My initial response to 2011’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol was to marvel at the stunt work and spectacle, but I felt a bit letdown by the villain and what seemed like a script overly reliant on silliness. Since then, however, I’ve come to enjoy Ghost Protocol more and more, but as an unabashed fan of not only the Mission franchise (yes, including Mission: Impossible II), but its star, Tom Cruise, perhaps that clouds my vision. I don’t know. Either way, I have no such initial qualms when it comes to the franchise’s fifth installment, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.
Kicking off with one of three massive stunt pieces, Rogue Nation includes a villain with shades of Bond’s Blofeld (though consider that only a mild comparison, not an outright apples-to-apples), just the right touch of comedy and the impressively awesome addition of Rebecca Ferguson. In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing Ferguson return for the next Mission as this franchise could use a bit of consistency as far as the females are concerned and none have been better than she is here.
Truth be told, it’s a good thing Rogue Nation finds success in its action, comedy and performances considering the narrative does rely a little too heavily on story aspects from past installments. The first Mission featured an internal IMF mole, the second an IMF agent gone rogue, the third another nefarious IMF agent and in the fourth the entirety of the IMF was disavowed. Now, at the beginning of this fifth Mission, we find CIA chief Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) calling for the complete disbanding of the IMF, believing the organization is reckless, deeming their successes far more attributable to luck than actual skill. Hunley considers Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) a problem child and perhaps a rogue agent himself, finding it less than coincidental that wherever Ethan goes trouble seems to follow.
The result? The IMF is disbanded and Ethan is now being hunted by the CIA while at the same time he’s tracking a faceless terrorist organization known only as the Syndicate. Tightly guarded secrets and characters that may or may not be trustworthy are once again tossed into the fold as Ethan must perform amazing feats of derring-do to save the day… and it’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch.
Screened for Seattle press on a real-deal IMAX screen, the opening sequence featuring Cruise holding on to the outside of an Airbus A400M Atlas during take off is enough to make you look on in wonder, mouth agape as the rumbling bass was shaking the back of my seat. A harrowing underwater sequence followed by a breathless motorcycle chase are other examples of what you can expect, and they play well off past stunt success in the franchise, ramping up the threat of danger while also playing within the limits of the character… though it does seem Ethan’s limits are few and far between, which is actually the source of a dryly delivered joke from Simon Pegg, who once again plays tech wiz, Benji Dunn.
Benji, in fact, gets the most screen time when it comes to the traditional arsenal of supporting characters. Both Ving Rhames and Jeremy Renner are back, but in minor roles compared to what Cruise, Pegg and new addition Ferguson are asked to deliver, but the dynamic between Cruise and Ferguson and the “is she, or isn’t she?” aspect is more than enough to carry the feature.
Ferguson is something of a new face on the scene, having primarily starred as Queen Elizabeth in “The White Queen” and we’ll forget she even said yes to co-starring in Hecules, but her role here, of which I will remain intentionally coy, is excellent. Strong, decisive and confident, Ferguson stands out for who her character is as much as the choreographed action sequences she’s asked to pull off.
Cruise, again, gives his absolute all and as a fan of the man’s work that alone is enough for me to endorse this feature. Director and co-writer Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher) keeps things moving with tight edits and what I would call a respectively slim running time considering everything that takes place.
I want to remain mum on the film’s overall villain as the marketing has done a good job highlighting some of the massive set pieces (though only the theater can deliver the full experience) while at the same time keeping the more nefarious aspects mysterious, not to mention the film’s finale, which did make me think a bit of Nicolas Cage’s “We’re going to steal the Declaration of Independence” from National Treasure, but in the end was all part of the fun.
The Mission franchise is quite simply one of the best blockbuster franchises still hitting theaters today. I’m not blind to the fact the narratives aren’t overly unique from one to the next, but when it comes to blockbuster action cinema there have been few action stars that can live up to Tom Cruise when it comes to giving their absolute all. It must be freeing to be a writer or director when you know your star is pretty much up for anything. When you can ask your superstar lead actor, “Hey, do you have any problem strapping yourself to the side of an 168,700 pound aircraft during takeoff and landing?” and the answer is, “No, let’s do it eight times,” you pretty much know the sky’s the limit when it comes to what your film can deliver and Rogue Nation does just that.
