MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION – The Review

Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible franchise is like a series of demo reels for top directors (Brian DePalma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, Brad Bird) to take turns showing off all the assorted ways they can film their star (and producer) running, fighting, shooting, driving, looking cool, and performing eye-popping physical feats. There’s not much continuity connecting the MI films, and it seems no big film series has ever had a leading character quite as scantily-developed as Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION is the fifth film in this series and I still don’t know much about him. But it doesn’t matter. Director Christopher McQuarrie takes the reigns for the newest installment and while it may not add up to much more than the sum of its parts, those parts include an exotic trip around the world, an engaging script, funny dialogue and spectacular stunts for one exhilarating summer ride.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION opens with the CIA brass Hunsley (Alec Baldwin) shutting down the Impossible Mission Force just as they were closing in on a diabolical terror cell known as The Syndicate led by Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). Ethan (Cruise) goes underground for a few months before calling out teammate Benji (Simon Pegg) to help try and foil a political assassination in Vienna. With the CIA believing that Ethan was behind the attempt, Brandt (Jeremy Renner) enlists the questionably loyal Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) to help track him down, leading to a showdown with Lane. The plot is secondary for what makes MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION so special is Cruise and McQuarrie’s giddy knack for momentum, spinning Ethan and his crew from one ridiculously dangerous situation to another. Watch Tom’s car flip end over end a dozen times before he crawls out and hops on a motorcycle to continue the chase and applaud the age-defying 53-year old actor. The 007-style opening with Cruise hanging on to the door of an ascending transport plane is a five-star experience and represents everything you want from an action film. The show-stopping assassination sequence at an Opera House contains wonderful Buster Keaton-style choreography involving curtains, catwalks, and a lethal flute, and there’s another complex scene where Ethan must hold his breath for several minutes longer than expected while trying to seize a crucial computer chip from an underwater source.

Cruise is in enthusiastic form as usual, throwing himself into his stunt work with near-suicidal bravado. Pegg, Renner, and Ving Rhames provide levity, Alec Baldwin fits right in, and Rebecca Ferguson is a sexy and worthy leading lady. But Cruise is the straight man foundation of the series and takes every action beat in stride – always moving, running, and thinking – he’s terrific. The mission itself may be a bit underwhelming and the central villain something of a dud (Sean Harris’ most distinguishing feature is his weak chin), but MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION is an adrenaline-rush adventure on a grand scale and is highly recommended.

4 of 5 Stars