Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
Certified: 12A
Duration: 131 minutes
Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Alec Baldwin, America Olivo, Simon McBurney, Zhang Jingchu
KRS Releasing Ltd
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is the fifth instalment in the Mission: Impossible series that has seen cash takings of over $2 billion. Directors of the likes of Brian De Palma, John Woo, Brad Bird and JJ Abrams have brought their skills to the fray with Tom Cruise toe-tapping to the familiar theme track.
Christopher McQuarrie, well known for his writing and fresh off his success at directing Cruise in Jack Reacher, was brought on to propel the Mission: Impossible franchise to more daring dos.
What is strange is that this franchise which started back in 1996 is not only running strong but delivering with more than enough stimulus to always keep improving itself.
At the centre of this film is once again Cruise who reprises his role as Ethan Hunt. Even though he may be not the most talented or expansive of actors, he more than makes up for it with the commitment and intensity he brings to his roles. McQuarrie knows his actor and makes sure that he stays at the core of the film and at the centre of one magnificent set scene after the other.
This director’s version is very much an extension and continuation in style and mood of 2011’s excellent Ghost Protocol; this time, however, he adds a tad more edge to the over-the-top proceedings.
Hunt is locking horns with the secret organisation The Syndicate. The theory is that this group is carrying out a series of killings.
Alec Baldwin is CIA director Alan Hunley who is headhunting Hunt and the IMF team as he wants this operation shut down. He does not believe that the IMF style of espionage is the best way to safeguard the country. Meanwhile, Hunt and Benji (Simon Pegg), who is the technology whiz, need to go undercover to find Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) who Hunt believes to be the Syndicate’s head.
Rogue Nation ups the ante after every sequence
McQuarrie manages to inject a vibe of danger and high thrills as Rogue Nation ups the ante after every sequence. The director manages to do this in a strong fashion without making the movie feel heavy or forced. And the feeling of ‘impossibility’ is well handled. The storylines are well handled as strand after another seem to come together seamlessly after much intertwining.
Cruise as Ethan Hunt comes across well and it is very obvious he enjoys this role. However, Rogue Nation is not just Cruise’s show. Ferguson as Ilsa, an almost female version of Ethan Hunt, brings to the screen a cold and calculating sense of beauty and her performance will have the audience guessing every motive. She comes off well as a counterbalance to Cruise’s act and the two give a sense of walking on a tightrope feeling.
Harris is a superb villain as he and Hunt bash it out while Pegg is hilarious as he brings a tongue-in-cheek attitude and levity to moments when the going is decidedly breathtaking. He is the joker in the film while Jeremy Renner brings plenty of attitude.
McQuarrie is helped along by the confident hand of cinematographer Robert Elswit who knows how to bring to the screen the physical presence of whatever city or country the high stakes chase is happening in, in what is very much a Hollywood tourist style of adventure.
Judging from what’s on offer, I expect that it would be a mission impossible to not actually see a sixth movie in the near future.