After a successful first outing in Brian De Palma's 1996 film, the "Mission: Impossible" franchise was fairly forgotten after two lackluster outings, until 2011, when the excellent "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" reinvigorated the series, as well as reestablished Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt as a relevant action hero. Now, "Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation", helmed by "Jack Reacher" director Christopher McQuarrie, is here to outdo its predecessor in an entertaining, if flawed, summer action film.
The IMF is dissolved after CIA Director Hunley (Alec Baldwin) investigates Hunt and his team, claiming that their successes are pure blind luck- apparently, Hunley has never seen a "Mission: Impossible" movie. Now, Hunt and his team, with the help of the morally questionable Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson), must go rogue to eradicate the ruthless Syndicate, who are committing systematic acts of terrorism around the world.
(Under his breath) "Mommy!"
McQuarrie's script embraces the tropes of the espionage genre in an exciting way. The film is a fun, globe-hopping adventure with tons of twists and turns and mind blowing stunts. For example, the franchise's typical "impossible" break-in involves Hunt holding his breath for over three minutes while trying to hack a cyber vault that just so happens to be submerged in 50,000 gallons of pressurized water. This scene is not only great because of Cruise's bravura stunt work, but because McQuarrie plays the scene for tense, down-to-the-wire effect, emulating De Palma more than JJ Abrams here.
The film features tons of jaw dropping action set pieces, from a high speed motorcycle chase to Cruise hanging out of an airborne plane, and each one is thrilling. Unfortunately, McQuarrie can't sustain the momentum for the film's surprisingly talk-heavy climax and it feels like a letdown compared to how much the film threw at you earlier. The film also plays the double cross card too many times and at a certain point, it becomes hard to follow. An ironic problem for a "Mission: Impossible" film, as De Palma's film was criticized for being too complicated and the franchise switched to an action formula to remedy that.
"On your right!"
"Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation" is a fun summer spy flick, even if it can't sustain the success of "Ghost Protocol". It's not the best mission yet, but if you're looking for a classic espionage movie wrapped in a summer blockbuster package, you should choose to accept this mission.
