Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation Review: White Knuckle Excitement Start to Finish

The Mission Impossible franchise is an interesting subject. It’s linked, of course, to the TV show of the same name, which had a successful run showing off heists and spy actions that leaned more toward the cerebral than the “action set piece” of today. It also links inextricably to star Tom Cruise, who as a producer on the series has taken an increased role in each film, working with writers and directors on how to make the franchise the best he thinks it can be.

The fifth film, then, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, draws from Cruise’s own past, uses elements born of the TV and film franchise before it, and borrows heavily from other recent franchises to turn out an action-adventure that leaves you with sweaty palms, white knuckles, and a sense of excited fun, but not much of the cerebral aspect. The ultimate summer popcorn movie, Rogue Nation seems to want the best Tom Cruise action moments, the speediest, most dangerous chases, and the shocker twists that most people will see coming – but love anyway, and it delivers on all of those things.

It’ll surprise many casual fans or those who’ve been watching the trailers and the TV spots and seeing the posters that most of the movie’s marketing centers on literally the first scene of the movie. Yes, the incredible plane stunt is the opener, like Bond films of the last twenty-odd years, pushing adrenaline into high gear before the audience has even settled fully into their seats. From there, the pace remains remarkably consistent. While there are expository lulls and the occasional conversation, much of even that is pushed to radio transmission and earwigs while on the way to the next set piece. Just as things slow down from one action scene, they’re simultaneously ramping up into the next. It makes for a tense two hours, with nary a moment to let things breathe, and as an action film, it finds success in that direction. Even some of the set pieces seem to be strung together into a larger, mega-piece (something director Christopher McQuarrie confirmed to me in an interview). The structure of the film, with the largest and most marketable stunt at the very beginning, and the other major sequences wildly interspersed, is wholly unique.

The nature of the stunts themselves seem to build off of multiple ideas: it’s a little bit of Tom Cruise’s own past work in films like Jack Reacher and the previous MI films, with some Daniel Craig-era Bond and more than a dash of Fast & Furious thrown into the mix, as well. Everything here is presented with a flavor unique to the Impossible franchise, though; the multi-vehicle chase scenes have more of an elimination round feel; the one-on-many fights have a foregone conclusion to them that makes you more interested in the sequence of events that lead to it than the conclusion itself. There’s something about the absolute assurance that Cruise’s Ethan Hunt will get things done that’s comforting in a way you don’t get from equally effective heroes of the other mentioned franchises. I knew form the start that Hunt would get out of the torture room, or hold his breath just long enough, or make that dangerous turn just tight enough; but seeing him pull it off in spectacular fashion, usually with a twist or flair I didn’t expect, was just as fun as seeing something I’d never seen before.

That’s the thing about Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, it has no problem retreading some common types of action sequences, because it’s able to subvert them slightly. The scene that is almost entirely brand new (which I won’t spoil here), still has that self-assurance to it, but simultaneously presents things with just enough tension to provide that sliver of doubt. It’s something McQuarrie and Cruise didn’t achieve nearly as well in their joint action effort Jack Reacher, but they nail here.

The failing in the movie, if it can be called that, is in the fairly predictable plot. I only tenuously call it a failure, in that it actually gets the exact job done that it’s supposed to: driving the action along and carrying you through scene by scene. Again, like the action retreads of a motorcycle chase, there’s enough new here that I didn’t come away feeling like I necessarily needed something more; if there had been more of a thought-provoking moment, or more exploration into, say, the villain’s motives, I am sure I would’ve appreciated it. I’m sure I would have been having more deep, intellectual discussions about how things played out and the nature of good/evil and political machination/manipulation. As it stands, those conversations can still be started by this movie, they’re just not played out in any meaningful way. That could very well be intentional, and it doesn’t take anything away from the excitement of the action. Again, I didn’t feel like that was necessarily missing from the film, just that it could’ve added more.

Tom Cruise definitely proves himself once again as the consummate action star. His charisma shines, and makes up for some slightly dull or otherwise dry sets of dialogue, and his stunts, most of which he performs on his own, are utterly outrageous. Simon Pegg’s Benji Dunn sees his largest role yet, and likewise provides in a big way, getting truly in on the field agent status and paying off years of hoping for the character. While Jeremy Renner and Ving Rhames’ returning characters are relegated more to the background, it does allow Alec Baldwin’s CIA director Hunley to step in with his scenery-chewing excellence. If you ever wondered what 30 Rock‘s Jack Donnoghy would do as the director of a major intelligence organization, you’re in luck. Rebecca Ferguson, whose role is wrapped in mystery I won’t reveal here, is a standout, playing just as much the action star as Cruise. She gets the best fight scene in the film, and just begs for the full attention of the audience with a single look. Her character is the most layered in the film, and probably the most layered of the franchise, and I hope to see much more of her in the future.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation seems to have a very strong sense of identity as the movie that you come out of with your personal favorite “holy crap” moment, and argue with your friends about which one is indeed the best. There are extra things to enjoy, and there could’ve been a bit more in places, but overall, that’s exactly what I’d hope for from this kind of film, and it pays off swimmingly.