When J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot team took over the Mission: Impossible series, something magical happened.
With 2006’s Mission: Impossible III, the revitalized franchise ponied up on everything working before — the incredible set pieces, the fast-paced moxie, an unapologetically silly tone throughout — but also doubled down on what made the original TV program a hit (i.e. the teamwork, gadgets aiding the plot, a self-imposed sense of importance), all while infusing its own spunk in the process. This exuberance didn’t die down with 2011’s Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol and, thankfully, it’s just as rip-roaring as ever with this weekend’s Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation.
The globetrotting, mask-wearing, death-defying, glass-smashing, motor-accessorizing blockbuster extravaganza lays down the usual slight of hand, providing what fans want so desperately but still pushing themselves in creatively satisfying directions. Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie provides handily all the confidence Brian De Palma, John Woo, Abrams and Brad Bird did before him (Woo unsuccessfully, but still), giving Rogue Nation his signature touches but still letting the film run through the check points needed to be crossed to call itself a Mission: Impossible film.
Corresponding directly to the events transpiring in the previous film, the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) are now considered a threat to the world’s safety, as CIA chief Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) believes it’s imperative to dissolve the team thanks to its constantly reckless behavior — saved only by sheer luck all these years. Though agent William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) tries to keep the program active, all IMF operations are shut down and lead agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is considered a fugitive shortly after he's escaped siege and goes on the run.
Several months later, tech whiz Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) indirectly gets entangled in Ethan’s personal mission. Along the way, William and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) also get caught up in the action and all four band together again to take down a multinational group of ex-operatives known as the Syndicate, led by Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). To bring this man to justice, though, they’ll need the help of a shifty alliance: Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson).
Mission: Impossible — even more so than the Fast & Furious resurgence — has captured a daring, thrill-loving steadily more absent in our post-9/11 cinema. Even the Bond series isn’t taking the kind of risks today Cruise and his gang jump onto readily here. Rogue Nation's extremities can occasionally backfire, but when it’s good, it’s spectacular. Whether it’s Ethan jumping onto a moving plane flying thousands of feet in the air with just his bare hands attached to the aircraft or coordinating an underwater switch-‘em-up as he tries holding his breath for six minutes, McQuarrie knows how to keep this fifth installment agile and sprung, and it’s filled with more life than it really knows what to do with.
The frequent energy and able-bodied spirited speeding deep inside its veins is electrifying to the point where it almost becomes too much. As fun as is it, this coked-up, live-or-die intensity begins to burn out when the plot needs to sustain itself with any escapades less than slightly thrilling. It pulls out its best tricks at the top of the show and, because it’s so desperate to prove its worth, it doesn’t quite know how to make things bigger and badder without over-complicating what should be a fairly elementary plot.
That’s not to say the rest of Rogue Nation is boring by any means — far from it, in fact. It’s just like drinking too much espresso: it keeps you hyper, but it doesn’t necessarily agree with the rest of your body. No matter. Thanks to its rousing showmanship, this sequel constantly keeps its pulse accelerated. Eddie Hamilton’s editing is exceptionally tight — especially considering the shortened post-production period — Robert Elswit’s cinematography is always impeccably handsome and the location scouting between these past two sequels captures some of the most captivating action set pieces Hollywood’s produced in their entire history. Joe Kraemer’s music always keeps the suspense rolling too, and what would a Mission: Impossible movie be without some stunning make-up work?
As always, though, the best wizardry remains the practical ones — or, more specifically, star/producer Cruise. Game for 110% of what’s thrown his way and juggling the action and comedy with fine ease, 53-year-old Cruise is never afraid to show his doubters why he’s an A-list action star. Collected but constantly on the verge of danger, joke cracking but never forgetting the gravity of the situation and constantly prone to extremism, he personifies every reason why Mission: Impossible shines so brightly among its rough-and-tough peers. It’s hard to imagine how its going to last without his presence, particularly considering the completely over-disciplined work the normally talented Renner and Baldwin deliver with their performances. Rhames remains a delightfully subdued delight, and Pegg keeps spirits light as always, but Cruise is undoubtedly the main attraction.
As Hollywood becomes more sequel-dependent, it’s immensely refreshing to know this fourth sequel can still pack a punch — and subsequently suck the blood from any blow it takes — in sly, hard-knocking fashion. Though a little too long and, once again, lacking the great villain it needs to be a true knockout, Rogue Nation isn’t anywhere near a disappointment or a step-down as an installment. Rather, it’s perhaps a sign of great things to come, should more properties choose accept this mission and incorporate the same dedication to skill and awe to their work. God knows Terminator: Genisys and Pixels sure did need it, at least.