Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation review

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION:

A FIFTH MISSION THAT SHOULD GLADLY BE ACCEPTED!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** 1/2 out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND BAD ROBOT

Tom Cruise doing the impossible once more in Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation

            Tom Cruise (Top Gun, Minority Report, Edge of Tomorrow) reprises his role as the iconic secret agent, Ethan Hunt in the fifth installment of the long running Mission: Impossible film franchise, based on the TV series of the same name, Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation. In the director’s chair is frequent Tom Cruise collaborator, Christopher McQuarrie (Valkyrie, Jack Reacher, Edge of Tomorrow) and Mission: Impossible III director and Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol producer, J.J. Abrams (Lost, Star Trek, Super 8) returns to produce. 

            Like most of the Mission: Impossible movies I enjoyed Rogue Nation a lot, just as much as Mission: Impossible III and Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol, but personally when it comes to an IMAX experience, Ghost Protocol was done better, but it was still pretty immersive and fun on the giant IMAX screen with 12,000 watt sound.

            Some time after the missile crisis of Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol, the IMF has officially been disbanded and Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team, Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg-Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames-Con Air, Lilo & Stitch, Dawn of the Dead), and William Brandt (Jeremy Renner-The Avengers, The Bourne Legacy, American Hustle) out in the cold, they are called back into action to face off against a network of highly skilled secret agents known by their codename, the Syndicate that are hellbent on creating a new world order through a series of terrorist attacks.

            Ethan and his team join forces with a seductive British agent, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson-The White Queen, Hercules) who may or may not be a double agent working for the Syndicate as they face their most impossible mission yet.

            The plot is basically like any other Mission: Impossible movie, Tom Cruise gets a call about a mission, a group of bad guys have powerful weapons, and they have to stop them in the most impossibly implausible ways imaginable. But plot aside; the film is filled with incredibly over the top stunts, exciting action, and even some gripping suspense from Tom Cruise hanging onto a flying airplane to surviving a flipping car crash, while driving the car.

            Of course the acting is decent, for a Mission: Impossible movie, Tom Cruise as the cocky action leader, that works, Simon Pegg as the comic relief geek, of course that works too, Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) as a corrupt CIA agent, talk about perfect casting there, the list goes on.

            The CG special effects have certainly gotten better as the films went on, we all know how dated that train fight was back in the first movie. However unlike most summer blockbusters that come out these days, a lot of the stunts and action were practical and were right there in front of you in all its over the top glory, but it’s not quite as over the top as films like Kingsman: The Secret Service or Mad Max: Fury Road.

            So as a whole, the film is a blast whether you’re watching it in a regular theater or on an IMAX, personally I probably would have loved the IMAX version even more if the film had select scenes shot with IMAX cameras like what director Brad Bird did with Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol, but I digress.

            So if you’re a fan of Tom Cruise and Mission: Impossible, you’ll love Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation and with Mission: Impossible III, Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation being this awesome and entertaining, I’m excited to see what Cruise has planned next for Mission: Impossible 6.

THIS REVIEW WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN 5 SECONDS!