‘Mission Impossible Rogue Nation’ review: Tom Cruise shines in exciting, smart thrill ride
Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt in the fifth Mission Impossible film, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. While the film topped the box office (no surprise), the film is an exciting IMF adventure packed with great stunts, an incredibly creepy villain in Sean Harris and thoughtful twists and turns.
Following the events of the last film, Ghost Protocol, CIA director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) successfully gets Washington to dissolve the IMF and declare Cruise’s Hunt a fugitive and threat. Hunt is obsessed with a mysterious group called the Syndicate.
Director and writer Christopher McQuarrie and writer Drew Pearce thread real events into the attacks of the Syndicate and Hunt is quickly trying to recruit help and formulate a plan to bring down the crime organization.
Amazing stunts and action sequences are perfectly seated around this complex story of cat-and-mouse. Jeremy Renner and Ving Rhames return to reprise their roles from previous films, but it’s Simon Pegg who steals every scene, adding just the right dose of humor to keep the “edge off,”
Cruise is the center of the story, the action and the drama as Rogue Nation proves to be a great addition to the genre. Moreover, the backstory of Cruise performing his own stunts, dangling from the plane and learning to hold his breath for six minutes, adds a subtle big of respect for the audience member who learns these factoids.
Faceless thugs come and go like many action films and Rebecca Ferguson is nothing special as the quasi-love interest and MI6 agent embroiled in the adventure. Rogue Nation proves Renner is NOT being set up to take over the franchise from Cruise, relegated to the role of common sense and a rational foil to Cruise’s hunt – Renner is not a participant in any action sequences worth noting.
Cruise confirms rumors that a sixth film is already in the works and Rogue Nation is a blockbuster which can easily set up more films. Harris’s role as the mastermind is more creepy than intended, like a Bond villain instead of genius, but the result is more like a Moriarty-style character, a perfect character to counter Hunt.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation earns 4 out of 5 stars.
