Well, it's been about three and a half
years since the last Mission Impossible film served us up a
plate of good old, fun old action. The last one, Ghost Protocol,
was amazing; I gave that one the full five stars. So does Rogue
Nation accomplish its mission of measuring up? Let's find out.
The story once again follows agent
Ethan Hunt as he and the remaining members of the now-disbanded IMF
attempt to uncloak and bring down the Syndicate, a mysterious
terrorist organization. Like the other Mission Impossible
films it has lots of globe trotting and double crossing that'll keep
you guessing who's working for who until the very end.
A lot of the fun of these films comes
from the characters it follows. We've got the ageless Tom Cruise
reprising his role as the fearless Ethan Hunt; Alec Baldwin, who sure
has risen through the ranks of the CIA since Red October; Sean
Penn as the lovably funny computer genius Benji; Jeremy Renner as the
serviceable agent Brandt; Rebecca Ferguson as the kickass femme fatal
Ilsa Faust who is kind of over-sexualized here (whether that's a good
or bad thing, I'll let you decide) (edit: I've since decided that it's not that big a deal!); and Ving Rhames as the token
black guy (seriously, did he actually do anything important?). And
lastly, we have Sean Harris as the main villain Solomon Lane. The
problem with him is that he's sometimes hard to take seriously, with
his high-pitched whispery voice and his pouty angry face.
The action is just as fun as ever, with
some terrific stunts and action set pieces. But because of its PG
rating, its violence feels a little too tame. There's even a freakin'
knife fight scene that doesn't have a single drop of blood!
Regardless, Mission Impossible:
Rogue Nation is a great action spectacle. I'd say it's not quite
as good as Ghost Protocol was; that one had funnier jokes and
a better villain. But this one is still a fine choice for any
moviegoer.
Rating: four and a half stars out of
five.
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