Films based on television series almost never work (anyone remember The Honeymooners? How about The Avengers? No, not that one.). However, perhaps it was the undeniable star power of Tom Cruise, but the actor scored a tremendous hit in the summer of 1996 with a little film called Mission: Impossible. Over the last two decades, he has continued to return to the role of Ethan Hunt every few years, bringing in a new director to lend the franchise a fresh spin. Now Cruise turns to regular collaborator Christopher McQuarrie for a fifth spy adventure in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.
By now, chances are most moviegoers are relatively familiar with the series, but for those of you unaware, here’s a brief description of the plot in Rogue Nation. Hunt and his team of IMFers (the MF isn’t what you think) find themselves the target of an internal investigation by the CIA as well as a nefarious plot by a shadowy criminal organization known only as The Syndicate. To complete the mission, Hunt reaches out to a few old friends and comes across with a mysterious woman (Rebecca Ferguson), who may turn out to be the deciding factor in IMF’s fate.
Most franchises tend to slip into old age and begin to wither away past film number three (with rare exceptions), but the Mission: Impossible series manages to keep going strong here, employing a complex twist-laden plot that actually brings Hunt’s adventures closer to that of 007 than ever before. Rogue Nation touches on similar thematic flourishes as Skyfall, in that both films see their heroes forced to justifying the existence of their respective spy organizations. The introduction of The Syndicate (a group not to dissimilar to Bond’s Spectre) and a femme fatale named Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) only add to the old-school spy thriller vibe of the film.
Ferguson is actually one of the film’s greatest strengths, nearly eclipsing even a Cruise as the morally ambiguous Faust (you think up a better name for a character with ties to dark forces). She is by far the best female lead the Mission: Impossible series has seen and the second actress this summer to virtually steal her film from her male castmates. With only one previous high-profile Hollywood credit to her name, Ferguson is given the spotlight numerous times throughout Rogue Nation and handles each moment with confidence and poise.
Five films in, Cruise is still in good form, blending his character’s glib sense of humor with more hair-raising stunts. For the record, the heavily publicized stunt in which the actor (yes, it’s really him) clings to a plane during take-off happens in the opening sequence. So be sure to get to the theater on time. The good news is that the rest of the film is largely unsullied by the marketing campaign, an essential element considering the clever ways in which it references past films and flips the series’ conventions. In a day and age when many blockbusters spoil its greatest secret in the trailers (ahem…), it’s refreshing to experience a film with a clean slate. That pivotal opera sequence alone proves that point.
Rogue Nation might be among the best Mission: Impossible films to date (behind Ghost Protocol and perhaps a hair or so above Mission: Impossible 3), but it stills suffers a bit from franchise fatigue. That’s bound to happen when a film series gets this far into its run. After all, audiences can only hear “Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” and fall for mask-ripping plot twists so many times before it starts to slip a little. Ironically, one of Rogue Nation’s biggest missteps doesn’t lie with its several returning cast members – all of whom are well-used here (but where is Paula Patton, by the way?) – but with its new villain, played by Sean Harris. His character is meant to strike fear into the hearts of our heroes, as he operates cloaked in mystery, but his bizarre vocal delivery and vaguely nefarious personality don’t contribute enough to the film.
Regardless, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation proves that the filmmaking partnership between Cruise and McQuarrie has plenty of life in it. The film marks the duo’s fourth film together, and the Oscar-winning McQuarrie injects more politics into this franchise than ever before, broadening the scope of Mission: Impossible to focus more on global affairs and the governmental bureaucracy that has allowed IMF to continue operation, despite its questionable history (Spoiler alert: Rogue Nation is actually the first film not to feature any rogue IMF agents.). With any luck, Cruise can find a director just as worthy to take the reins on the next film. Who’s up for an Ethan Hunt/James Bond team-up film? I mean, come on… M:I-6?! It practically writes itself. Cue the theme music already.