“Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” opens with action movie veteran Tom Cruise clinging for dear life to the side of a cargo plane. Impressively, this stunt was performed without the use of CGI, with only a harness preventing a picture rap on old Cruise. This solidifies the actor as perhaps the bravest, if not the most dedicated, actor working today. And this particular scene serves only as a light appetizer to the slew of grander set pieces that follow it.
In this fifth entry in the “Mission Impossible” series, which spans nearly 20 years, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and the rest of his I.M.F. team are tasked with eradicating the Syndicate, a global shadow organization doing all sorts of typical terrorist things. Meanwhile, the I.M.F. also becomes a shadow organization after the C.I.A. dissolves the unit because of its disregard for protocol. After being captured by the Syndicate, Hunt meets Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), an intelligence officer whose skills rival Hunt’s but whose motives remain ambiguous.
Unlike previous “Mission Impossible” heroines, Faust has a purpose other than being simply another love interest for Hunt. She is given just as big a role as Cruise with equal development and it seems likely that we will be seeing more of her in the future. Cruise himself, clocking in at the ripe age of 53, still manages to bring the same youthful energy and acrobatics that the series has always known. Thankfully, Cruise seems to recognize his acting limitations as anything other than an action star and doesn’t stray too far outside those confines.
Like its lead actor, the film’s pacing is spry, chugging along at a breakneck pace with little breathing room. Normally such a pace would be counterproductive as it would limit the amount of character development and interaction. However, the first three “Mission Impossible” entries have done such an adequate job with laying the foundation for the characters and their backgrounds that “Rogue Nation” is at liberty to hit the ground running.
The film is so comfortable in its formula that it is able to be more ambitious with its set pieces. As previously mentioned, Cruise’s jet stunt is just a warm up for what follows. For example, Hunt and company are tasked with infiltrating an underwater server which concludes with a tense motorcycle chase scene through the hills of Morocco. Combine this with the added task of having to capture the British prime minister and the last hour of the movie becomes one filled with nonstop action. But my favorite scene, which occurs toward the beginning of the film, takes place at the Vienna Opera House, where Hunt and Benji (Simon Pegg) find themselves stretched thin as they attempt to prevent an assassination. The action of the scene is played against the towering opera sets and the sweeping score, resulting in a sequence that is very well constructed.
So, how much more can I really say about a movie designed solely to entertain? “Rogue Nation” executes its content very well; the stakes are high, the choreography is slick, and everything from the explosions to the vehicle chase scenes is more impressive than ever. With regards to the plot of the film, it is blessedly not overly convoluted as is often the case with spy movies. As it stands, “Rogue Nation” is one of the best efforts to come out of the “Mission Impossible” franchise. Yet there is perhaps one minor concern with regards to the future of the series which is that, despite his epitomizing of the action genre, the fact remains that Cruise is aging. While it seems that he has the energy for a few more daring stunts and impossible missions, it will be interesting to see how much longer Cruise can keep both his body and the “Mission Impossible” series on a healthy trajectory.
