8.05.2015

Most Anticipated 2015: Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

11. Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation (PG-13) - Runtime: 131 minutes
Starring: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Writer: Christopher McQuarrie
There are a lot of parallels between Mission: Impossible and the Fast and Furious movies. They both are getting better with each new movie and they've always upped the ante with their action set pieces. And their aging stars don't look like they're aging at all. Rogue Nation is a wonderfully fun and incredibly entertaining action movie. There isn't a whole lot of plot to uncover or get twisted, just Tom Cruise running (and flying!) around the world for our entertainment. It's a great end to a great summer.

While nothing will top Cruise's shenanigans atop the Burj Khalifa, the plane stunt in the beginning of the movie almost gets there, but every other action/stunt is beautifully done and tops all the other scenes from the previous movie. Plus you have a solid kickass female spy agent who actually contributes to the story and isn't some pretty face. Granted she has one side-boob scene that is pretty gratuitous, but I can forgive that when the rest of Rebecca Ferguson's time is well-spent doing cool things and besting Tom Cruise.

Because literally she is a better agent than Cruise. There is not one time where he gets the best of her - it's always her getting the last laugh. And that's awesome because what we're seeing here is the evolution not only of the action film, but of Tom Cruise himself. There comes a point in the movie where the characters question Ethan Hunt's motivations to keep going despite the odds and despite his old-man status. It's a clear and obvious metaphor - how much longer can you keep this up Cruise? It a question that lingers in the movie and is only answered by more action, but clearly Ethan Hunt/Tom Cruise are willing to keep going as long as people want him to.

The only other bad thing in the movie is the villain. I HATE it when villains decide they need to alter their voice with some oral defect on inflection. It's so terribly campy that it's not even wink-at-the-camera campy. And Sean Harris' portrayal of Evil Ethan Hunt is downright bad. He's poorly written and add on top of that an awful voice and you're bound to roll your eyes every time he's on screen.

The action is great and the jokes and comedic relief from Simon Pegg are perfectly executed and are not annoying. It's full of heart and bromance and you just want to love everything about the movie because it just works. Tom Cruise is yet again, charming and makes everything look too damn easy, and although I miss Jerry Maguire/Few Good Men Cruise, I'll absolutely plunk down my money to go see action star Cruise.

RATING: A NATION OF MILLIONS CAN'T HOLD THIS FILM BACK

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