Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation

There are two spy movie franchises that I feel can compete with the quintessential James Bond series in that they have broken past the trilogy phase: the Bourne films and the "Mission: Impossible" films. The success of "Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation" is proof this. I think it is nearly as good as the instalment immediately preceding it, "Ghost Protocol". There are surprises in the story, even for those experienced moviegoers. There is fun albeit not as much as in the first and third films. The actors did well with their contributions and so did director Christopher McQuarrie, who has worked with Tom Cruise a lot in the past. "Rogue Nation" was fun the second time to watch and that is another important test of a movie's entertainment value.

The Ethan/Julia plotline, having been resolved at the end of the fourth movie, is not referenced in this new movie and I am okay with that. It would be hard to continue the franchise with Ethan always with Julia. I thought the Burj Khalifa stunt in "Ghost Protocol" was big but I didn't think Tom Cruise could hang outside an actual airplane flying 5000 feet in the air. I tried to imagine what was next back in 2015 and flying stunts in the helicopter did not cross my mind. I wish however that this airplane stunt was in the middle of the show and that the marketing hadn't featured it as much as it was. I also wish that the sound team had done more to sell the realism of this stunt like the Burj Khalifa scene in the previous movie. In all previous films in the series, a character (almost always Ethan) drops down front first and stops just above the ground or an obstacle. I didn't see that tradition upheld in "Rogue Nation" so that is unfortunate. It is like James Bond introducing himself without using the classic line we all know. I did like how "Rogue Nation" picks up where the last film left off: the Syndicate. Just as it debuted in the fifth season of the original TV series, Ethan takes it on in the fifth feature film. I love how once Ethan is on the run from the CIA, Hunley predicts that he will be caught in a day. We then get a laugh out of the text in the next shot. Another thing that makes me laugh is that ever since Benji became a field agent, problems always happen during missions to thwart his chance to wear a mask. I have a desire when watching a film in this franchise for the team to accomplish at least one mission before the climax. The middle mission is normally the best place for this but instead; Ethan successfully intercepts the nerve gas at the start of the story. What's more, we are given quite a scary moment in the middle of the film where Ethan might fail in the ultimate way. Cruise was trained to be able to hold his breath for six minutes in order to accomplish a long take for this sequence by the way. While this middle scene is dramatic, it is less fun than say the Langley and Vatican missions earlier in the franchise. The stakes are set very high in the climax with the best scene in the whole movie taking place at the Tower of London. Then the tables turn on Lane. I like how Ethan is able to convince Lane of what he is saying. The $50 million is enough for Lane to believe that Ethan is telling the truth. How else could Ethan have access to that much money? What's more, $50 million is not enough to last forever. Lane will need more. I had a feeling about the plot twist that would happen in the private meeting with the British Prime Minister and I was right. I also had a hunch concerning Lane's fate in London and once again, I was correct. What I didn't see coming was how Ethan was going to save the Austrian Chancellor earlier in the show. I liked that smart move. It reminds me of something from "Speed".

This is director Christopher McQuarrie's fourth collaboration with Cruise, the first being "Valkyrie". I think their past experience with each other helped in making "Rogue Nation" an enjoyable experience. I liked the work of all the returning cast members. I have seen Simon McBurney in a few films before this but I forget his previous characters in those films. I also failed to recognize Tom Hollander from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. J.J. Abrams, as with "Ghost Protocol", acted as a producer and I liked his continued involvement despite the pressure he must have had at the time as the director of a highly anticipated film in an even more popular film franchise. Danny Elfman's adaption of the main theme music is still my favourite but this adaption came close. The original parts of the score itself were noteworthy. You do need to see this movie a second time in order to completely understand the plot so that is good. We always visit a new region with every film. The first film covered Europe plus the States and the second film took place mostly in Australia. The third movie saw our heroes in Asia and the fourth instalment featured the Middle East. "Rogue Nation" took us to Africa for the first time in the franchise so we've been to every continent except South America. The sixth movie was announced quite close to the release of this film and I was sure this last unvisited continent was going to be a destination. That didn't happen unfortunately but "Mission Impossible-Fallout" was just as fun and exciting.

4 Stars out of 5