Mission Impossible Rogue Nation Review

Very few movie franchises in existence have gotten better and better with every existing movie. Harry Potter, The Dark Knight Trilogy and The Marvel Cinematic Universe are among the unique, and now the Mission Impossible franchise can also be added to this very rare list. True, Mission Impossible 2 may have added a dent into the paintwork of the series, but for the most part the franchise has improved tremendously for this highly action packed franchise. Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol was one of the highlights of 2011 in one of the best years of blockbuster films ever and it’s still amazing that Tom Cruise performed the entire Dubai building sequence without the use of a stunt man. But if you thought Ghost Protocol took the Mission Impossible series to the next level, Rogue Nation takes it sky rocketing to the moon with even more amazing action and easily the best story driven of the franchise as well. Despite now being in his 50s, Tom Cruise is greater than ever before and the opening stunt sequence shows how truly dedicated to his craft he is. Simon Pegg balances the action and thrills of the movie with his perfect comic timing and after having a small cameo in Ghost Protocol it’s great to see the return of Ving Rhames who really works well with the rest of the team. The big surprise of Rogue Nation however has to go to the series newcomer Rebecca Ferguson who is by far the far female character in the history of the franchise adding not just sexiness but a harder driven story and even more kick ass action as the viewer keeps guessing her purpose throughout the first half of the movie. Ferguson is just terrific and really gives Tom Cruise a run for his money in the action scenes. While there’s an argument that can be made for Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s villain from Mission Impossible III being the strongest of the series, Sean Harris gives it his all as rogue MI6 agent Solomon Lane who always seems to be a step ahead of Tom Cruise despite the two never really coming to blows throughout the movie. If there are some downsides to the movie, Jeremy Renner isn’t given as nearly as much screen time or purpose in the story as the rest of the IMF team, but he still delivers when he is present and proves to be an essential part of the group. Plus I think the film really could have done with a cameo appearance from Michelle Monaghan as Ethan Hunt’s wife Julia just to show that she’s still out there; but that’s just a little nick pick. Overall, I consider Mission Impossible Rogue Nation to be the best movie in the Mission Impossible franchise to date and I really look forward to the next entry which will hopefully come sooner than later.