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‘Mission: Impossible - Fallout’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Craig Horlbeck

December 27, 2022 · Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) · Action · Adventure · Thriller · 1:33:35 · ▶ Listen on Spotify

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Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 1:04:09Jeremy Renner couldn't return because he was filming Avengers: Endgame; McQuarrie wanted Renner to do a cameo where he's killed in the opening and Renner declined to keep his options open for Dead Reckoning. Also: the fake John Lark in the bathroom fight was originally going to be a third famous actor, who was dropped after failing a fight evaluation against Cruise and Cavill (stuntman Liang Yang got the part).
Chris Ryan▶ 14:42Mentions looking at younger actors to play Walker but notes they're all in Marvel movies, making them unavailable
Chris Ryan▶ 1:04:34Weighed in on the Renner what-if: figures McQuarrie leveled with Renner (sensational death exit vs. never returning) and, on learning the ending sets up a return, calls it a good move by Renner; praised stuntman Liang Yang, who replaced the unnamed star in the bathroom fight.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 31:57Multiple scenes including fake CNN broadcast, skydiving scene, nightclub bathroom fight, Paris chase sequence, helicopter hijacking, and the ending action sequences
Chris Ryan▶ 33:05Discussed the skydiving scene with lightning and bathroom fights, noting how the lightning adds another layer to make the scene more compelling
Craig Horlbeck▶ 38:34The roof run - calls it 'the greatest cruise run of his career'

What's Aged the Best

Bill Simmons▶ 42:02Paris as a location, Ving Rhames, the theme song, the score by Lorne Balfe, and 'all the women' (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan, Vanessa Kirby)
Chris Ryan▶ 44:15Movies that start with kidnapping nuclear weapon specialists, Tom Cruise's career defying aging expectations, Vanessa Kirby doing Vanessa Redgrave callbacks, nightclub within nightclub concept, and bongo drum sound drops
Craig Horlbeck▶ 47:32Vanessa Kirby as a revelation in the movie

Big Kahuna Burger Award

Bill Simmons▶ 48:57Nothing because there's no food or drinks in this movie
Chris Ryan▶ 49:11Agrees there's no eating in the movie, mentions Vanessa Kirby has a martini as pretty much the only example

Den of Thieves Benihana Award

Bill Simmons▶ 51:02the giant nightclub
Chris Ryan▶ 51:08agrees with the nightclub but also likes the Jardin du Palais Royale garden where Ethan and Ilsa meet

Butch's Girlfriend Award

Bill Simmons▶ 51:47Wes Bentley
Chris Ryan▶ 51:48Agrees Wes Bentley is problematic but acknowledges it creates unintentional comedy
Craig Horlbeck▶ 52:20Supports Wes Bentley criticism, calling the character interaction nonsensical

Ron Burgundy Flute Award

Bill Simmons▶ 53:24The speech scene - 'that speech is fucking terrible. That whole scene's awful.'

Is There a Better Title?

Bill Simmons▶ 55:40Thinks Fallout is plain and basic but admits they can't beat it, prefers Ghost Protocol as a title
Chris Ryan▶ 55:29Halo Dive or Mission Impossible Missing Plutonium
Craig Horlbeck▶ 55:12No better title - considers 'Detonation', 'Mission Impossible Missing Plutonium', and 'Mission Impossible Bioterror' but concludes nothing really works better than Fallout

Best Quote

Chris Ryan▶ 57:33Two quotes: 'I murder women and children with smallpox. I have no line.' and 'This is the CIA's mission. You use a scalpel. I prefer a hammer.' (Angela Bassett)

Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:00:31Tom Cruise is the greatest close talker of our generation — standing six inches from his scene partners is his substitute for the charisma he's lost with age.
Chris Ryan▶ 57:51This movie is diminished by Top Gun: Maverick — strip out half the plot and three or four characters (Angela Bassett, two of the three women, maybe even Solomon Lane) and Fallout is five-to-ten times better as a lean two-hour movie.
Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:01:40Henry Cavill is way too hot to be the manifesto-writing villain — 'the world's hottest man' would be the star quarterback in the coolest frat at USC, not a guy trying to eradicate half the earth.

Dion Waiters Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:07:05Vanessa Kirby

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:08:07Henry Cavill mustache controversy with Justice League, HALO jump technical details with Red weapon camera and IMAX lens, Simon Pegg quotes about Cruise's dangerous stunts, Cruise doing his own BMW driving stunts, Rebecca Ferguson being pregnant during filming
Chris Ryan▶ 1:08:11Cavill mustache situation with McQuarrie asking $3 million to shave it, Paris car chase inspired by 1970s short film 'Paris Rendezvous' available on YouTube
Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:09:15YouTube clip showing Cruise directing the cameraman mid-skydive during HALO jump sequence

