver Rusty Lewis for the sequence, and there's a great interview about his work on Fallout here: iheart.com/podcast/269-th…
348/ (9/) Rusty was there to train Tom Cruise for the sequence in the wind tunnel built on the Leavesden Studios backlot in England, which was the largest outdoor wind tunnel in the world. Rusty also helped coordinate and figure out what moves were feasible for the sequence.
348/ (10/) The HALO was first conceived to be shot in the tunnel, and grew into the final live skydives over the UAE. My understanding on the timeline of that evolution is sketchy, but I believe the ankle-break delays helped them decide to coordinating shooting the jumps for real
348/ (11/) But since it wasn't certain they'd ever do live jumps, or if they could get the footage they needed, they made sure to have a solid filmed version of the sequence from the wind tunnel shoots to fall back on. Cruise pushed to do it for real, and I'm glad they did.
348/ (12/) So Ethan moves towards Walker to grab him midair. He misses and goes just over him before coming back for a second try. Easy to forget that they're moving at up to 200 mph, and colliding wrong could be fatal for Cruise and Lewis. Wind tunnel training pays off.
348/ (13/) And as Ethan finally grabs Walker they flip over. This provides the second invisible wipe in the HALO jump, transitioning seamlessly from shot 2 into the third and final shot of the sequence.
349/ (1/) As Ethan makes contact the music shifts. The pace builds, w/ brass riffs (from 12 French horns) added w/ a surround effect. A ticking pulse is also added to the mix - both building and providing what @Lornebalfe calls a "rise texture" until their chutes are deployed.
349/ (2/) At this point the camera atop cameraman Craig O'Brien's head has been stripped down. It still has a focus ring, but after they leave the plane in shot 1, there was no need for the pulling iris or transmitter for focus pulling like it needed for the inside of the C-17.
349/ (3/) This push in onto Ethan/Walker (@ 25:28 in the film) was speed ramped in post production. These few seconds had too much air in the shot and it was taking just a little too long, so it was sped up and digitally smoother to keep the pace and intensity up.
349/ (4/) "Altitude: 10,000 feet."
Remember that Paris is being digitally added by the VFX artists @dneg over the Abu Dhabi desert. The HALO jump was split into 15 different sections so they could handle the sheer amount of frame by frame tracking the sequence required.
Remember that Paris is being digitally added by the VFX artists @dneg over the Abu Dhabi desert. The HALO jump was split into 15 different sections so they could handle the sheer amount of frame by frame tracking the sequence required.
349/ (5/) "9,000 feet. 8,000 feet."
Ethan rips out Walker's oxygen and begins to give him his own tank. You can see that Walker's helmet is still clouded with vapor, helping mask that it's Rusty Lewis and not Henry Cavill in free fall.
Ethan rips out Walker's oxygen and begins to give him his own tank. You can see that Walker's helmet is still clouded with vapor, helping mask that it's Rusty Lewis and not Henry Cavill in free fall.
349/ (6/) Ethan gets his oxygen line into Walker's helmet, and the vapor clears up. Great VFX work done here to put Cavill's head inside stunt diver Rusty Lewis's helmet. Lewis was photographed in HALO gear next to Cavill for VFX artist reference to make these effects invisible.
349/ (7/) And Ethan gives Walker his oxygen. The oxygen system was designed backwards for this to allow for the person to person transfer, and the magnets used are the second strongest in the world. On the blu ray they say it would break your finger if it got stuck between them.
349/ (8/) Ethan does this really cool move where he flips Walker over so his chute will deploy correctly behind him. As he does that the camera looks down for the first time in a while and we see just how fast the Grand Palais is rushing towards them.
349/ (9/) And one of my favorite discoveries with this project is finding a direct frame by frame comparison from the end of the HALO jump, where you can see the before/after of the @dneg work replacing the Abu Dhabi desert with the Paris skyline. Just amazing work here.
349/ (10/) And after Walker's chute is deployed Ethan turns away from camera to deploy his own chute. As he turns Ethan switches to a digital double for these last few seconds of the HALO, as the chute skewering landing on the Palais spire would be a nightmare stunt to attempt.
