Movie Review: Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Action with a decent plot

Cons: If they were there, they are impossible to find

The Bottom Line:

Fast paced action film

As Hunt hunts the Syndicate

Light entertainment

“Join the IMF.  See the World.  On a Monitor.  In a Closet.”

Despite the fact that I didn’t like the first Mission: Impossible movie (and someday, I should rewatch it and review it here), I have really grown to love the franchise.  The plots and action can be out there, but there is something very fun about them as well.  Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is a perfect example of that.

We join Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the rest of his team mid-mission as they are trying to stop a plane with a mysterious package on it from taking off.  They manage to get the package, but this is used as the latest example of the team being more lucky than good at what they do.  Thanks to Alan Hunley’s (Alec Baldwin) testimony, the IMF is disbanded and folded into the CIA.

However, Ethan doesn’t get the message.  He’s too busy getting captured by the Syndicate, an evil organization he’s been trying to take down.  He escapes with the help of Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson), a mysterious woman.  Can she be trusted?  With Ethan now wanted by his own government, will he be able to take down the Syndicate?

Now let’s be honest, the plot is just an excuse to string together some wild action sequences, and this movie is no exception.  The stunts and effects are absolutely out of this world.  They stretch credibility to the hilt, sometimes beyond it even, but I don’t mind.  They are very fun and made it impossible to look away from the screen.  It’s obvious that special effects help with what we are seeing on the screen, but you’d never know it since you buy everything you are seeing on the screen.

But the plot is better than it can be in an action movie.  Despite the twists and double crosses, it holds together and makes sense from start to finish.  That’s saying something for an action movie.

Action movies aren’t known for the wide range of emotions required of the cast, and that’s true here.  However, the cast is uniformly great and I bought their performances complete.  One thing I have really started to enjoy about the franchise are the returning supporting players, and we see more of Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, and Ving Rhames here.

Mission: Impossible -Rogue Nation is nothing but a fast-paced action movie, but since that’s all it sets out to be, I’d say that makes it pretty much perfect.  Pop this one in today, sit back, and enjoy the ride.