Four out of Five Stars
Tom Cruise is back as super spy Ethan Hunt in the 5th instalment of the Mission: Impossible film franchise. In Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, a disavowed Hunt must deal with the dismantling of the IMF just as a new threat, the mysterious Syndicate referred to in the previous film Ghost Protocol, begins to rise to prominence. With his team in shambles and with the CIA on his trail, Hunt must go underground to defeat the Syndicate and to clear his name.
The entire gang is back with Simon Pegg (Benji Dunn), Jeremy Renner (William Brandt), Ving Rhames (Luther Stickell), and Alec Baldwin (Alan Hunley) reprising their roles. This time they are joined by Sean Harris as Lane and Rebecca Ferguson as Isla Faust. Harris’ Lane is tightly wound – more geek than stone cold killer – and is a worthy villain. Unfortunately, as is the case with most of the central villains in the Mission: Impossible movies, Lane is under utilized and it would have served the film better to have Harris and Cruise share more screen time together.
The real revelation of Rogue Nation is Rebecca Ferguson. Her turn as Faust injects some fresh blood into a boys club that seems to be content with rotating female leads with each new film. Ferguson’s chemistry with Cruise is good and she handles the action scenes and stunts with ease. If Faust isn’t a part of the next installment of the series, then Ferguson should get her own spinoff movie.
Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (Edge of Tomorrow, Jack Reacher, Valkyrie), Rogue Nation is one of the stronger films in the series with enough twists and turns to keep audiences engaged during its 131 minute run time. McQuarrie’s screenplay also contains some humour without veering off into camp. Pegg provides the majority of the laughs but Cruise, Renner and Rhames all get a chance to bring some levity to the action.
Rogue Nation has all of the hallmarks of a Mission: Impossible movie including exotic locales, various set pieces involving outrageous stunts (including Cruise hanging onto the side of an airplane as it takes off into the air), explosions, chases and hand to hand combat. The chase scene along the Moroccan highway with motorbikes weaving in and out of traffic is one of the film’s highlights.
In spite of all of that there is something different in this installment and it may center on Cruise himself. Its been almost 20 years since the first Mission: Impossible film and although Cruise appears to have halted Father Time and continues to do his own stunts, in this film his Ethan Hunt appears to be as vulnerable as he’s ever been. Its not that Hunt is softer or less effective, its that this film portrays him as less of a superhero. It’s an interesting take on the super spy, but it works.
The Mission: Impossible film franchise is like a well oiled machine. As long as Cruise enjoys making them and they continue to do well at the box office, the adventures of Ethan Hunt will be around for a long time to come.
