by Matt Sernaker, Managing Editor
Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to join audiences in theaters this week for the release of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Your team leader will be the infamous Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), who will help you to navigate through the spy world as the IMF takes on the mysterious terrorist network known as the Syndicate. Only you and your team can stop this organization, and recover the stolen government files. Oh, and we forgot to mention, the IMF (Impossible Missions Force), has been disbanded. You are on your own. This message will self destruct in 5…4…3…2…1…
Tom Cruise and the gang are back for the fifth installment in the Mission Impossible franchise, Rogue Nation, Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, (Edge of Tomorrow). This time around, the Syndicate is the newest threat to the world, lead by Solomon Lane (Sean Harris, Prometheus). As expected, only Ethan (Tom Cruise, Top Gun), Benji (Simon Pegg, Star Trek), Brandt (Jeremy Renner, The Avengers), and Luther (Ving Rhames, Dawn of the Dead) are up to the task of bringing down the corrupt organization. Along the way, they also must deal with the mysterious Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson, Hercules), who might just be a double agent, and C.I.A. Director Hunley (Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock), who wants the IMF shut down due to negligence.
Cruise is at the top of his game for Rogue Nation, and easily stepped back into the role as Ethan Hunt. Ferguson was a great foil for Cruise, and her character will definitely keep audiences guessing up until the very end of the film. Renner and Rhames were minimized in this film, taking a back seat to the scene stealing Pegg, who played a very large role throughout this particular story. There was only one thing that really bothered me in Rogue Nation, and that was Sean Harris as Solomon Lane. His whisper approach to the voicing of the character made for a strange choice, that just feels awkward in every sequence. This is someone who is supposed to be very menacing, but he just came across as being a bit weird instead. I would also like to give an honorable mention to Alec Baldwin, who is a solid new addition to the Rogue Nation cast. I hope that he is included in future installments.
In regards to the stunts, the Mission Impossible team continues to raise the bar with each new film. In Ghost Protocol, we got to see Tom Cruise personally scale the side of the world’s tallest building (the sequence in Dubai). For Rogue Nation, Mr. Cruise decided to strap himself to the side of an Atlas Airbus as it is taking off…all without the use of a stunt double. While that specific sequence is short and sweet, it is still extremely impressive. There is also an underwater action sequence later in the film, which according to reports, was executed by Cruise as well. Tom Cruise is truly the man without fear.
Overall
Brad Bird’s Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol was a hard act to follow, but I feel that Christopher McQuarrie did some very impressive work with the cast and crew for Rogue Nation. The creative team has really assembled a unique group of individuals for this specific mission, and it plays out extremely well on camera. This is a movie that was made for IMAX, and I would highly recommend checking it out on the big screen. While Rogue Nation isn’t my favorite of the Mission Impossible films, it definitely is high on the list.
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