Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
Movie Review by Brian Wezowicz
The American James Bond is back with a bang in my second favorite blockbuster of the summer (Mad Max: Fury Road still gets top billing), and this time he's taking down a secretive rogue nation (hey, that's the movie's title!) called the Syndicate.
I've always admired the Mission Impossible franchise. Cruise brings in a different director for each chapter (admirably stepping into the director's chair this time is his Jack Reacher director, Christopher McQuarrie), and each film seems to have a different feel to it. However, this one seemed the least independent of the bunch (which is not a bad thing at all).
From the get go, Ethan Hunt and shortly thereafter, the entire IMF is disavowed (side note: my one gripe with the whole franchise is that Hunt is disavowed in EVERY film. You'd think they would learn to trust him after all this time. But I digress). He learns that the rumored shadow group called the syndicate is very much real. Hunt is the only one to believe this and soon goes it alone to try to bring it down. He manages to bring the rest of his team (led by an always funny Simon Pegg, the steady Ving Rhames, and the always reliable Jeremy Renner) in to assist him. They are in for a wild ride as they try to out wit the Bond villain-esque head of the Syndicate, Solomon Lane. I love Lane's performance and overall look. He has an incredible ability to talk without really moving his mouth.
From the moment this film opens up (the much talked about scene with Tom Cruise hanging from an airplane) to the final moments, this movie never lets its foot off the gas. Every scene delivers the perfect amount of action, humor and excitement. The actors are top notch (I loved the female lead in this film, played with the right amount of feminist gusto by Rebecca Ferguson).
Back to Tom Cruise for a moment. He'll always have his detractors because of his religious beliefs and kooky antics, but in my opinion there may not be a better action star in the world. He steps into every role he takes and completely owns it. He has the tendency to over-deliver his lines (There's plenty of that in this film), and there's a little bit of crazy behind those eyes, but when it comes time to step in front of the camera, he's the king for a reason.
Rogue Nation is right up there with the best of the Impossible franchise. It delivers thrills and laughs equally from the opening frame. I highly encourage you to see this movie, especially if a little bit of superhero fatigue has set in. There's also an amusing Easter Egg with a rabbit's foot (MI:III shout out!) You won't be disappointed. 3/4 stars.
Bonus Round: My Mission Impossible rankings
5) Mission Impossible II
As my friend wrote, this is the only one that doesn't stand the test of time. It wasn't that great to begin with and it's almost unwatchable now. It's over-reliance on slow motion action sequence and doves (so. many. doves) screams early 2000's action movie. Pass on this one.
4) Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
I wish there were more movies so this one wouldn't be in second to last place. If I were scoring the final 4 movies, they would only be separated by decimal points.
3) Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Ethan Hunt is on his own after his IMF team is disavowed (shocker!). The Kremlin scene alone would be worth the price of admission. The climb up the tallest building in the world is icing on the cake.
2) Mission Impossible
One of the best scenes in movie history! This one is the most spy-like in the entire franchise. I love the opening 20 minutes of the movie, which is as tense as anything Hitchcock ever did. A great film that still holds up 20 years later.
1) Mission Impossible III
JJ Abrams had the unenviable task of pumping life into a flat lining franchise. This one gets top billing because of Philip Seymour Hoffman's superb performance as the villain that would put any Bond baddie to shame. I also like that it tried to humanize Ethan Hunt by giving him a wife and a bit of a back story.
There you have it. I went back and forth on this list. You could switch out any of the top 4 and I'd still be OK with it. I'll probably change this list 20 times in my life depending on my mood.
