Tom Cruise still got it. He may not be young anymore but he still can deliver and proves it in his latest movie, Mission Impossible: Rouge Nation. The fifth installment in his very successful franchise. Jeremy Renner reprises his role as IMF agent William Brandt and Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn. Ving Rhames returns as Luther Stickell. Rebecca Fergusson joined the team as Ilsa Faust.
After four year, Ethan Hunt is back, with crazier stunts.
The film started with the team in a middle of a mission. That said mission gave us the most intense stunt of the movie with Hunt hanging off the side of a plane. That was a very drastic move on Hunt’s side but they were able to get the “package” and he got out of it alive. Everyone’s happy right? Apparently not everyone, some people are very displeased with the IMF’s methods.
In Rogue Nation, Ethan Hunt and his team faced their biggest challenge yet, IMF has been shut down while in middle of a very special mission. A mission that no one else is taking seriously. Hunt find out about the Syndicate, a rogue version of CIA, Mossad, MI6 (and all those super secret agencies), more specifically an anti-IMF. The Syndicate wreaked havoc all over the world without anyone suspecting that those events are related in any way. Hunt, after finding that IMF has been shut down, went on a rogue mission, determined to stop the syndicate no matter what. The rest of the team won’t let him dismantle the Syndicate on his own and became rouge agents as well.
Ilsa Faust is a very interesting character, is wasn’t clear whose side is she on. She seemed determined to help Hunt but also follows order from someone else all the while playing the disavowed agent of MI6. I especially like that Fergusson has a lot of screen time making badass moves. Ilsa is a tough chick through and through. The knife fight with the Bone Doctor is what impresses me the most. I cringed at every thrust and was at the edge of my seat the whole time. That is the ultimate fight scene of the movie for me. I am sick of watching action movies where women are treated like accessories than actual human beings. I am tired of overly sexualised women in movies, like their only use is to be beautiful and sexy. I specially hate it when a women in an action movie is just running from the enemy while the male protagonist is protecting her. I hate it when they scream all throughout the scene, I am like “give the woman a gun already”.
So badass. She showed us how to pull off a very daring dress while carrying a very sophisticated gun.
It’s nice to see Hunt and Stickell working together, they have a long history and their respect and admiration for each other is very apparent. I expected more action for Rhames but it seemed like they gave the limelight to Pegg (not that I mind) I adore Benji Dunn, he is funny without trying too hard. His expertise maybe in the technical stuff but he can hold his own in the field. I was actually surprised at his fight scenes. He is a breath of fresh air. William Brandt was not involved in a lot of action scenes, he is actually the one who is being rational and trying to save the lives of the rest of the team. I was expecting to see Brandt be in the midst of chaos.
And of course how can I not write about Ethan Hunt, who made me so into espionage/spy movies ever since I saw the first MI movie. He is a freaking badass, we all know that but every installment he shows something new. I appreciate the fact that they did not make him like a typical spy/agent who is a ladies man. He is the type who commits to a woman. Ghost Protocol just broke my heart. It was amazing but painful to watch Ethan say goodbye to his estrange wife, it almost made me cry.
This scene got me so worried for Tom Cruise. He can totally ruin his knees.
In Rogue Nation, he was so determined to finish the mission on his own to keep his friends safe. The stunts that he did are just freaking amazing. I wonder how will they top the stunts they did in this movie. The plane stunt was just the appetizer. The plane stunt was so dangerous but so is the motorcycle chase. The fight scene at the backstage of the opera was just as exciting. I have to say Ilsa is really a badass, I like the way she propped the gun when she was setting up to assassinate the chancellor.
How they captured Lane was anticlimactic though. They spin us so hard the whole time so the expectation was so high. I expected an epic showdown between Hunt and Lane and was disappointed. I have to admit though that the glass tunnel was very clever and that they gave Lane a dose of his own medicine is really wicked.
The movie was a blast. So intense. There is really no down time at all. I was like,”hey slow down, let me catch my breathe”.
This is not a review at all. Just trying to write down my thoughts while I was watching the movie last night. Awesome installment but the first MI movie is still my most favorite.
PS:
Being the discrete romantic that I am, I was hoping to see a glimpse of Julia. Their story just made me so sad. They can’t be together because of Ethan’s job. He has to stay away from her to keep her safe.
Just Sayin' 