If you like thrilling action and a fast moving plot then you will find Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation highly entertaining. Perhaps the best instalment of the MI franchise to date.
The fifth film in the Mission: Impossible movie franchise, Rogue Nation revolves around Impossible Mission Force (IMF) agent Ethan Hunt’s mission to destroy the Syndicate, a highly secretive and skilled group of criminal agents whose intent is to create a new world order since the recent dismantling of the IMF. His path collides with disavowed MI6 agent and Syndicate operative Ilsa Faust when she rescues him from a torture chamber set up by fellow Syndicate member Janik “Bone Doctor” Vinter.
Meanwhile, back on Capitol Hill, CIA director Alan Hunley and IMF agent William Brandt appear before a Senate oversight committee, and Hunley succeeds in persuading the committee to disband the IMF and have it absorbed into the CIA, promising that Hunt will be captured quickly. Cut off from the IMF, Hunt starts following his only lead that the Syndicate actually exists: a blonde man in glasses, later identified as its supreme leader Solomon Lane.
With conflicting loyalties, Brandt recruits former agent Luther Stickell to find Hunt and prevent Hunley’s team from killing him. What ensues is a race against time: Hunt trying to prove the existence of the Syndicate and its members; the Syndicate’s efforts to kill him, thus preventing him revealing their identities; Hunley and the CIA trying to bring in Hunt dead or alive; and Brandt’s efforts to stop the CIA from killing him.
With such a thick plot, you would expect the movie to shift quickly and that’s exactly what it does. With little time to focus on the background of each character or indeed the background of the Syndicate, director Christopher McQuarrie instead lets the action do the talking. Some of the most exciting scenes include Hunt attempting to board an aeroplane during take-off; Hunt swapping out a memory chip in a huge underwater server beneath a power station; and some fantastic motorcycle chases (after all, Tom Cruise is a big motorcycle fan).
All this action however, though entertaining, is also its biggest weakness. There is little exploration into the history of each main character and although the plot is enough to justify the stunning action scenes, it’s not original or interesting enough to provide much mental stimulation; the viewer is left to make many assumptions due to the vagueness of Hunt’s enemies and their motivations. Rogue Nation could have for example, expanded on the plot of Ghost Protocol (the previous MI instalment) which was a better film from the perspective of depth of plot.
Rogue Nation helps to cement Tom Cruise’s position as one of the best Hollywood actors of the last 30 years and although he’s now in his fifties, he still does many of his own stunts and his acting is as compelling as ever. Solid acting performances abound and Rebecca Ferguson, in her biggest movie role to date, played her role as Cruise’s antagonist / partner in crime very well.
In summary, if you’re a fan of the Mission: Impossible series and Tom Cruise, you’ll probably love this movie – there is no denying it IS entertaining. However, if you’re looking to be captivated by a mentally stimulating plot and depth of characters, Rogue Nation will leave you wanting.