349/ (11/) And the landing is all digital, as it would've been impossible to get w/o dying.
@chrismcquarrie's instruction for the shot: “I want the cameraman to die. Imagine the cameraman fell out with Tom and was so committed to his job that he died getting the shot”
@chrismcquarrie's instruction for the shot: “I want the cameraman to die. Imagine the cameraman fell out with Tom and was so committed to his job that he died getting the shot”
350/ (1/2) Love the cartoony way Ethan is yanked back into the spire. Looks like it hurt. His little head shake to adjust his bearings and the "Oh god" he says to himself before he rips the chute cord and falls down are among those great little moments that keeps Ethan grounded.
350/ (2/2) And thanks to @chrismcquarrie for answering my question, my suspicion that the Palais in this shot was a partial set was confirmed! The rigging for this parachute stunt (and for Walker's landing) made more sense to use on a set than to rig up onto the real Palais roof.
351/ And Ethan goes tumbling down the top of the Grand Palais. Love how Ethan Hunt is a super spy, but always finds himself being thrown around. Being in the IMF is not always a glamourous job. Love the string motif here on the score as well.
Here's a BTS photo from McQ's insta (from June 7th 2018) of @Lornebalfe composing the score over this shot. The score for the HALO jump was a late addition to the film, and I love the musical breather here as we catch our breath from the HALO jump and prepare to enter the Palais.
352/ This wide of Ethan tumbling down is the rare shot in the film that isn't Tom Cruise! He'd have done it, but since it's a wide where you can't see his face, it was performed by a stunt man to avoid further injuring Tom's ankle after it broke doing that rooftop jump stunt.
353/ Big fan of the way Cruise face plants it here. One of my favorite things about him is that he's not afraid to take himself down a peg or look stupid if it's in service of story or a good joke. Not many stars you can say that about these days.
354/ And a nice establishing shot of the Grand Palais, lit from the rave within. This shot isn't in the full frame IMAX ratio, even tho the next few shots are, which always throws me. Wonder the reason behind that. Look closely and you can see tiny Walker and Ethan on the roof.
355/ Walker lands gracefully and reels in his chute as the camera moves past Ethan. Very different from Ethan's tumbling down approach, another way their methods differ. This was another shot done on that partial set of the Palais roof to allow for the parachute rigging.
356/ "Looks like you lost your oxygen."
Walker's so smug, and he's completely oblivious to what just happened. Love the way he taps the oxygen can as he says it too. Twisting the knife into Ethan that all his hard work in saving the bastard will go unappreciated.
Walker's so smug, and he's completely oblivious to what just happened. Love the way he taps the oxygen can as he says it too. Twisting the knife into Ethan that all his hard work in saving the bastard will go unappreciated.
357/ A perfect 'come on man!' reaction from Ethan. Him and Walker were never destined to be friends. In editing they initially cut this moment short to speed up the movie, but eventually realized they had to leave it long for the joke to land and breathe before moving on.
358/ The strings riff on the Mission: Impossible theme before entering a rising motif, the last chunk of proper non-rave movie score we get till we meet the White Widow. And a nice little crane shot from the close up of their skydiving gear as they get to the Palais roof entrance
359/ I'd wondered what gadget they used to open the door here, it wasn't the ones used in RN. Among the discoveries I found on Fallout concept artist Chris Rosewarne's website was this art for the IMF lockpicker! It's quick but you can spot the light change green as it unlocks.
360-61/ Ethan and Walker drop into the Palais' upper catwalks. The rave music is in full force now, which is also written by @Lornebalfe on the night before his baby was born! Really does feel like they've dropped into another world, w/ the music and the lights going crazy below.
362/ "That's where the Widow is meeting Lark."
This moment sets a clear visual marker amid the chaos of the rave, and reminds us of their objective here as they begin to search for Lark. Ethan's literally pointing it out to the audience, but it's quick and effective exposition.
