Ethan and team take on their most impossible mission yet, eradicating the Syndicate - an International rogue organization as highly skilled as they are, committed to destroying the IMF.Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation [Blu-ray + DVD]
When I saw the first trailer for this film, I was excited. It featured explosions, exotic locales, a beautiful woman, and Tom Cruise running toward the screen all-out (what more do you want out of an action film?). Then I heard that it was directed by the same man who gave us Jack Reacher... and I was worried. While the last Mission Impossible was cartoonish and rightly so, as it's director had directed animated features like The Incredibles, I primarily remembered Jack Reacher being over-violent and kind of dull, despite Tom Cruise being lovably crazy (apparently his natural state of mind). So was this film another Ghost Protocol? Or another Jack Reacher? Actually...
Everything that a Mission Impossible Film Should Be
I remember when the first Mission Impossible film came out when I was a kid and I saw it in the theater. It was exciting, and kind of awesome, but it was also a bit on the sad and dreary side (as listening to the soundtrack by itself reminded me) losing a lot of the fun and thoughtful nature of the old TV show. While it was made when Tom Cruise was in his prime, I noticed after buying it that I never wanted to watch it. It just wasn't a very fun or joyful film (regardless of what that says to you of it's quality). Despite that though, the infiltration of CIA Headquarters was absolutely iconic and definitely one of Tom Cruise's finest moments (shared perhaps with the bullet train fight at the film's climax).
MI was followed by a lackluster sequel that recycled the plot of Notorious and permanently left a foul taste in my mouth for Thandie Newton while introducing me to John Woo. The third Mission Impossible film was so bad I only saw it once in the theater. It introduced me to a lifelong deep-seated hatred for all things directed by JJ "Dental Torture and Beat-Downs Between Lens Flare" Abrams, who has absolutely done a hundred times the damage to my childhood dreams that anyone could ever claim Michael Bay did to theirs. Enough said about that horrific film. I bring up all this history because...
Everyone who saw the trailer to film was hoping for a sequel to the awesome Ghost Protocol, which was a fantastic reconstruction of the series. MI4 was thrilling, engaging, humorous, and most importantly FUN. While this film is perhaps not quite as fun that that prequel it IS arguably a better film. All in all...
Rogue Nation is DELIGHTFULLY self-aware. It pays tribute to all the best things that are Mission Impossible. It has stunts and infiltrations like the first film. It has the charm and humor and fantastic cinematography of Ghost Protocol. It completely ignores MI2 and MI3 (good riddance) and introduces wonderful new characters while simultaneously paying tribute to the best parts the first MI and Ghost Protocol, classic spy films, and the original Mission Impossible TV show!
Tom Cruise Does His Own Stunts
Yeah, Tom Cruise is back and running flat-out just as forcefully as ever. The first stunt is jaw-dropping (yes, Tom Cruise is REALLY hanging off of a REAL PLANE as it takes off!!!!) and the film just gets better from there. There's tight, well-choreographed fights that are far more realistic than you would expect (a bit more violent than GP but more palatable than say, a recent Bond Film). You get the uncanny sense that Ethan Hunt's real superpower is his impossible luck as he leads his team from one ridiculous situation to another and right through any sense of disbelief you may be trying to cling to (in the best way possible).
There was a scene in the third act (none of which was in the trailer!) where a classic story-telling device of running into a a dangerous situation instead of running away was gloriously lampshaded (openly acknowledged for the trope-challenged). You look into Ethan's unhinged eyes full of unflagging confidence, and you WANT to believe that like all the Mission Impossible films before, Ethan really can save his friends and save the world if we just trust him one more time. Few actors could have pulled off a scene like this. Tom nails it. But he has help this time...
Everything a Woman Should Be
Fans of the original MI will welcome back the charm of Ving Rhames (even if his role is smaller than other characters), and Simon Pegg's hilarious tech expert is a welcome return from Ghost Protocol. Add in the always charming and handsome Jeremy "Hawkeye" Renner (who sadly has little action, but always great humor and screen presence), and the cast is complete. Except...
Rebecca Ferguson... oh...my...Goodness!!!!! You know how in every action flick there's an obligatory femme fatale, who is usually way too young for the protagonist? Perhaps dressed in ridiculous skimpy clothing and featured in a gratuitous sex scene? Or perhaps you remember the damsel-in-distress who falls apart for the hero and exists only to be captured by the bad guy? A woman who mothers everyone? A big sister to the team? Yeah, Ilsa Faust as played by Rebecca Ferguson defies all feminine tropes to become...just...amazing. How do I describe this?
