Cast: A lot of familiar faces are back, including Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, and Ving Rhames with Rebecca Ferguson, Alec Baldwin, and Sean Harris added to the mix.
Plot: Due to concerns about lack of oversight/accountability, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and the rest of IMF are shutdown just as Ethan is uncovering a shadow organization, the Syndicate, that's essentially the anti-IMF. Ethan, and later others on the IMF team, have to go on the run while working with a mysterious woman, Ilsa Faust (Ferguson), who is either a double, triple, or quadruple agent.
Thoughts:This is a thoroughly ridiculous movie. I mean that as a good thing. 'Impossible' is in the title and it earns it. Ethan Hunt is a super hero who can drown, get in a car wreck, fall off a motorcycle, and get up and do it all again the next day. That's just the kind of movie this is.
The plot is either cleverly mapped out or terribly messy depending on how much effort you want to put into dissecting it. The important thing is that Tom Cruise gets to do a lot of cool things. Rebecca Ferguson kicks some ass too. One odd thing is that Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner do about the same amount of fighting which is both more than I expected out of Pegg and far less than I expected out of Renner.
This has always been a series in which the director's presence can be felt. MI:III felt like a JJ Abrams movie. Ghost Protocol felt like a Brad Bird movie. Rogue Nation feels like it came from the guy who made Jack Reacher (it helps that the director, Christopher McQuarrie, also wrote the screenplay). The main villain in this easily could've been in Jack Reacher and the way that Tom Cruise carries himself is similar to how he played Jack Reacher. This still is very much a Mission Impossible movie first and foremost.
Elephant in the Room: I just don't like Tom Cruise anymore. That's your prerogative. I'm not sure I ever had a period when I disliked him, but after Ghost Protocol, Jack Reacher, and Edge of Tomorrow (I'm choosing to omit Oblivion and not credit him as the problem with Rock of Ages), I've determined he's a movie star I like.
To Sum Things Up (in 57 words or less):
Rogue Nation is big and loud and fun. The fifth installment in a 20 year old franchise shouldn’t feel this fresh. Tom Cruise and the supporting characters are all very winning in this. The villains are a little stale, but they don’t matter as much as the setpieces. I recommend it to anyone looking for something entertaining.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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