This moment sets a clear visual marker amid the chaos of the rave, and reminds us of their objective here as they begin to search for Lark. Ethan's literally pointing it out to the audience, but it's quick and effective exposition.
363-64/ Two quick shots showing the bouncer scanning the id bands to get into the private lounge. Visually reminds us of the importance of Lark's band is. These shots also bridge over the big stunt scene of Ethan swinging down into the Palais, which I'll go over next.
This gorgeous wide of Paris is the first shot on the deleted shots reel on the blu, and while I'm not sure it was gonna fit in right here before the swing inside the Palais I'm gonna put it here anyways. Maybe it was just another establishing shot once they landed on the roof.
Onto Deleted Scene #2! The deleted shot reel offers a truncated version of the scene, w/o dialogue and set to the Fallout score. Ethan and Walker are stuck in the upper catwalks without a way down to the ground level. There's little time so Ethan's gotta come up w/ something.
So he steps out on these cables, figures he can climb over, loosen one, swing back to grab Walker and that'll give them momentum to break into a room across the Palais. This was shot live in the Palais, with Cruise and Cavill on wires 200 feet off the ground.
He almost slips and falls, in classic action movie (and Ethan Hunt) fashion. You can see the safety wires here on Cruise, as well as a camera fashioned to a cable for those wide overhead shots.
Walker makes sure he's okay, and Ethan begins hand over hand making his way down the cable. Really fantastic shots here overhead Ethan, giving a strong sense of Vertigo (I only imagine how it felt for Cruise)
Here's more BTS shots from the blu ray that show how high up Cruise is and just how big the Palais is. The Palais is also super old and a Paris landmark, so there were places the production couldn't touch at all - which made all the stunt rigging a challenge.
Ethan gets to the midpoint, begins loosening one of the cables (I guess to make it easier to swing back? him loosening it never made sense to me) as Walker looks on.
Ultimately, while this scene was a very cool stunt, it was 4 minutes of spectacle that could be cut - so it went. This scene was shot early into production so they didn't understand the whole scope of the movie yet. At this point you need to just get to the dance floor asap.
Here's a low angle shot of DJ Harvey, who cameos here as the Palais DJ - and a corresponding BTS photo of getting this very shot he posted on his instagram.
He finally gets over, loosens it, and then Ethan's off aswinging.
Ethan swings back over the grab Walker. You can see in the 4th shot here that's there some unfished VFX and a little bit of haloing around Tom, that was shot against a blue screen.
Ethan hooks Walker on and jumps back off - much to Walker's chagrin.
Some more BTS shots from the blu ray, you can see all the different angles they're covering the stunt with, and in the last shot you can see Cruise and Cavill being hoisted up for more swinging.
More shots of the two of them swinging over the roaring crowds. Hard to capture the energy of these shots in still images, you should check out the deleted shots reel on the blu ray if you haven't yet.
As they swing towards the glass booth opposite them Ethan uses his knife to cut their line -
And they smash through the window, with Ethan landing atop of Walker (Cavill's reactions in this deleted scene are very funny, fun to see him be dragged along with Ethan Hunt's insanity).
365-367/ And we're back to the actual film, with Ethan pulling their gear from their chutes, handing a phone over to Walker who turns it on - and with a cut to a close up we see it ping as they ready to search for Lark.
368/ Walker and Ethan begin switching out of their jumpsuits into more club appropriate suits, in classic spy fashion. Not exactly the suit underneath the wetsuit ala Sean Connery, but a similar energy here.
369/ A pan down showing the scope of the Palais club, and the virtual sun the lights everything. Peter Wenham's production design was designed to be set up in 2 days and striked in 2 days, in order to maximize the 12 days production was allowed in the Palais.
370/ And here's DJ Harvey again in his cameo, laying down a track called "Consequences of Love" by Death in Vegas, which is good club music and sets the space well. Over to the right you can see a little fan on DJ Harvey's table, which is a little detail I enjoy.
Here's some more BTS photos that show off the construction and set up for the club, as well as some detail shots. Amazing before/after here, transforming the Palais from a empty hall to a moody rave.
