MOVIE REVIEW: Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

It's hard to believe that the Mission: Impossible movie series has gone on for nearly 20 years now, with the first film being released in 1996 and directed by Brian De Palma. Unlike many other stars in the action genre who have struggled to maintain their box office glory over the years (Arnold Schwarzenegger being the prime example of this), Tom Cruise, now 53 years old, shows no signs of slowing down as an action star. With each new entry in this series Cruise has willingly put his own life at risk in order to entertain audiences, and his dedication is evident within the first 10 minutes of this film's opening. It's been well publicized on advertisements all over television and the internet, but it's worth mentioning again here that, yes, Tom Cruise does indeed hang off the side of an Airbus A400M cargo plane, at full speed, as it ascends up to 5,000 feet above the ground (and no, there's no stunt double). It's a genuinely thrilling and impressive opening sequence that rivals the best of those in the Bond series, and further proves how dedicated (or insane) Tom Cruise is to pleasing audiences. As a result, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is among the best action movies so far this year, second only to Mad Max: Fury Road.

As with most films in the espionage genre, the plot is there but often a bit overly convoluted in its details. That's still the case here, but it essentially revolves around the CIA, represented by Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin), trying to disband the IMF (Impossible Missions Force) that Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is a part of. Due to their destructive actions in the series' previous entry, 2011's Ghost Protocol, William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) has been having to for these actions in front of a Senate oversight committee. Meanwhile Ethan is convinced that he can prove the existence of the Syndicate, a mysterious organization made up of spies from all over the world who have been officially presumed dead, which is headed by Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). There's more to it, including several twists and turns, but that's the bare bones to what's happening here. And, honestly, it's not so much the intricacies of the plot that you go for when you watch a spy thriller but the spectacle, locales and overall intrigue.

Stepping behind the director's chair for this go-round is Christopher McQuarrie, an Oscar winner for writing 1995's The Usual Suspects, who had previously directed Tom Cruise in the decent-but-unremarkable Jack Reacher. Luckily this is a step up for McQuarrie, who shows real flare for suspense and action that wasn't always present in his previous directorial collaboration with Cruise. Although the plane sequence is the most talked about action set piece, there are two in the middle of the film that stand out just as much, if not more. One is where Ethan Hunt has to hold his breath for 3 minutes underwater while infiltrating a secure server underneath a power station with assistance from Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). The other, which directly follows this underwater sequence, is a car and motorcycle chase through the streets of a Moroccan city. It's simultaneously exciting and funny, with a kinetic energy and editing style that still lets you understand what's going on no matter how crazy the crashes and stunts get. Much of the action in this sequence looks very practical, which helps to give it even more intensity.

In many ways this film feels like a throwback to the earlier Bond pictures. Although the recent Daniel Craig entries are (mostly) excellent, they have a decidedly more serious and grim tone that separates them from the Connery, Moore or even Brosnan eras in the 007 series. The Mission: Impossible series is quite the opposite, embracing the humor and ridiculousness of all that's going on. Much of this comedic relief comes from Simon Pegg as Benji, who brought that same lighter touch to the proceedings in the previous film. Tom Cruise is also more than self-aware about his height even though he's seemingly invincible, acknowledged most amusingly when he tries to fistfight a henchman who stands at least a foot taller than him. Alec Baldwin also gets some hilarious one-liners, particularly when he describes Ethan Hunt as "the living manifestation of destiny," a description that could equally apply to this film's star as well.

Despite all of this praise, there are some downsides. There's the usual bits of exposition in between those action sequences, which is often fine in the first half but becomes a bit wobbly and somewhat tedious later on. The villain, played by Sean Harris, has motivations that are somewhat unclear and whispers most of his dialogue, a characteristic that comes off as more odd than menacing. He has a little bit more to do than Michael Nyqvist's villain did in the previous installment, but still not terribly memorable by the end. Overall I think that Ghost Protocol is ultimately more satisfying as a whole, and Mission: Impossible III has the best villain (portrayed by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman), but there's a lot to like here. You're often too entertained by what's going on to worry about such nitpicks and flaws in the logic or story. What's most impressive is that, five movies in, Rogue Nation didn't manage to make the same mistakes as the recent Terminator Genisys did. Whereas that series has long run out of gas and has nowhere to go, I will be more than happy to see another spy adventure with Ethan Hunt and his fellow agents.

Rating: 3/4