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 1:10:59Mission: Impossible — Mission Impossible 1 for franchise setup, this movie for Tom Cruise as insane person, skydiving stunt as craziest, bathroom fight scenes for this movie, John Wick for nightclub fights, First Blood for helicopter chases
Chris Ryan▶ 1:10:52Mission: Impossible — Mission Impossible 1 for the franchise, Superman for Henry Cavill, Collateral for nightclub fights, bathroom fight scenes for this movie, Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz for Simon Pegg
Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:11:48Dr. Rob Thorne for fake Tom Cruise names, questions whether skydiving is more impressive than Ghost Protocol building stunt

Racehorse Name Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:14:52Suggested 'Apostle', 'The Syndicate', and 'Missing Plutonium' as potential racehorse names

Sequel/Prequel/Limited Series/Remake

Bill Simmons▶ 1:21:36There will be a sequel in 2023, the final two films that will end Ethan Hunt's story with Cruise dying in outer space trying to find Mars
Chris Ryan▶ 1:21:21Critiqued potential sequel titles, suggesting 'the destruction of the current world order' is not catchy enough
Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:21:26Expressed disinterest in potential sequel concepts, saying he would 'close tab' on titles like 'peace requires great suffering'

Is This Movie Better With

Bill Simmons▶ 1:21:52Lists the utility players: Wayne Jenkins, Daniel Treo, Katherine Hahn, Steve Buscemi, Sam Jackson, JT Walsh
Chris Ryan▶ 1:22:18Jon Bernthal — Jon Bernthal (Wayne Jenkins) instead of Wes Bentley - says it would be 10 times better as the disgruntled ex-husband
Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:22:24Makes comments about the ex-husband character but doesn't clearly state a preference for utility player replacement

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:24:24Suggested cities with hills and water are best - mentioned San Francisco, some European cities, LA/PCH route to Santa Monica Pier then Venice, and Paris for motorcycle chases
Chris Ryan▶ 1:24:09Posed the question about best car chase cities, mentioned Chicago as pretty good, referenced Blues Brothers

Best Double Feature

Bill Simmons▶ 1:25:45John Wick: Chapter 2 — John Wick Chapter 2 or Top Gun: Maverick - favors Wick 2 as the only thing challenging Mission Impossible in stunt coordination
Chris Ryan▶ 1:25:34Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation — Rogue Nation
Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:25:57John Wick: Chapter 2 — Disagrees with John Wick 2 pairing - doesn't think Wick is close to Mission Impossible

Coach Finstock Life Lesson

Bill Simmons▶ 1:30:27Stay vigilant and read the tea leaves - when your wife clearly knows more than she's letting on about mysterious situations
Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:30:07Great suffering brings great peace (from the manifesto)

Who Won the Movie

Chris Ryan▶ 1:30:48Tom Cruise — Cruise (agrees with Craig)
Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:30:41Tom Cruise — Cruise

Movies Referenced (34)

Top Gun (1986)

15 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, Craig Horlbeck▶ 13:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Superman (2025)

5 mentions · Chris Ryan, Craig Horlbeck, Bill Simmons▶ 19:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 9:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Justice League (2017)

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 1:08:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗

All the Right Moves (1983)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 13:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Collateral (2004)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 1:13:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Extraction (2020)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 34:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Fargo (1996)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 30:35IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Fast Five (2011)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 1:31:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rain Man (1988)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 16:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗

A Few Good Men (1992)

1 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 16:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

American Beauty (1999)

1 mentions · Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:06:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (4)

Wade Eastwood

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Mission: Impossible - Fallout▶ 17:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Martin Scorsese

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Taxi Driver, Killers of the Flower Moon, Mean Streets▶ 20:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Paul Bellany

1 mentions · Craig Horlbeck · Known for The Bourne Ultimatum, Stardust▶ 0:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sam Mendes

1 mentions · Craig Horlbeck · Known for 1917, Road to Perdition▶ 5:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (43)

Tom Cruise

83 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Craig Horlbeck · Known for Top Gun, Mission: Impossible II, Minority Report▶ 4:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Henry Cavill

20 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Man of Steel, Justice League▶ 8:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Alec Baldwin

12 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Craig Horlbeck · Known for The Departed, It's Complicated, Glengarry Glen Ross▶ 29:44IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sean Harris

10 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Harry Brown▶ 29:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ving Rhames

9 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Craig Horlbeck · Known for Pulp Fiction, Mission: Impossible II, Bringing Out the Dead▶ 42:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

LeBron James

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Craig Horlbeck · Known for Hustle▶ 13:19IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michelle Monaghan

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Craig Horlbeck, Chris Ryan · Known for Gone Baby Gone, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang▶ 47:43IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Philip Seymour Hoffman

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for The Master, Capote, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead▶ 9:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Wes Bentley

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Craig Horlbeck · Known for American Beauty, The Hunger Games, Interstellar▶ 51:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Angela Bassett

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Strange Days, Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever▶ 56:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ewan McGregor

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Moulin Rouge!, Trainspotting▶ 1:07:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Joaquin Phoenix

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Walk the Line, Gladiator, The Master▶ 29:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (3)

Christopher McQuarrie

6 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, Craig Horlbeck · Known for The Usual Suspects, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning▶ 18:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

James Cameron

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Avatar, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day▶ 33:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 29:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