Review of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) by Kevin1370 — 02 Aug 2015

Like the trailer of this movie said, ready or not here they come. And BOOM - here comes Rogue Nation, and boy - did it come with a bang. Let me just say right off the bat that, this is probably my favorite Mission Impossible film…by far.

Gone are the days that you’d need slow motion, flying white doves or lens flairs to make a Mission Impossible film interesting, this brand new installment of the franchise rejuvenises the aging series in an explosive and exciting way. What I like about the Mission films is that, much like the Harry Potter and James Bond movies, each installment of the series brings something different and refreshing, thanks to their ever changing directors. And like the Marvel films, each Mission Impossible embodies a different action genre.

I have to admit, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Jack Reacher. It was an okay action film that didn’t do much else for me. So when the announcement was made that Christopher McQuarrie was directing the fifth mission impossible I was a little skeptical. Even after I saw the trailer I still had my reservation toward the finished product. I mean I have so much respect for JJ Abrams and Brad Bird that the inner nerd in me, sorta-kinda wished they had picked someone with a better track record. With all that said, the first five minutes into this movie I was convinced that my months and months of worries were for nothing. Like I was sold. I can honestly say right now that this is the best mission impossible film to date.

Now, my biggest issue with Ghost Protocol was that although it was very entertaining, it didn’t have that edge on your seat suspense like Mission 3 did, and that plus a weak and generic villain robbed away some of the potentially intense moments. This time around, we have a formidable villain who is someone even Ethan refers to during one very nail-biting scene as “his equal”. And his plan is pretty screwed up. He’s not the in your crazy, in your face villain, he’s soft spoken and civil and that’s what makes him so **** dangerous because throughout the film I had this feeling that he was this time bomb waiting to explode. He really raised the stake of the game, and the audience despised him for that, I know I did, when I wanted someone to show him who’s boss, like, I wanted him to be taught a lesson in the end. When a villain gets the audience to feel that way, it’s usually a sign that it’s a very well written character.

Another well-written character is newcomer to the series, Rebecca Ferguson. I didn’t know who she was before this film. But now, oh yeah. She was such a badass in this movie. Not only that, but she is not your typical Mission Impossible filler girl, she is an actual person with a pretty neat character development and story arc. It’s been a while since the Mission series had a female character with substance and also knows how to kick ass. Her character is such a breath of fresh air that it made an already top-notch movie even more exciting. One of the highlights of the film, in my opinion.

Of course, then you have the returning characters from the previous movies like Benji, Brandt and Luther who were more or less the side characters but were still pretty much in the picture. They are mostly responsible for the comic relief moments of the movie. And the genuine camaraderie among these characters just makes this team really great. Like you want to root for them to win.

The biggest thing I like about the direction Chris McQuarrie took the movie is that, it’s acknowledging the fact that this is an aging franchise. It managed to make references to all four previous Mission Impossible movies, and as a long time fan I feel like this was a very a smart move. With the exception of James bond, when a franchise that stretches to as long as 20 years, it usually screams been there done that. But Mission Impossible manages to avoid all that which is very neat.

Of course, while the movie handled the characters pretty well, its action sequences are just as stellar. Apart from tom cruise dangling in midair on an airplane, a stunt he actually performed himself, there were many other spectacular action scenes, notably, a stunt-filled, high-speed freeway chase that not only provided a neat little throwback to the motorcycle chase from Mission 2, but also kept me holding my breath from its sheer action galore. There is an underwater sequence with no music in the background which really threw the audience into the movie itself and that was breathtakingly intense. This movie probably has the best action scenes in the entire franchise.

The movie for me is a perfect blend of all four previous Mission Impossibles, and everything just flows so well and fits together seamlessly. I was still thinking about this movies hours after seeing it on opening weekend. It’s what a summer action blockbuster should be, and it’s what every mission impossible fan deserves.