"Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation" Review

Spanning five films and almost twenty years, the Mission Impossible franchise has had its up and downs. Starting in 1996, the films have been varied in quality, with the last one, “Ghost Protocol”, being by far the best. With its focus on teamwork, death-defying stunts, and general fun, that film become one of my favorites of 2011. Now, four years later we have “Rogue Nation”, a film that touts itself as having not only impressive stunts, but real ones that Tom Cruise performed himself. Going in, I had high expectations not only from the quality of the last film but also from the overwhelmingly positive critical response it has received. The only question is, did it live up to the hype?

                Picking up years after “Ghost Protocol”, Ethan Hunt is still with the IMF and is still active in crazy missions. For over a year, Hunt has investigated into a conspiracy involving an agency made up of missing or presumed dead agents named the Syndicate. They seem to be involved in major deaths and events across the globe all involving political figures. Before Hunt can fully reveal his findings, he is kidnapped by the Syndicate. At the same time, the IMF is shut down by the CIA, leaving Hunt alone and on the run. After six months of silence, Ethan Hunt returns to recruit his old IMF buddies to finally take down the Syndicate.

 

                Just like the last film, the plot of “Rogue Nation” is overly complicated and nonsensical. There were many points where I had no idea what was going on or why the team had to do certain things. Yet, it’s obvious that story was not the main focus of the film and is made up in the characters and parts of the script. Everyone has a funny line or good banter with each other, Jeremy Renner and Ving Rhames especially. Simon Pegg is also funny as always, yet they do feel somewhat useless. Pegg is utilized multiple times, but Renner and Rhames are only there to spout some lines of dialogue and tag along for Cruise to shine in his action scenes. In the end, I’m still glad they were included, since they give the film a comedic edge that makes it seem like the filmmakers are in on the joke with audience, that being that “Rogue Nation” is a silly movie at heart and should not be taken seriously.

                While the story is lackluster, the action is anything but. As I stated earlier, Cruise did most of his own stunts, included the scene where he hangs off the plane as it takes off. 

Yes, that was real. 

Many of the set pieces are a step down in scale and sheer insanity from “Ghost Protocol”, but they are made impressive by the fact that they were done on set with very little CGI utilized. There is a scene that requires Cruise to be underwater with no oxygen tank for three minutes. In order to shoot the scene, he learned how to hold his breath for six minutes. That kind of crazy dedication elevates these scenes from a downgrade to probably more impressive than the last film. It cannot be ignored though that many moments are implausible and ridiculous. Cruise wipes out while flying at high speeds on a motorcycle, yet he immediately gets up and acts as if nothing has happened. He should be dead, or at the very least have giant wounds on his entire body. While the film has a somewhat silly tone, that does not excuse the lack of logic, even if it does lead to cool and exciting action sequences. 

                Yet, something feels lost in the transition from “Protocol” to “Nation”. There is less focus on the team and instead returns to being the Tom Cruise show. While not a huge issue, it is sad to see many of the side characters reduced to background props when they could have bigger roles. Also, there seemed to be less tension in the action scenes. While they are still impressive, they never left me on the edge of my seat or gave my panic attacks like “Protocol” or even this year’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” did. The action has a better behind the scenes story then an actual bearing on the plot. 

                “Rogue Nation” is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, in fact it’s up there as one of the better Mission Impossible movies. Yet, it cannot be ignored that it is a step down from its predecessor and is an above average summer blockbuster when taken on its own merits. I do recommend “Rogue Nation”, as it stands out from many other offerings in this waning summer season, just go in with lowered expectations.