The fifth installment in a standard series of action extravaganzas should not be difficult to review. Is the set-up believable enough or at least well suited to its film’s style? Are the stakes clear, and do the character dynamics reflect that clarity? The fight scenes, shootouts, car chases, et cetera—are they fluid and discernable? Or does the film run the Michael Bay route and trade audience understanding for noise, fire and headaches? These questions are easy enough to resolve.
The answer to each of them besides the last, in regards to Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation, is a resounding “YES,” which shall remain capitalized forevermore. Following last year’s unexpectedly phenomenal Edge of Tomorrow—a screenplay by McQuarrie—and early 2015’s earth-shattering Mad Max: Fury Road, Rogue Nation is just another rebuttal to the idea that action duds likeTransformer 5 or San Andreas have to rule this genre’s landscape. Raking in $530.9 million on a budget of $150 million, Rogue Nation has proven itself to be an undeniable success and perhaps one of the best films of the year.
So, what makes it difficult to review? That issue lies in Rogue Nation’s visceral and aesthetic prowess. The film is so masterfully constructed and thoroughly entertaining on the most basic level that it tends to transcend any short-form analysis; a review merely becomes a summary, or a list of the film’s “greatest hits,” as it were. But none of these descriptions can possibly match the experiences that the film actually provides.
I simply can’t, with keyboard in hand, do justice to the incredible action sequence that takes place in the Vienna State Opera during the film’s first hour. (I’m curious as to which storyteller first realized how thrilling it is to stage high, explosive drama within a grand, historic venue such as this. Like most tropes, it probably dates back to Shakespeare at the latest.)
I can’t commend McQuarrie enough for using supporting players Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner and Alec Baldwin more effectively than most other directors seem capable of doing. (I am still waiting for Pegg to get proper leading roles in Hollywood, but I digress.)
I can’t adequately describe how easily Rebecca Ferguson steals the spotlight in almost every scene of the film. With the most cinematic set of eyes this side of Henry Fonda and a constant, insatiable desire to kick every ass in the room, the Swedish actress cements her newfound stardom with each smile and every right hook. (And this in no way takes away from the fact that Tom Cruise proves, once again, that he refuses to give anything but his all until the day that he’s dead and buried.)
All I can really do is assure the uninitiated that they need no prior knowledge of the Mission: Impossibleseries to get fully on board with one of the most fun pieces of cinema that 2015 has to offer. As a first-time viewer myself, I promise—you will not be disappointed.
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