Rating of
3/4
Going Rogue Never Felt So Good
Chris Kavan - wrote on 08/02/15
Tom Cruise continues to prove he is one of the most reliable action stars in Hollywood and that Mission: Impossible is still a solid action franchise. Rogue Nation begins with an insane plane stunt (see the poster? That one right there) and rarely lets up from there. From the back alleys and highways of Morocco to an opera in Austria to the gritty London streets - the globetrotting IMF continues to up the ante.
In Rogue Nation, the IMF is under investigation while Ethan Hunt (Cruise) finds out that the shadowy organization he has been chasing, The Syndicate, is very real. After being knocked out and watching a man callously kill another agent, he also learns that CIA director Alan Hunley (newcomer Alec Baldwin) has effectively shuttered the IMF for good. Agent William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) stays behind while tech wizard Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) takes a boring desk job (while not playing Halo - good plug!). But after a near-miss interrogation, Hunt finds a friend in the mysterious Ilsa Faust (another newcomer, and kick-ass female Rebecca Ferguson). Now Hunt, wanted and alone, must figure out how to track down the mystery gunman (a twisted Sean Harris) and unravel the truth behind The Syndicate.
What Mission: Impossible does well are the action pieces. Aside from that knock-out opening, we get a great action set against the backdrop of the Turandot opera at the Vienna Opera House, an amazing bike chase sequence and a thrilling underwater action piece that rivals the original Langley break-in for the most edge-of-your-seat moment in the series. All told, if you want a great action film - this is the movie you want to see.
The other thing Mission: Impossible has going for it are the characters. This is the first film to feature members from the previous films together - beside Pegg, Cruise and Renner, Ving Rhames returns as well (supposedly Paula Patton and Maggie Q were contacted to reprise their respective roles, but scheduling conflicts prevented them from returning -too bad I say). It's good to see the team back together. Adding in some new faces, and these are characters you can get behind. I especially like the droll humor that Pegg delivers, and even Renner gets in a few nice licks. It's that mix of familiarity and tension that really pays off.
The downfall of the series has always been the somewhat too convoluted storyline. You have fake masks, McGuffins, double-crosses and shifting loyalties all the time. While I do think Rogue Nation is a bit better, you will pardon me from rolling my eyes a few times at the often too-incredulous nature of how twisted things can get. But, that is a hallmark of this series and if you wanted things spoon-fed to you, stick with Paul Blart instead.
Overall, Rogue Nation is a satisfying summer actioner and proves that this series (and Cruise) are still on point and I, for one, can't wait to see what they come up with next.
