The great strength of the Mission: Impossible franchise is that it is always the same but always different. Every film in the series has to pass Cruise quality control, set a high standard and deliver all the thrills and spills that you demand. What's smart about it is that every instalment has a decidedly different tone to it. Cruise is presumably instrumental in choosing directors who have vision, who have proven competency, who are at the top of their game and who can give the series a unique spin.
So in the first Mission: Impossible (way, way back in 1996) we had Hitchcock wannabe Brian De Palma updating and subverting spy movie tropes with the emphasis on suspense rather than action. M:I-2 was also a Hitchcock homage (it is a loose reworking of 'Notorious') but John Woo turned it into an exhilarating James Bond styled action. M:I-3 had J.J. Abrams coming off the back of 'Alias' and gifting the series a more grounded approach and a markedly nastier tone to the proceedings (anchored by Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance as one of the best villains of the decade). M:I-4 lightened things up with a cartoonish but inventive comic book caper.
Like I say, always the same but always different. If I had to rank them I'd probably go MI3, MI1, MI4, MI2 as best to worst but it fluctuates a lot.
So here we are with number five, 'Mission:Impossible - Rogue Nation' and, despite Tom Cruise finally starting to show his age, it may just be the best in the series yet. Curiously (considering my preamble) it kind of lacks a distinctive flavour of its own and feels much more like a mash-up of elements from the previous films. But it works just fine. It retains all the best elements, rejects some of the excesses and gives the ever escalating cast of characters interesting stuff to do (except for Ving Rhames who is a bit superfluous this time out).
The bold directorial choice this time is Chris McQuarrie who has written several scripts ('Valkyrie', 'Edge Of Tomorrow') that have become Cruise projects and directed him before as 'Jack Reacher'. Amongst film connoisseurs he is best known as the writer of 'The Usual Suspects' (and who wouldn't want that on their CV) and director of the little seen and underrated gem 'Way Of The Gun'. He knows how to tell a story, even a complex one, in a refreshing and non-patronising way. And by God can he direct a set-piece.
There is an opera assassination sequence in this that is simply stunning; a masterly blend of choreography and visual storytelling. It is every bit the equal of the hanging by a thread sequence from the first film and a bravura showcase for why old-school film craft will always trump big explosions and CGI trickery. It also makes you desperate to see an opera.
One stunning set piece would be enough for most films, but this film just keeps stacking them up. There's a pre-credits scene that flips the bird at the Bond franchise with it's Tom-Cruise-does-his-own-stunts-don't-you-know audacity and says "top that!". There's a dive into a turbine and a breathless underwater sequence. This also has possibly the best bike chase ever filmed; a mini 'Fury Road' on two wheels. And still it keeps coming.
The plot is convoluted, satisfying and at times very surprising; just wait until the "rogue nation" reveal hits you. It is a little overlong (what isn't?) but I never became impatient with it. Even during the downtime, the exposition and the moments that allow you to catch your breath it remains interesting.
It may be number five in the franchise but it has a star, a writer/director and a cast that care passionately about the project and want to do their best work. Tom Cruise shows flesh, kicks ass, cracks jokes and flexes acting muscles in a manner that leaves you in no doubt as to why this particular man in his fifties is still the most bankable star in the world. Simon Pegg has more screen time than in previous outings but somehow he doesn't become irritating at all. It is a testament to him that he has expanded the character so much above and beyond 'comic relief tech guy' that you would miss him if he wasn't involved. Pegg may just become the next David Niven yet. Rebecca Ferguson (not the singer) has come from nowhere (some middling tv credits and that 'Hercules' film) to this and she is a revelation. Surely the world is her's for the asking after this. Her British agent is every bit the equal of Ethan Hunt, perhaps more so and not just in a lazy scriptwriting let's-give-the-girl-a-fight-scene way. She doesn't fade into the background, she isn't a love trophy, she drives the plot and she is in all the film's best scenes. She can act too, and I mean really act - light up the screen act - which always helps. I think I may have a new crush.
Sean Harris has cornered the market in creepy, intense, British psychopaths and his turn here is suitably chilling; not sure about the voice though. Jeremy Renner's character is interesting despite having more or less the same role here as Hawkeye in The Avengers. He's not ostensibly the most important member of the team but he is the glue quietly holding it together, fighting the little battles, being the group's conscience, saying the right thing at the right time. He's very good in the scenes that he's in and justifies being kept on the payroll. In addition we have a great turn from Alec Baldwin as a CIA director and a brief but well judged performance from Tom Hollander as the British prime minister.
In other words, even if this was a film about people talking politics in a room it would have been good. But it's not people talking in a room, it's 'Mission:Impossible' and it's better than good. It's excellent. Probably my favourite in the series so far.
I hope I'm wrong, but I can't imagine 'Spectre' is going to be more entertaining than this. Hell, I can't imagine that the next MI is going to be more entertaining than this. Some reviews and comments I've seen have been pretty indifferent, sniffy and "meh" about it. What do you want? This is state of the art summer blockbuster entertainment. It's unlikely to get much better than this. Go see it.
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