Ethan Hunt is back in what’s easily the best, most exhilarating film of the Mission: Impossible franchise.
For almost 20 years, the Mission: Impossible franchise has been one of the most successful franchises both critically and with audiences. Taking the spy genre to the next level, Mission: Impossible was something audiences had never quite seen before. Seeing Tom Cruise hang from the ceiling of the CIA was one of the most tense experiences in any film. Sure, the second film hit a bit of a speed bump, but from the third film and on each film has gotten better and better. With Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, the franchise has reached a new height with even better stunts than before.
At an airport in Minsk, Belarus, the Impossible Mission Force is given the task of preventing a flight from taking off that’s full of chemical weapons. Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) attempts to shut down the plane electronically but is unsuccessful, even with the help of Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) trying to help out. Out of nowhere, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) catches up to the plane and grasps on by the door as the plane begins to take off. Benji is able to open the door and Hunt gets inside the plane. Once inside, he’s able to successful drop out of the cargo hatch with the chemical weapons.
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Ethan goes into a records shop and cryptically speaks to an employee, giving him a specialized record. Ethan goes into a separate room to listen to it only to end up being trapped and told one thing confirming his previous suspicions: the Syndicate (as mentioned in Ghost Protocol) is real. Later on, the IMF is on the brink of being disbanded by CIA Chief Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) for reckless behavior. William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) tries to make his case for the IMF but fails as all IMF operations are officially shut down.
I could go on and talk about the acting of the film (which is top notch, by the way), but with Mission: Impossible, the action and stunts are really what matter. And seeing Tom Cruise hanging from the side of a flying airplane, knowing that he’s actually crazy enough to go on and do his own stunts…it’s just insanity. Hanging off the top of one of the world’s buildings wasn’t enough, he has to go on and hang on to a flying airplane. The new Mission: Impossible actress, Rebecca Ferguson, brings something new and fresh that no other actress has been able to bring. There’s a sense of mystery to her character and you truly don’t quite know exactly what her motives are.
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With each Mission: Impossible film, we’ve seen five different directors and none of them are exactly bad. Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, Brad Bird have all done fine jobs with the films they’ve been given (although I guess maybe not so much John Woo, but he’s still an acclaimed director). Yet, Christopher McQuarrie, who has only directed two films previously, has created the best Mission: Impossible film to date. Rogue Nation is truly exceptional and is one of the top action films of 2015, just behind Mad Max: Fury Road. Whether there’s a new director coming on board or if McQuarrie plans on sticking with the franchise, topping Rogue Nation won’t be an easy feat.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and stars Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, and Alec Baldwin
