The Mission Impossible films have maintained their legacy of high-quality action films with Mission Impossible: Fallout, the sixth instalment in the franchise. There were so many incredible scenes to choose from this film, but I finally ended up selecting the bathroom fight between Ethan Hunt, August Walker, and John Lark's decoy.
This is a brutal, close-quarters combat scene, filmed primarily in full, medium, and medium-close-up shots. The stark, clean interior of the bathroom contrasts with their men’s dark suits, blood and sweat as the scene progresses. It begins with the three men tucked in one of the stalls, the decoy temporarily subdued. As the bathroom clears, the decoy awakens, and the fight starts! To make the combat as visceral as it is, a range of editing techniques are expertly interspliced implemented.
Eye lines and eye sights are matched throughout: Hunt glances down at the decoy to realize he’s waking up, his eyes lined with where the decoy is slumped on the toilet (0:06); Walker on the ground but rising, his eyes trained on Hunt and the decoy out-of-frame towards our upper right (0:20); the decoy’s eyes snap to the mirror to see Walker rising behind him, he spins around to glare at him, we can see in the mirror how his gaze matches with where Walker is standing (0:50); Hunt on his knee catching his breath, looking towards the top left, the side we last saw the decoy smugly standing (1:19); the decoy bearing the gun down on Hunt (1:33); Hunt grabbing the gun and aiming at the direction of the other shot, his expression turning to surprise (1:40)…. For it is Isla, his old acquaintance; Isla glances down to her lower right, Hunt in the next shot down to his lower left, maintaining consistency as to where the decoy’s body is (1:45), also a nice example of the 180-rule; we can tell Isla’s attention turns to Walker, as he reciprocates with raised hands (1:53); the scene closes with Hunt, Walker and Isla looking down on the decoy’s body, although it feels as if it is a POV shot from the perspective of the body itself (2:04).
Another technique that was pulled off extensively was matched action. There were several moments of cuts mid-action during the battle: the decoy kicking Hunt out of the bathroom stall – we cut from the overhead shot to one closer to the ground to see more of Hunt (0:10); the decoy grabs his briefcase – cut to him slamming it into Walker’s face (0:13); the decoy spiral flips with Walker out of the stall (0:16); angle on the decoy as he rears back his arm – cut to Walker under him and his bug-eyed reaction at getting throat chopped (0:17); Walker grabs the decoy and hurls him through the bathroom mirrors in the center of the room – this action is matched between three cuts (0:25); Walker takes his jacket off with a cut in between, consistent action (0:48); Hunt charges and the decoy and tackles him through a partition (1:24). Despite a large number of cuts, the action itself never feels cut for it remains remarkably consistent throughout the entire scene.
A few close-ups were inserted to intensify crucial moments: the decoy waking up (0:03); the pipe the decoy rips out from under the sink, a weapon was not used until this point so this adds to the escalating intensity (0:28); a tight focus on the sharped end of the pipe aimed at Hunt’s throat (0:44); and the combined technique of the close up with switched focus between the decoy and the gun as he’s almost got Hunt in his sights sets the stakes high (1:33) – could this be the end for Hunt?
All in all, this scene is fast, relentless, and sharply executed. Every motion and glance and are matched perfectly to what is happening within the scene, and the damage done to the characters (and the bathroom) is consistent. What results is a gritty and nerve-wracking battle that has us wincing with each blow. The editing draws us in and keeps us completely invested.
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