She's mysterious without being hollow. She's vulnerable without being pathetic. She's gorgeous without being sleazy. Strong without being masculine. She commands your attention in every scene she's in. Like Ethan, you IMMEDIATELY like her. She's a match for Ethan, but she never steals his show (like Michelle Yeoh in Tomorrow Never Dies). She rocks a bikini without being a sex object ala Star Trek:Into Darkness ("I said, don't look!"). And she is absolutely gorgeous not because she has a perfect body and a voluptuous figure in tight or non-existant clothes (though her outfits ARE nice), but because she has magnetism, grace, and is compelling to watch. Yes, yes, YES!
More than that, her character neatly side-steps the obvious horror that is a woman that no one should trust because she's bad news, yet does repeatedly because she's pretty. No, they trust her because she is competent, because she is helpful, and because she saves Ethan's life. The fact that whose side she is on is completely unknown comes makes her not indecisive, not pathetic, but powerful, because while she has strong feelings and moral compass, instead of whining about it she's taking it moment by moment doing everything she can to make things turn out right. Just...wow. Oh yeah, and she fights real good and drives a mean motorcycle!
Some people have mentioned that they aren't fond of the "awkward" relationship between her and Ethan, but honestly!? Isn't it refreshing to have characters that have a deep and complex relationship that isn't about just romance (or even worse, sex?). Ilsa and Ethan have a complex, nuanced relationship that I'll take over a common love-interest any day. If you ask me it's ABOUT TIME films acknowledged that a man and woman can have a relationship without cheating on their spouse or pining away.
A great film
Again, this film is thoroughly self-aware, and that makes it shine. Unlike other spy/action films that might come off as a rip-off, this movie wears it's influences on it's sleeve and has fun with them. There's an assassination in an opera house (The Man Who Knew Too Much anyone?) that manages to be thrilling, hilarious, and sexy all at once (I can't believe I just said that) while also filling our ears with glorious music and gorgeous sets. There's a facility that has to be broken into UNDERWATER. There's wonderful mockery of government oversight hearings, and past MI cliques. And at the conclusion there's a fight between Ilsa and a man who easily weighs twice her weight. In other films it would be a waif-fu showcase of silliness, but here you believe that 1. She really is in danger due to the difference in size and 2. She really can win, just like another fight between Ethan and an enemy far larger than him. You believe it's skill and imagination that save them, not script anvil-dropping. Good writing and good direction.
I haven't even mentioned the villain yet, but he's fantastic. He not a cartoonish eeeeevil man, nor is he a total psycho like so many villains. Nope. He's just a fantastically brilliant and terrifyingly chilly genius bent on changing the world with brutal efficiency (reminding me of the best villains from Sherlock).
Add to add that the fact that the film features plenty of classic Mission Impossible TV show inspired music (awesome), the chase scenes are superbly directed close to the ground John Frankenheimer style with perfect choreography and editing, the banter between the team members is all silly and hilarious and endearing, obvious common film-making idiocy is routinely side-stepped ("Tell me you made a copy of the disk!" "Of COURSE I did..."), and you have yourself a winner. I also appreciate how the ridiculousness of women running around in fancy impractical shoes in action films is (again) simultaneously lamp-shaded and side-stepped. It's much easier to accept a heroine who removes her flimsy footwear before running across rooftops...
But my favorite thing about the style of this film...is the fact that it has a Mission Impossible TV show ending! Anyone who has seen the show and then see this film should understand what I mean, but I'll just put it this way... Seeing a hero beat the bad guy in a fight is one thing, but seeing him out-gambit his nemesis is something else entirely, and more satisfying by far, because it feels like you and the hero EARNED your happy ending (to say nothing of the writers!)
The one dark spot on this film (mileage may vary) is that judging from its opening credits and obvious advertising, it comes across as a collaboration between the Chinese and Indian governments and corporate America. Like Transformers:Age of Extinction, everything has been subtly altered to make the film more palatable to an international audience, and to sell products from Dell, Microsoft, etc. Personally I don't mind even a little bit, because it's fretting to see a film with a big hollywood budget that's a big more international in flavor. And call me jaded, but in-film advertising just makes me smile because it's so silly.
If you enjoyed Ghost Protocol, you should LOVE this film. Which one will be your favorite is hard to say, but they are both definitely worth owning.
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