Out now on Blu-Ray and DVD, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is the
latest instalment of the rather well-known Mission Impossible series,
having given us plenty of time to forget about the previous one,
Ghost Protocol. It’s all changed a bit now – this time, the IMF
has been disbanded and Ethan is on the run from the CIA. His mission,
which he chooses to accept completely of his own accord, is to prove
the existence of the mysterious terrorist group Syndicate.
Right from the very start, the film was
filled with humour – it was the same with Ghost Protocol, although
I felt this time round was just that bit funnier. We’re thrown
right into the action before we really know what’s going on, with a
rather impressive series of stunts that Tom Cruise actually pulled
off himself. Ethan’s character feels slightly different this time
round – what with the IMF being shut down and the CIA showing a
complete lack of compassion from the very beginning, we begin to see
Ethan’s desperate side, which adds an interesting element to his
character. Benji, played by Simon Pegg, is as genius in humour as
anticipated, and keeps that light-hearted feel going throughout the
whole film. The real star of the show is Rebecca Ferguson, who plays
the questionable Ilsa Faust. Ethan and Benji team up with her to
locate the rogue Solomon Lane, but her confusing alliances lead to a
lot of guesswork from the viewer.
I was pleased to see a lesser-well known actor play the villain for once – you might not have seen Sean Harris before, but despite this he performed excellently as the unfathomable Lane. If anything, I wanted to know more about Lane, although perhaps this might happen in the future. So let’s cut to the action. There were some pretty nerve-wracking scenes during Rogue Nation (if you’ve watched it then you know exactly which one I mean) , and generally they were done really well. I thought towards the end of the movie some of the scenes were starting to look just a tad unrealistic, but I guess that’s a given with this sort of film. As with the previous Mission Impossible franchise, there were some exciting new gadgets to gawp at (why have I never seen a digital lock pick before?!), and possibly the greatest weapon ever known to musicians. There were enough high intensity scenes that it never got dull, but if I’m honest, it wasn’t those scenes that made the film. What really made it were the shorter scenes in between – the scenes where we got to feel the tension between the IMF, and bask in the clever wordplay of Benji and Ethan. I found myself wanting some of the action scenes to speed up a bit so I could get back to the team working behind the scenes.
Nonetheless, the
plot was good, and I didn’t work it out after ten minutes. There
were enough twists to keep you guessing, and the IMF’s
victimisation at the start made you really root for the team to get
something out of it all. The storyline could be considered rather
similar to the James Bond films of late (although less serious, of
course!) – whether this was intentional I do not know. I felt there
were times when it seemed a bit far fetched, although I pulled myself
back into reality and remembered that this is Mission Impossible
we’re talking about.
Putting the impossible stunts and
worrying misfires to one side for now, I have to say it was a damn
good sequel. There was action, humour, chemistry and a clever plot
line – just don’t go and see it if you’re looking for something
realistic.
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation gets a 4/5.
★★★★☆
Hannah Read
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation at CeX
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