Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation

Mission Impossible-Rogue Nation (2015)

93% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 175 reviews)

Runtime: 131 minutes

Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris

From: Paramount

Yes, I already have seen this film. It was a late night viewing last night where I killed time before I picked someone up from the airport. Their flight was delayed a long while so that's how I was able to pull that off and I was not expecting to see it so soon. The Letterboxd review is below:

Last night, I was able to see this film, and on a giant screen. Watching it so soon wasn't the plan but circumstances allowed for me to do this. Now, I hadn't seen the last film that star and director did (Jack Reacher) but while I understand the hero of that novel had a hulking figure a la Dwayne The Rock Johnson and Tom Cruise is far from that, I still hope to enjoy the movie once I finally see that. I know that got many strong reviews so between that and the high ratings I saw for this movie, I was hoping this wouldn't be a letdown.

Of course I won't say more than what was revealed in the trailer so I'll just state that this is about the IMF under attack (again) and them having to go rogue (again); I think it's odd that has been a thing for a few of these films but otherwise I was fine with that. They go to several foreign countries both familiar to movie-watchers and those that may not be so familiar. Anyhow, the bad guys are a secret organization known as The Syndicate that is like the anti-IMF.

Two things I'll note that I can carp about... even by the standards of this franchise there are some points that things got absolutely illogical. More than once I wondered if Ethan Hunt was actually a T-800, so indestructible he was. I started to worry that I would be taken out of the story by how silly it was getting or get frustrated at how things were turning out. Thankfully it never got to that point and I was able to be entertained by this. Of course I can't give a set of rules or instances where in concrete I can say that when a movie reaches a certain point or various things happen, absurdity will ruin a film for me. It really depends on many different factors and in this case, I was able to look past that and be enthralled by this tale.

The other thing, I wish that some moments weren't shot so closely, so they could be clearer. Otherwise, I did enjoy the action scenes and can't complain about them. The insane stunt from the side of the plane is already known by everyone as it was in all the trailers, and that was the opening scene. The rest of the action included such things as gun battles, car chases, brawls, etc.

The cast as a whole did a fine job, from the returning faces to the newcomers. As many others have noted already, Rebecca Ferguson... when it comes to physical appearance I say that she's attractive. She is more than a pretty face, though. Besides being believable as an ass-kicker who uses martial arts to lay waste to the opposition, Ilsa Faust is a very interesting character as you aren't sure who she is loyal to and Ferguson also acts the part quite well. As others have noted, this better mean that she gets more high profile roles in the next few years, otherwise it was an opportunity squandered.

This is more a spy thriller than what you typically expect in this series. There is plenty of espionage to go around and there is mystery in trying to figure out who the Syndicate is and who is or isn't a member. To parrot another thought, besides the spy aspects it is also nice how there are long scenes with little to no dialogue. What you see at the Vienna Opera is the best example of this. There is no shortage of intrigue and suspense.

While it almost becomes too over the top at times, I am glad I still liked it about as much as many others have already. Hopefully it holds up on rewatch. As is, it was an entertaining movie with the right amount of humor to go along with the crazy moments and the more thoughtful ones.