Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (Review)

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Action, Adventure, Thriller

Directed By: Christopher McQuarrrie

When Brian De Palma and Tom Cruise first brought this franchise to life nearly twenty years ago you would have be hard pressed to find anyone who would believe that this would not only stretch on for another four movies, but they would (with one exception) get better as they went. M:I 3 and Ghost Protocol both succeeded at bringing the franchise to another level and amping up the intensity. After Brad Bird had Tom Cruise hanging off the tallest building in the world in 2011 we were all scratching our heads as to how they could ever top that. Well, this weekend is the release of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and not only did Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie find a way to go bigger, they have delivered easily the best film of the entire series. 

This time Ethan Hunt's (Tom Cruise) mission is simple, if he should choose to accept it. The underground terrorist organization known only as The Syndicate is finally making itself known to the world. Hunt has been chasing this myth for years with no one else believing they even exist, but this time he's finally got some hard evidence. It may only be a face but he knows it's the one behind all the worst disasters and terrorist attacks of recent memory.  Help won't be so easy for him to find this time around however as the CIA has finally succeeded in bringing the IMF down. With no organization to look to, and with Central Intelligence tirelessly hunting for him he must now use his own knowledge and specialized skill set to try and uncover the world’s biggest threat.

With each new film, this franchise finds new ways to not only keep these movies going, but to constantly impress us as film goers and make us wonder how it all was even possible. This is in large part due to Tom Cruise and his eagerness to perform as many stunts as possible. It is so rare to see a movie star of his caliber that is not only willing but actually pushes for his own stunts. He turned heads with Ghost Protocol when he was dangling from the side of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. It was one of the most impressive live action stunts we had ever seen and all we could wonder is how he would do it bigger the next time around?

I'm sure you have seen the trailers, all boasting this incredible stunt involving Cruise latched to the side of a giant cargo plane. The scene is absolutely stunning and Tom Cruise actually did it, he hooked himself to the side of that plane and rode into the sky...eight times. That's right, he didn't only do this once, he went up into the air EIGHT TIMES in order to get the perfect shot for his movie. Even crazier than that, this isn't even the best action scene of the film and it's in the first act. Rogue Nation kicks off on a bigger note than any other movie achieves in its entirety and then never lets up for two straight hours.

There is some beautifully brutal hand to hand combat as well, something we haven't seen too much of in this franchise so far. A big player in this side of the flick is Rebecca Ferguson, who is the breakout star of this film and the only one who can hold a flame to Ethan Hunt. The fight choreography of her style specifically is gorgeous and she quickly becomes one of the highlights of this film early on. Her performance is incredible and I am not alone in saying that I hope we see a lot more of her in the future, both within this franchise and in movies in general.

Christopher McQuarrie wrote and directed the film this time around and has shown us all he is a force to be reckoned with. This film has succeeded in bringing to life some of the most amazingly awe striking action scenes and car chases in movie history along with some of the most incredible stunts of all-time. Tom Cruise is becoming more and more like Ethan Hunt in real life with each passing year, with each new movie he does he finds a new way to push the limits of cinema and create incredible films. When you finally see the motorcycle chase or the underwater scene you will be blown away with what these guys have accomplished.

I can't give all the credit to Cruise and his cast mates however as so much of the success of this film should be credited to the stunt choreographers. The way they crafted each and every action scene is beyond comparison. They weren't necessarily doing things that had never been done before, but they were finding new ways to do it that puts the action into a new capacity that makes it feel completely original. Just the way they have punches land or cars explode, or whatever it is these people have found ways to make it fresh and new.

With plenty of old and familiar faces returning, like Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, and Jeremy Renner as well as some newcomers like the amazing Rebecca Ferguson and Alec Baldwin, this film succeeds in capturing the original spirit of the franchise while still making it something new and different. We get to see a different side of Ethan Hunt, the more obsessive and slightly broken side of him we have never seen before. He knows The Syndicate is the greatest threat of all time and the fact no one wants to believe him makes it all the more personal. The action is bigger than ever, the story is probably the most fluent and complete of the franchise and above all else, this movie is the perfect summer blockbuster. Movies like this are the reason I made them my first love in life, leaving the theater last night I felt electric, like I had just run the IMF mission myself. Tom Cruise is one of the only people capable of making action movies that make me feel that way and it is undeniable at this point that he is one of, if not the greatest movie star of our time. Go out this weekend and treat yourself to one of the best cinematic experiences of the year.

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!