If a certain majority of movie fans could get over their casual dislike for Tom Cruise, the Mission Impossible franchise would probably make consi-derably more at the box office. At various times when I have mentioned any of the MI picks, there were those who told me that they simply did not care for the former Top Gunner, and didn't want to see it. Not because of the movie itself, but because of the leading man.
Despite his critics, Cruise still proves his ability to fill theater seats as he takes on a fifth impossible mission with Rogue Nation. He returns as death defying Ethan Hunt, the intrepid leader of the IMF, whose methods for get-ting the job done have become increasingly unorthodox. And that of course, is just putting it mildly.
Alec Baldwin is able bodied CIA Director Alan Hunley, determined to dismantle the IMF due to what he believes, is sheer luck when it comes to the organizations missions accomplished record. He forcibly argues points before a Senate committee, with IMF agent William Brandt ( Jeremy Renner) just as forcbly opposing, that include some imaginary criminal organization known only as "The Syndicate." He also readily reminds them of a certain critical incident which occurred over a major city during IMF's last undertaking.
Meanwhile, Hunt is out in the field, on an actual mission. It involves some slightly dangerous high flying aerodynamics which look (pardon the pun), "impossible" and a steel pallet of some lethal substance (code name: the package) that cannot leave a Minsk airfield. In a stunt that absolutley ri-vals the Burj Khalifa tower ascent, Hunt completes the task of getting the thing off the plane without killing himself in the process. Later, however in London for a debriefing on this package,a tragic set up confirms his worst fears; the Syndicate exists. When Hunt calls Brandt to arrange an extraction, he tells him the IMF has been forced to shut down.
Tv's Mission Impossible series, which featured the late Leonard Nimoy (yes, Mr. Spock himself) in the fourth and fifth seasons, was always good for engaging your senses with alluring intrigue, mystery, drama, and of course, high level, risk taking action. Paramount and yes, everybody's fa-vorite, Tom Cruise, has solidly maintained this same fervor throughout all the MI pics. In characters as well as story.
Returning to the "this-tape-will-self-destruct" organized mayhem, are Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames as tech savvies Benji and Luther. Pegg's Benji metes out the comic relief as always, during the most harrowing circumstan-ces. Rhames' Luther, who is initially reluctant, once again brings a serious, no nonsense, yet always supportive, attitude to our elite team.
While the beautiful Paula Patton simply wowed us as IMF agent Jane Carter in 2011's M.I. Ghost Protocol, she sits this one out, and is somewhat replaced by Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa Faust. Somewhat be-cause you really can't tell who's side she's on. Whether she is a double a-gent, triple agent, or maybe even a quadruple agent is anyone's guess. Whoever she is, the woman's every bit a fighter, and seemingly willing to help take into down this anti-IMF organization, the Syndicate, who are trained to do what Ethan's team does.
Rogue Nation moves quickly in it's two hour plus running time, never letting up, and keeping you guessing. Director Chris McQuarrie transports you to truly exotic locations from Malaysia to Morocco, on a thrillride that is bound to spawn another impossible mission.
