Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Review

One of my most anticipated films of the year, the fifth installment in the enduring Mission: Impossible franchise, has finally arrived. I'm a big fan of all the previous films, and was really excited to see what they had in store this time around. There was also a part of me that was rather apprehensive about this film. Not many franchises grow to be five movies, and not many that do are good by the time they get there. I was a little nervous this would start to show some series fatigue. Luckily, it didn't. Christopher McQuarrie has taken hold of this franchise and given us the best entry to date; it's a nonstop thrill ride with the perfect blend of espionage and action that had me grinning all the way through and all the way home afterwards. I loved this movie.

At the end of Ghost Protocol, Ethan Hunt gets word of a rogue organization known as the Syndicate causing chaos internationally. I wasn't sure if they were going to follow up on that storyline, but I'm glad they did. While out trying to hunt down the Syndicate, Ethan is forced to go on the run from the CIA after the IMF is shut down due to their reckless operations and "lucky" outcomes. While being tracked down by the CIA, Ethan attempts to prove the existence of the Syndicate and why the IMF is necessary.

This is nothing we haven't seen before from a Mission: Impossible film. It seems Ethan Hunt is always disavowed or on the run from his own team while trying to prove something or other and get them back on his side. On paper, it's just an average plot. However, it's the intricacies and the nuances that Rogue Nation has up its sleeve that sets it apart from the rest of the franchise. Much like M:I-3, there are other plot elements that keep the audience invested, not only in the story, but also in the characters.

Tom Cruise continues to be an enigma to me. He's 53-years old, yet he's still probably Hollywood's greatest action star. He climbed up the tallest building in the world the last time out, and now he's hanging on to the outside of an airplane while it takes off. What can I say? The man is dedicated to his craft, and I have to applaud him for that. Furthermore, this film confirmed my suspicions that the role of Ethan Hunt is becoming increasingly autobiographical for him. There was a real world-weariness in his eyes throughout the entire film, and I could see in him a sense of knowing, as if very little could surprise him anymore. That added a whole new layer to the film that I wasn't expecting.

The supporting cast is somewhat an amalgamation of the old and new, with some brand new faces thrown in there as well. Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, and Ving Rhames all reprise their roles from previous M:I films to make the ultimate team for Ethan. Rebecca Ferguson plays Ilsa Faust, a British Intelligence agent who is tasked with infiltrating the Syndicate. Throughout the movie, even till the final frame, you're not sure whether to trust her, and neither is Ethan. She was great, and she played a role in the film that I wasn't expecting to see and will discuss a bit later in the review.

Alec Baldwin plays the CIA Director. Quite perfectly, I might add. Try to imagine Jack Donaghy as a member of the CIA, and that's exactly what you get. And it is, like I said, perfect. He was one of my favorite parts about Rogue Nation, and also gives one of the greatest monologues I've seen in quite some time. The villain of the film is played by Sean Harris. I hadn't really seen Harris in anything prior to this, so I had nothing to go off of. He was surprisingly okay. The series has a history of weak villains - excluding Philip Seymour Hoffman - but this guy wasn't that bad. He wasn't great, and he still suffers from being underwritten like the others. In this one, he's got more of a presence, though, and he actually has some backstory that gives him convincing motivation.

Christopher McQuarrie previously directed Jack Reacher, another Tom Cruise actioner that I rather enjoyed. One of the things I liked most about it was the action sequences, particularly the vehicular ones. The car chase in Jack Reacher was pretty awesome, and McQuarrie tops it in every way with Rogue Nation. There's a car chase sequence that takes place throughout the back streets of Morocco that eventually turns into a motorcycle chase on a cliffside road. That entire section of the film was relentlessly exciting and incredibly well-helmed by McQuarrie. All the rest of the action is great as well, although it wasn't the standout of the film like it was in Ghost Protocol.

The film finally finds the perfect blend of espionage and action. Good strides were made in mixing the two with M:I-3 and Ghost Protocol, but Rogue Nation perfects the formula that those two films started. There are stretches of time in the movie, particularly an entire sequence at an opera in Vienna, that rival the best of James Bond in terms of spy movie greatness. And there are also portions of it, like the aforementioned car chase, that are as exciting as they come. It really is the perfect summer movie.

The aspect of Rogue Nation that really grabbed a hold on me was its tone. All of the Mission: Impossible films are ridiculous. I mean, people make replicas of other people's faces in order to impersonate them, and it works perfectly every time. That's pretty absurd. However, it's a fun sort of absurd. And Rogue Nation encapsulated that facet of the franchise better than any of its predecessors. Instead of going completely over the top like in M:I-2, or treating it a bit too seriously (one might argue the first one did this, as well as parts of the third one), it finds a happy middle. Not like Ghost Protocol, though. No, it's not a cartoon. It teeters on the edge of parody all while keeping a straight face. It's the perfect tone for a M:I movie, and they finally nailed it after five films.

I also really loved Ethan's relationship with Ilsa Faust. Romance is often suggested between them, but they never actually express love for each other or, if memory serves, even kiss. There's always that possibility for a romantic relationship between them, but I don't think that's her main purpose in the film. To Ethan, she represents, similar to Julia in M:I-3, life beyond being a spy and working for the IMF. It's tantalizing to Ethan. On multiple occasions, Ilsa offers to run away with Ethan, to forget about the Syndicate and just fade away from the life of a spy. You can see it in Ethan's eyes; he wants to do it. But, he knows that he's needed, and ultimately gets pulled back into the fray each time he has the opportunity to escape. I found this very compelling.

I'm so happy to report that Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is everything I wanted it to be and more. It delivers plenty of the taut thrills that we've come to expect from the franchise, as well as more of the humor that we got from Ghost Protocol. It also implements its espionage elements into the action better than any of its predecessors. But even more than that, it gives us the perfect tone for a M:I film and follows a solidly written plot that feels believable as it twists and turns and never gets in the way of the action. It gives us a capable leading lady that carried more than her share of the film, and sets the franchise on a path for more terrific adventures in the future. I strongly suggest going to see this film. I'm pretty sure this is the best Mission: Impossible movie yet, which is saying a lot considering it's the fifth one. I'm very tempted to give it a perfect score, but I'll hold off on doing that until I see it again and see how it holds up. It is pretty perfect, though.

A