Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Writers: Christopher McQuarrie
Stars: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames
Please Note: The Following May Contain Spoilers (But I Tried Hard Not To)
How does one beat a thrilling stunt like scaling the outside of the Burj Khalifa? Well naturally they decide to hold onto the side of a military plane as it takes off and then continue to hold on and try to access a door while in flight. Hello Tom Cruise and his ability to not only do these stunts but have them totally and utterly work with the Ethan Hunt character and the Mission Impossible series. Also…..what a brilliant way to start off Rogue Nation.
I mean yes it turned into the kidnapping of Ethan Hunt, a valiant escape, the shutting down (again) of the IMF which meant the introduction of Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin who you know is going to be great in any movie) which then led to a trip to the Opera for an explosive performance….see what I did there 😉. And that, my friends, is only the beginning. There is so much more in this movie in particular the new faces of Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) the I think she’s on Ethan’s side…maybe….oh wait no….ummm yes? character. And then Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) who is just the all around creepiest most sinister bad guy to date in a Mission Movie. I mean I originally thought Phillip Seymour Hoffman took that roll in #3 but when I re-watched Rogue Nation I remembered that Lane was it. He is the master with the look, the voice, the way he speaks and the actions he makes you just know that he is and could only ever be the evil leader of the Syndicate.
Oh yeah, this movie also continues the theme of new exciting/bigger and better stunts which Tom Cruise trains hard for and almost always does himself. 
So this includes the previously mentioned hanging off the plane introduction scene and also the underwater safe. You know the one…..where Ethan has to switch out a file in an underwater safe while holding his breath for up to 3 minutes and then the fan re-starts and he loses the files and etc etc etc The best thing is Tom Cruise literally learned to hold his breath for such a long time just so he could actually be the one to do the scene which I think is just so amazing not only for someone to do that but also it works so much better on the screen literally knowing it’s the actor doing the stunt rather than having to angle shots so you only see the side or back of the head to not give away it’s a stunt double.
Having praised this movie the way I have, you would think that I would have changed my opinion on the best in the series from Ghost Protocol to this but while I love it all I still hold Ghost Protocol as my number 1 by the tiniest of margins. I don’t know if this is because I watched all 5 films within in a 48 hour period and was possibly a little burnt out but if I’m being honest it was and still is a tough call between this, Ghost Protocol and #3. I stand by my choice but stay tuned because it’s very much about to change….
My Score: 9/10
Watch If You Like: Or….if, like me, you are about to watch the new one and want a recap……or just because you like Mission Impossible or Tom Cruise action movies.
Quick Review - Movies & TV 