All this is the amazing work of production designer Peter Wenham, and the ridiculously talented team of gaffers, riggers, and construction talents on the Fallout crew. Not enough respect gets paid to production designers, whose work is instrumental to the look of the film.
And here's some concept art of the Palais and the different lighting fixtures, again from artist Christopher Rosewarne's website. Very close to the look in the final film.
rosewarnedesign.com/portfolio-1-1/…
rosewarnedesign.com/portfolio-1-1/…
371/ And here's the big crane shot showing off the dance floor, with the crowd going crazy. Originally this crane shot was supposed to be longer, going all the way over until we -
- meet up w/ Ethan and Walker. This is from the deleted shots reel, and our third (small) deleted scene. As they're getting ready to survey the crowd for Lark...
... Ilsa Faust bumps into Ethan. This was her original introduction in the film, w/ her and Ethan sharing a wordless moment on the dance floor.
Ultimately it was cut, as it was another 30 seconds they could lose to get to the bathroom fight quicker and keep the pace up. It also made Ilsa's introduction in the bathroom much more exciting.
She gives a look to Walker, and turns and leaves without a word. Communicating so much w/ only action and movement. McQ loves doing this, especially w/ Ethan and Ilsa.
As she left, the only dialogue in this short scene was from Ethan to Walker, who gave him a quizzical look at what just happened.
Ethan: "She's not your concern."
Ethan: "She's not your concern."
372/ In the finished film, we cut right into Ethan and Walker making their way through the Palais crowds, which are realistically busy and hard to navigate, while trying to track down Walker.
373-376/ Ethan strikes out, while Walker gets a ping on his tracker. The tracking graphics on their phones are once again by @BLIND_LTD, and they're quick and easy to read - these shots aren't more than a few seconds long and we can see that they got a read on Lark's location.
377-380/ "Ethan."
"Walker?"
"Ethan, if you can hear me, I've got him"
"Say again. Where?"
Had to use subtitles to figure out what they're saying, as it's hard to make out amid the music and the crowd- the busy audio keeps us in their shoes.
"Walker?"
"Ethan, if you can hear me, I've got him"
"Say again. Where?"
Had to use subtitles to figure out what they're saying, as it's hard to make out amid the music and the crowd- the busy audio keeps us in their shoes.
381-384/ "He's headed for the bathroom."
The cuts are quick here (there's a nice seamless one as a raver crosses frame in front of Ethan) to keep the intensity of the rave high and keep the pace up as they push their way through the busy crowds.
The cuts are quick here (there's a nice seamless one as a raver crosses frame in front of Ethan) to keep the intensity of the rave high and keep the pace up as they push their way through the busy crowds.
385/ Another shot as Ethan makes his way to meet up with Walker. Not the most exciting series of shots here with them searching the rave for Lark, but important nonetheless.
And here a great behind the scenes photo of Henry Cavill gaming while inside the Palais, from his own instagram. Also here's a BTS shot he took that shows how they got some of those shots in that Palais swing deleted scene.
386/ We have the camera pull back as Ethan walks up to join Walker, who shows him his tracker as they both look towards Larks location. No words needed, we get what they're communicating just off of their eyes.
And here's a BTS shot showing McQ and DP Rob Hardy blocking out (what I'd assume) is shot 386 with Cruise and Cavill. Love seeing the direct behind the scenes set up of a specific shot.
387/ And with a rack focus we center on the entrance to the bathrooms (toilettes is French for bathroom, and hommes is French for man, in case you were confused). Simple, clear framing, and we know where we're going next with Ethan and Walker.
388-389/ Some cool little lens flares happening as they make their way over to intercept Lark. I love how much time we spend in tracking Lark down, it builds up his presence before we get that iconic bathroom brawl.
390/ (1/2) So Ethan and Walker make their way down this little hallway into the bathroom (which is a nice detail, as it offers a buffer between the bathroom and the dance floor to help mask the fight) while checking passing people - not Lark. Again no dialogue, all told in looks.
