Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

2015's MISSION IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION, the fifth entry in The Franchise That Would Be Bond is another satisfying few hours that delivers the goods despite a rather slim and standard storyline.  Could one say this about all the others in this series? More or less. As in the BOURNE films, it's easy to forget which one had which set piece.  They do tend to blend together.  Even less memorable are said plots, usually involving the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) running afoul of government agencies, which of course disavow any knowledge of their activities.   After all, that is the premise, though this review will not self destruct upon your completion of reading it.

 

The subtitle isn't fibbing.  Ethan  Hunt (Tom Cruise) becomes a one man army after he is gassed unconscious by The Syndicate, a shadow group of rogue operatives from other agencies around the globe.  CIA Director Hunley (Alec Baldwin) doesn't believe the Syndicate exists, and thinks maybe Hunt has finally lost his marbles and merely become a highly dangerous and delusional loose cannon.  Ethan's Benji (Simon Pegg) and Brandt (Jeremy Renner) will be be forced to join the CIA after the IMF is decommissioned.  Field agent extraordinaire Hunt will covertly seek their (and retired pal Luther, played again by Ving Rhames) assistance as he tries to take down Syndicate leader/baddie/former Mi6er Solomon Lane (Sean Harris).

There is also a mysterious woman called Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) whose alliances are always in question.  Is she working for the Syndicate? Undercover?

ROGUE NATION's puzzle will eventually involve the U.K.'s Prime Minister and a secret red box, and a possibly corrupt Mi6 Director.  Oh, all those nifty masks that have been popular in the series of late. The plot pauses long enough for sensational stunts and action sequences (or is it the other way around?), including the infiltration of an underwater vault, assassination thwarting at the Vienna State Opera, and lots of hairpin chases.  It is well known that Cruise does many of his own stunts.  It's impressive and incredulous to learn that the actor really did hang off that turboprop aircraft as it took off. 

Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie has proven a perfect fit for these films, continuing on with ....FALLOUT and beyond.  He in fact does create solid 007 adventure facsimilies that sometimes out do them.  As with those, you do not watch these films for any scholarly commentary on geo politics, though there is always a shred of truth among the fiction.

Cruise has found a niche as an Action Go-To Star since the mid 2000s, and that body of work has given the world solid and dependable popcorn epics that I enjoy as much as anyone.  But maybe Tom, we can see you in another dramatic, non-genre role again? The kind you used to do.  You have the chops.  If you need a reminder, watch BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY or MAGNOLIA.