Movie Review: Mission Impossible Rogue Nation

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is darn awesome summer movie making. It starts off with Tom Cruise (as Ethan Hunt) hanging off a huge Russian airplane. The thrills accelerate from there. I won’t go into plot because of course it’s convoluted. Ethan and gang have been chasing the Syndicate, but the CIA says there is no syndicate, but of course, there’s a syndicate. And these “dead” spies that appear to be alive have gone rogue.  

A key question in Mission Impossible movies is who works for whom?  Where do loyalties lie? Who can we trust or not trust, or maybe sorta trust and they sorta trust us and we all use each other?  Ethan has his loyal crew played by Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, and Jeremy Renner. Poor Jeremy is stuck back in CIA HQ answering to Alec Baldwin – the joke is “I cannot confirm or deny the existence of that.” Meanwhile, Ethan is chasing the syndicate, but keeps encountering Rebecca Ferguson – she’s maybe British intelligence, or maybe working for the bad dude, or straddling many worlds. Either way, she saves Ethan’s butt a few times and vice versa. Ferguson is a pretty actress who appears to have the smarts and the athletic ability to pull off killings, all while removing great shoes. 

Tom Cruise looks great and is so perfect for this role. He can just gaze at someone, crinkle his eyes, toss off a line, and then spring into action. He makes it look effortless after this many years in the business. I think it’s easy to take for granted how smooth he is as an actor. The Mission Impossible franchise keeps upping the ante successfully. It has not jumped the shark or gone cheesy.  Rogue Nation is a worthy addition. So hang on tight, hold your breath, and wear a seatbelt – this movie will take you for quite an entertaining ride.