By Brett Blake Any time a franchise reaches its fifth installment, it would be reasonable to expect that things would begin to get a bit stale. Just how many variations on the same material can filmmakers - even creative ones with the best of intentions - come up with? As ROGUE NATION demonstrates, there are still many variations on the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE formula left to explore. This is world-class entertainment - thrilling and funny and mysterious - and not only is it not a step down from the great fourth entry, GHOST PROTOCOL, it’s an even better movie, and the best of the series thus far. The plot concerns veteran Impossible Mission Force agent Ethan Hunt's (Tom Cruise) attempt to track a shadowy terror network called “The Syndicate,” a group seemingly bent on sowing chaos across the globe. When the CIA - personified by Hunley (Alec Baldwin) - shuts down the IMF, Hunt and his team - Benji (Simon Pegg), Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Luther (Ving Rhames) - must go on the run to find the leader of The Syndicate, Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), before his next nefarious plan can take shape. Along the way, the mysterious Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) proves to be both an ally and a foil for the team, with her true loyalties frustratingly uncertain. What jumps out immediately about ROGUE NATION is that it is the total package, containing just about everything a person could ever want from a spy film. There are chases and fights, there is suspense and mystery, and there is a sophisticated and balanced tone that ties everything together. This isn’t exactly a romp, as the stakes are real and the danger to our heroes feels more immediate and close than it did in the very fun GHOST PROTOCOL, but the humor is always there to lighten the mood when things threaten to become too dire. This delicate handling of tone can be credited to director Christopher McQuarrie. He has a “back to basics” cinematic style that is refreshingly old-school; there’s flair and verve to spare, but the direction is clear and interesting in a classical sense. McQuarrie stages action in such a way that the geography and relationships between the characters (both spatial and intellectual/emotional) are at the forefront of the staging. And when I use the word “action,” I’m not even necessarily talking about traditional action setpieces, either; there are several big sequences of suspense and intrigue that are every bit as satisfying and exciting as the chases and shoot-outs. One lengthy section - set at the Vienna State Opera - is absolutely spectacular; it’s a setpiece of delightful buildup, if you will, showcasing McQuarrie’s playful and cine-literate eye. It’s downright Hitchcockian in its cinematic construction (indeed, it pretty directly homages THE MAN WHO KNEW TO MUCH to wonderful effect), and it’s the best individual piece of filmmaking I’ve seen all year. The pacing of the movie is exceptional, as well. We aren’t just quickly shuffled from one gigantic sequence of mayhem to the next; rather, there is real time spent with the characters as we watch them do some actual, honest-to-goodness espionage work of the sort that lesser movies might gloss over. It’s fun to watch Hunt and his crew put the pieces together and formulate their plans, and it’s even more fun to see how those plans fall into place… or perhaps don’t. The team of actors assembled is perhaps the strongest of any M:I movie thus far. Tom Cruise is the glue holding everything together at this point, and his (extraordinarily admirable) dedication to his work has never been as clearly illustrated as it is here. Whether it’s hanging off the side of an airplane as it takes off, or holding his breath for some agonizingly long takes while underwater, or doing the bulk of his own stunt driving, he - personally - is actually onscreen for most of the movie’s most hair-raising moments to sell thrill. That’s not just part of an ego trip, either. It truly does add an intangible value to the film as a whole, and his willingness to throw himself into very physical and arduous work - so that we in the audience will have a more exciting experience - is really laudable. Cruise has gotten a lot of flak over the years for issues relating to his personal life (some deserved, most not), but even his harshest critics should be silenced by the ways in which he’s gone above and beyond for this franchise. Jeremy Renner - at first glance - feels like he’s sidelined a bit during the first two acts of the film, sort of off in his own bureaucratic nightmare subplot as he delightfully bickers with Alec Baldwin, but this is intentional and it does pay off; Renner feels like an outsider, but that’s a specific choice that truly informs the character and his actions in a perfect way. Simon Pegg continues to deliver the comedic goods - though in a much drier fashion this time out - but he also gets to play some nicely emotional moments that explore more of his relationship with Cruise’s Hunt. Ving Rhames (the only one of the cast - save Cruise - who’s been in every M:I movie) brings a slightly world-weary grumpiness to the team dynamic that is a lot of fun. Also fun is Alec Baldwin, who portrays the kind of character we’ve seen countless times before (the stuffy bureaucrat who doesn’t like our heroes’ methods), but the script wisely ends up subverting that trope in a great way. As the villain, Sean Harris makes an immediate and striking impression; he’s eerily soft-spoken, calm, and calculating, and from the moment he appears onscreen, we totally buy that this is a very dangerous man. His final confrontation with Cruise is quite memorable and packs a great, electric punch. And that brings us to the woman who steals the entire film, Rebecca Ferguson. You’re probably mostly (if not entirely) unfamiliar with her, but that is surely going to change after ROGUE NATION. She’s as fascinating, enigmatic, and compelling a character as this series has ever seen, a fully-fleshed-out badass who’s complicated, sexy, flawed, and also very, very good at her job. It’s a breakout performance by Ferguson, who exudes a steely competency as Ilsa, as well as a playful charisma that totally screams “star in the making.” We can only hope. I don’t even have any nits to pick with this movie. It’s simply a spectacular entertainment, one that honors all of the history and lore of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE series (both its television and cinematic incarnations), and brings a fresh energy to the proceedings that will hopefully pave the way for more adventures to come. Going into 2015, I was operating under the assumption that the upcoming James Bond film, SPECTRE, would be the spy movie to beat. Well, 007 is going to have some serious work to do if SPECTRE is going to top ROGUE NATION. It’s that good, and trust me… it’s a mission you want to accept.
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