Saturday, August 8, 2015

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation


Score:  **** out of ***** (A-)

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Starring Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Alec Baldwin
Running time:  131 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  Even in his fifth go-round as Ethan Hunt (not to mention plenty of similar roles), Cruise and the filmmakers of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation continue to produce the goods.  Joining Cruise's dependable (and still thrill-seeking) hero are old pal, funnyman Simon Pegg and new, strong and welcome agent addition by Rebecca Ferguson.  If the plot is not quite as intriguing as usual (and maybe a little 007-derivative), the stunts and action are top-notch.  Recommended.


Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and co. are at it again as the film opens, stopping a terrorist group from stealing chemical weapons in dramatic fashion.  A seemingly regular mission of the top-secret IMF, it ends up having massive consequences.  The CIA argues that it proves the IMF is too cavalier for national security, and Hunt becomes convinced that the terrorists were part of a much larger conspiracy he has been tracking for a year.  Within hours of the successful mission, then, the IMF has been disbanded and Hunt is on the run.  While eluding detection, Hunt goes after the even-more-secret group, calling itself the Syndicate, by attempting to find a mysterious man who attacked him, and a mysterious woman (Ferguson) who saved him.

Hunt manages to get help from his old IMF partners, including Benji (Pegg), but this potential final mission truly seems to be impossible.  The Syndicate is always two steps ahead of the beleaguered Hunt, and while he finds the woman agent, she seems to be playing both sides.  And time is running out, for the Syndicate is after a prize that will ensure their global terrorism indefinitely.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation has a strong, entertaining cast.  Cruise headlines the action again as Ethan the daredevil IMF agent.  I've said it before, and it remains true: Cruise is one of the finest classic film heroes we have today, one of a dying breed.  Perhaps he's crazy and aloof elsewhere, but on screen he gives as much or more focus and energy as any other actor.  He's also famous for doing his own stunts which he continues here, including strapping himself to an airplane that takes off.  Rebecca Ferguson is sort of like the Bond girl (one of many 007 parallels here) as agent Ilsa, but that description doesn't do her character or performance justice.  She is cunning, strong but vulnerable, sexy but not hostage to romance (not one kiss!), and she more than holds her own whether in combat or in tense negotiation.  Ferguson's acting is a great complement to Cruise's lead, and her character Ilsa is vital to the tone and plot thread of the film.  It's great to have Simon Pegg back as tech expert Benji - mostly, of course, for his fantastic comic relief, but he genuinely fits well in the film overall.  Sean Harris plays the villain who's suitably creepy (again, in a rather Bond villain-esque way) but one-note.  Alec Baldwin is a welcome addition as the stiff and pompous CIA director, and both Renner and Rhames return but without much excitement.

As the fifth installment in the Mission Impossible franchise, Rogue Nation knows what to do.  Cruise and pals serve up intricate, usually twisty-turny criminal plots that the heroes fight with a variety of elaborate stunts; while they're not the only ones anymore, they still do it better than most.  The stunts are particularly well done this time, even having seen more and more of these types of scenes in other films.  The film's signature, Cruise clinging to the outside of the plane, is the opening scene; it's done somewhat matter-of-factly, but executed brilliantly (I think Ghost Protocol's skyscraper is still the series' best, but this one is great, too).  There are several other very well done action sequences, including a quiet, multi-threat assassination attempt at an opera, an underwater heist, and a zooming motorcycle chase (seems to be a Cruise favorite).  The plot is fine, though it feels a bit sewn together from various other films - primarily from 007.  Once we get to the final act, it almost starts going through the motions a little, albeit with some clever and/or amusing moments.  Again, with such a crowded field this isn't surprising, and at least Ilsa's character provides some crucial intrigue.  While Rogue Nation presents itself seriously like the rest of the franchise, there's effective humor in spots, almost all from Pegg's Benji, though Cruise, Renner and others chip in too.

***

The newest Mission Impossible is a strong piece of entertainment, both worthy of inclusion in this particularly excellent summer movie season as well as part of the continued success of the franchise.  I will say that this was a B+/A- borderline film for me.  I think partly that's because, once again, there's a certain saturation of this kind of movie - or elements within it - that makes it hard to feel fresh.  The villain is not that great, and because of this the finale was somewhat tempered.  I felt a stronger convergence in style between this Mission Impossible and where 007 is today; I could argue that Cruise's Ethan Hunt is now the American Bond in many ways.  But if they're both doing things well, so be it!  Rogue Nation serves up top-quality action and thrills, and it benefits hugely from the trio of Cruise's dependable hero, Ferguson's fascinating, versatile heroine, and Pegg's funny yet fitting sidekick.  If you enjoy a well-done action flick I highly recommend this (particularly as the summer calendar winds down and we get fewer of these).


Rolling rankings of the summer's movies (click to go to my reviews):
  1. Inside Out (A+)
  2. Tomorrowland (A)
  3. Jurassic World (A-)
  4. Spy (A-)
  5. Mad Max: Fury Road (A-)
  6. Avengers: Age of Ultron (A-)
  7. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (A-)
  8. Ant-Man (B+)
  9. Terminator Genisys (C)



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