This Is the Best Mission: Impossible Action Scene (And It’s Not Even Close)

Across 30 years, the Mission: Impossible movie franchise has delivered lots of glorious pieces of blockbuster movie spectacle. Sometimes, that spectacle manifests in the sight of Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt running at top speed through famous global locations. Other times, it’s through watching Hunt navigate the most precarious scenarios imaginable, like climbing the world’s tallest building. But there are also the greatest hand-to-hand fight sequences ever put on film. Many blockbusters feature the lead characters punching each other, but few have made that sight as exhilarating as the Mission: Impossible movies.

The apex of these action sequences, believe it or not, didn’t happen early into the franchise’s run. Instead, it appeared 22 years into the saga’s existence, in the 2018 entry Mission: Impossible – Fallout. A three-way brawl in a bathroom in this particular installment somehow blew away all other hand-to-hand fights in the series.

What Happens in this Fallout Fight Scene?

As Fallout begins, Hunt and CIA assassin August Walker (Henry Cavill) work together to infiltrate a Paris nightclub. The two pretty much despise each other, but extreme world-threatening circumstances have forced them to put aside their petty differences. Now, they have to track down a nuclear weapons master named John Lark (Liang Yang) as part of a larger scheme to get closer to Alanna Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby). Naturally, nothing goes as it should once Hunt and Walker confront Lark in a bathroom.

After initially thinking they’ve subdued their target and cramming into a bathroom stall (a perfect place to create a mask mimicking Lark’s face), Lark reawakens and begins ruthlessly attacking Hunt and Walker. Above all else, this sequence is a mesmerizing display of Yang’s talents. A longtime stuntman and stunt coordinator in the film industry, he is effortlessly spry in this Fallout action sequence. Even competing with Cruise and the towering Cavill, Yang’s physicality instantly makes it believable that his Lark character could go toe-to-toe with Fallout’s big stars.

Also making this scene fun is how much director Christopher McQuarrie leans into very specific action beats that could only happen in a bathroom. Action sequences are at their most exhilarating when they precisely reflect the backdrops they inhabit. So it is with this Fallout scene, with Lark being thrown through a bathroom mirror or Lark using with a piece of bathroom sink piping as a weapon. Plus, the crisp, sleek white color of the walls and surrounding urinals makes for an amusing contrast with the grimy, bruised fighting these three characters are engaging in.

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The Importance of Fists and Ilsa Faust

One can’t talk about this glorious display of action movie mayhem, though, without talking about a deeply lively bit of physical acting from Cavill. At one point, Walker walks over to help Hunt, but not before doing little punching motions with his curled-up fists. It’s a grandiose bit of externalized acting that’s so much fun to watch and immediately gets you psyched up for whatever brutality this guy is about to exact next. Walker doesn’t even need to leave a massive hole in a wall or knock someone unconscious to reaffirm his physical prowess.

Rewatching this scene, it’s also remarkable how Lorne Balfe’s score is eschewed for this set piece. Instead, the sounds of punching, pained groans, and characters stepping on shards of glass fill the soundtrack. This auditory choice accentuates the set piece’s tactile pain. It’s not a glamorous display of fighting, it’s more like a grimy brawl that might just happen between a couple of drunken bar patrons on a Tuesday night. That’s what makes this Mission: Impossible fight scene so special in the franchise’s extensive canon of impressive hand-to-hand skirmishes. This Fallout bathroom fight has such an imperfect chaos to it (even though it’s filmed with visual clarity) compared to, say, the fights in Mission Impossible III or Ghost Protocol.

This fight sequence even ends on a fantastic note, with Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) suddenly showing up to shoot Lark just as it seems like Walker and Hunt have lost this fight. It’s a tremendous way to re-introduce Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation’s breakout character and end the brawl on a darkly amusing note. All that hand-to-hand fighting, and Lark gets taken out with just a well-timed bullet. From beginning to end, this Fallout action scene excels even when placed against so many other impressive Mission: Impossible set pieces. That’s the power of Ilsa, great stunt performers, and Henry Cavill’s fists for you.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout is now streaming on Paramount+.