'Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation' Review

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation Review:

Buckle Up

BY IAN TAN

I'd like this on my room wall

            In Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation the CIA, believing that the IMF’s (Impossible Missions Force) unorthodox methods of accomplishing missions are a threat to global security, shuts it down. Meanwhile, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) discovers The Syndicate, a rogue nation consisting of disavowed agents that will stop at nothing to eradicate the IMF for good. With the CIA believing The Syndicate to be a figment of Hunt’s imagination, Ethan is tasked with killing two birds with one stone: 1) exposing The Syndicate to the CIA, thus proving its existence and justifying the need for the IMF, and 2) preventing The Syndicate from carrying out their dastardly plans for “world change”.  

            First of all, as far as action is concerned, this sequel towers over its predecessors. In Rogue Nation, director Christopher McQuarrie takes all your favourite action sequences from prior M:I films and injects them with steroids. “So you liked that motorcycle chase from M:I:II? Here’s a better one. Loved seeing Tom Cruise scale the Burj Khalifa in Ghost Protocol? We’ve got him strapped onto the side of a flying aeroplane this time. Want us to pay homage to that vault infiltration scene from the first movie? We’ll make him do the same thing, this time underwater, with a spinning turbine, and no oxygen for a good six minutes” was probably what went through McQuarrie’s head while writing the script for the movie. The action in this film is truly exhilarating and deserves to be seen on the largest screen possible. The use of more exotic locations such as Vienna, Casablanca and London escalates the scale of the film as a whole too.

Dude left his phone on the plane.

But action’s not the only thing this film does better than its predecessors; the character dynamics in Rogue Nation are probably the best ever seen in a Mission: Impossible movie. The film opens with our main characters split up from one another, but as the plot unfolds, it’s genuinely exciting to see them slowly come together as a team, especially in the film’s climax where sweet justice is served.

The cast does a terrific job in their respective roles. It’s nice to see the camaraderie between Jeremy Renner’s Agent Brandt and Ving Rhames’ Luther in the movie – two characters that know Ethan Hunt but have never worked alongside each other. It makes for some fun exchange. Simon Pegg of course, is always reliable as techie Benji Dunn and gets to flex some of his dramatic muscles in this movie. However, it’s series newcomer Rebecca Ferguson as the feisty and mysterious Ilsa Faust that stands out the most. Here’s to hoping she returns for future Missions. In addition, Alec Baldwin does great in his minor role as Agent Hunley and Sean Harris is chillingly menacing as Solomon Lane, the film’s antagonist. He’s not the best villain of the series though. That honour still goes to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Owen Davian from M:I:III.

Luther never parts with his hat. 

            Of course, who can forget Tom Cruise, who’s 53 and at the top of his game, delivering a slightly more vulnerable version of Ethan Hunt. The fact that there are instances where even his teammates begin to doubt him makes for some intriguing character development, but alas, Ethan Hunt begins the movie as a determined, unshakable agent and ends the movie the same way. There are hints at how his character may be taking things a little too far at times (I mean, look at the risks the guy takes to accomplish his missions) and how it may just be detrimental to his wellbeing, but all that is dropped for the sake of some cool espionage and spy work. It would’ve been nice if the movie explored his character a little more deeply, but I have to give screenwriters Christopher McQuarrie and Drew Pearce credit for trying, at least.

"It's impossibru."

Looking back, the Mission: Impossible franchise has seen more good days than bad, with every instalment in the franchise being better than the one before it, save Mission: Impossible II, which remains the least good film in the (now) five-film series. When I first saw the trailer for this film, I honestly couldn’t see Rogue Nation topping the adrenaline-packed thrill ride that was Ghost Protocol. However, by a miracle of sorts, I have to say that Rogue Nation is by far my favourite film in the franchise. It’s jam packed with some insanely intense stunts and action sequences, and does a great job with its characters, both returning and new. It takes the best aspects of the series and fuses them into one heart-pounding actioner that’s full of energy, spectacular action and charismatic performances. This is one to watch.

Final Verdict

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation gets 8.8 out of 10 stars – Got your seatbelt on yet?