390/ (2/2) And we follow into the bathroom itself, which was a set built in Leavesden Studios, England.
Per Tom Cruise, "With this sequence, we were supposed to shoot it in three days, and we shot it over the entire production of the film. The last day of filming was here."
Per Tom Cruise, "With this sequence, we were supposed to shoot it in three days, and we shot it over the entire production of the film. The last day of filming was here."
391/ As two men leave, Hunt and Walker exchange glances and he shakes his head - they're not Lark.
The first day of production in London was on the bathroom set, after shooting in Paris and NZ. W/ ankle breaks and more, this set sat for 6 months over the rest of production.
The first day of production in London was on the bathroom set, after shooting in Paris and NZ. W/ ankle breaks and more, this set sat for 6 months over the rest of production.
392/ This panning shot “was a reshoot. We went back and reshot it because we needed to make geography clearer in the bathroom. The geography was just a little bit confusing” - per @chrismcquarrie on the commentary. Clear geography makes the action better and easier to understand.
393/ This a great shot moving w/ Ethan, matching him in the mirror w/ Walker as they move through the bathroom. It's clever and plays with the geography with the sinks/mirror dividers in the middle of the room. Also, some (I'd imagine) VFX erasing the camera in the mirror here.
394/ There's no music over this sequence - but you can hear the club music underneath like a heartbeat. Balfe tried his hand writing score here as an experiment, but it wasn't right. "It's all in the eyes" - Lorne
The lack of music also highlights the sound design in the fight.
The lack of music also highlights the sound design in the fight.
395/ As for the bathroom itself, McQ's brief was to “Go for a Kubrick bathroom” with rigid, clear lines. He also wanted it all white to heighten the sense of vulnerability.
“You are the cockroach in the kitchen when the light turns on. No hiding in this room” - @chrismcquarrie
“You are the cockroach in the kitchen when the light turns on. No hiding in this room” - @chrismcquarrie
396/ With a flush of a toilet and a quick look from Walker, they know Lark is just in front of them.
The slow, deliberate pace of their entry here serves to heighten the tension, lay out the geography, and makes Decoy Lark's fighting prowess that much more surprising/exciting.
The slow, deliberate pace of their entry here serves to heighten the tension, lay out the geography, and makes Decoy Lark's fighting prowess that much more surprising/exciting.
397/ Just a quick flash of Liang Yang as the Decoy Lark as he steps out of the stall. Liang Yang is an amazing stuntman, a wushu champion, and incredible here in Fallout. He first met McQ and Cruise working as Emily Blunt's stunt double in Edge of Tomorrow (or Live Die Repeat)
398/ Walker moves forward to take on Decoy Lark from the far side of the bathroom.
Love this little split second look from Ethan at Walker as he moves out of frame. We know he's weary of Walker's blunt methods from their earlier convo, and as an audience we're about to see why.
Love this little split second look from Ethan at Walker as he moves out of frame. We know he's weary of Walker's blunt methods from their earlier convo, and as an audience we're about to see why.
399/ Quick glance from Ethan to the other clubgoers finishing washing their hands as he and Walker move to pounce Lark from both sides. Making Ethan move thru the middle of the two sink islands helps us establish that geography even more
400/ They confirm their target and Ethan begins to ready the needle.
Decoy Lark was originally gonna be a name actor cast as a misdirect, to throw the audience when he's killed. McQ threw out Michael Fassbender or Vincent Cassel on the Empire podcast as possibilities.
Decoy Lark was originally gonna be a name actor cast as a misdirect, to throw the audience when he's killed. McQ threw out Michael Fassbender or Vincent Cassel on the Empire podcast as possibilities.
401/ Ethan makes sure those guys are gone before he gets ready to attack Lark.
Leslie Odom Jr was approached for the Decoy, but didn't pass the fight evaluation - so it was decided Liang (who was the stuntman already standing in for training) was gonna be the Decoy.
Leslie Odom Jr was approached for the Decoy, but didn't pass the fight evaluation - so it was decided Liang (who was the stuntman already standing in for training) was gonna be the Decoy.
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