Originally published in Cinema Knife Fight August 3, 2015
To start this review, I was going to play a cassette tape
and have a cute, “Your mission if you choose to accept it…” But no, I won’t do
that. And telling you I was going to do it but didn’t is not the
same as doing it.
I’ve been a fan of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE series
since the beginning. Granted, some were better than others, for example the
original (1996) was great. It was an awesome homage to the original 1966
television series which riveted my parents to the TV set each week (I was too
young to stay up that late, being only 3…). The follow-up, MISSION:
IMPOSSIBLE II (2000) was weaker than the original, with a climactic
fistfight that went on way too long. I remember taking a long time to get
around to watching MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III (2006) but when I did, I was
very pleasantly surprised. It far exceeded the previous two.
After 2006, the franchise fizzled for a time, until M:I
III‘s writer, J.J. Abrams (EVERYTHING THAT IS GOOD AND AWESOME ON ANY
SIZED SCREEN), and his merry band at Bad Robot Productions took the helm.
Abrams took the producer’s office for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE–GHOST
PROTOCOL (2011) and reignited what would become a fun, visually-stunning
couple of films with a lead actor who would willingly expose himself to the
vacuum of space if it meant being allowed to do his own stunts (sorry, getting
ahead of myself, back to that point soon). GHOST PROTOCOL was a wild,
fun, breathtaking film, and I left the theater four years ago hoping it was not
a one-time deal.
It wasn’t.
Yes, I’m actually going to talk about the MISSION:
IMPOSSIBLE–ROGUE NATION (2015) now.
The short version, in case you’re already tired of reading
this review: it is one of the most enjoyable, action-packed spy movies you’re
probably going to see this half decade. Goofy at times, yes, but a lot of fun. SPECTRE
(2015) is coming out in November, and I’m uber-looking forward to this new Bond
film, but even that might pale on the fun-meter compared to the
movie we’re reviewing right now. (PS: For those of you leaving at the end
of this paragraph, I’m going to give M:I–RN four knives at the
end, but shhh, don’t say anything, so the people hanging around for the whole
review will be surprised). OK, short-attention span readers, you may
leave.
The “Rogue Nation” of the title is disenfranchised British
agent Solomon Lane (played with quiet, Bond-ish menace by Sean Harris, also in PROMETHEUS,
2012)) aiming to unhinge Western Civilization (why do so many bad guys in spy
movies hate Western Civilization?). His schemes are so well-planned and
executed, one begins to suspect any eventuality that comes his way is part of
his overall Master Plan. This is what our hero, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise (JACK
REACHER, 2012, and all previous M:I films), begins to fear as he
races across the world trying to apprehend him.
One major problem, however: after the explosive events of
the previous movie, the head of the CIA, Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin, 30 ROCK
TV Series, BEETLEJUICE, 1988) has brought the IMF before a Senate
committee and successfully disbanded the organization (FYI, IMF is the acronym
for Hunt’s group: Impossible Mission Force), merging them with
the CIA and forcing Ethan Hunt to go rogue rather than come back in from the
field. So, yes, the IMF itself becomes a “rogue nation,” in a way, and this is
where I have one minor problem with the film. The idea of the IMF having to go
underground because the US government won’t support them—and in fact wants to apprehend
them, especially Ethan—has been done before—in the previous film and the very first
M:I movie. Granted, things are more interesting when everyone
wants a piece of the good guy and no one supports him (except his
crew), but find another way. Fortunately, this repetitive plot device
diminishes the enjoyment of the film not a whit.
The pre-credits opening scene (the one talked about quite a
lot in the web-o-sphere lately) sets the tone for the movie. Ethan and his crew
try to stop a cargo plan from taking off with some seriously bad weaponry. In
the end, the plane takes off, with Ethan Hunt desperately holding on to the
outside of the plane. Yes, that is, in fact, Tom Cruise hanging on to the
outside of an actual cargo plane which is actually
taking off. It’s a fun, visually arresting scene that ends with a good laugh
before we are brought into the opening credits. I’ll get back to Cruise and his
stunts in a moment, because I’d like to take a second to celebrate the music.
The original 1966 TV show always began with a catchy opening
scene, followed by the familiar sight of a fuse being lit as the theme song,
written by Lalo Schifrin, kicks into full throttle. This is one of the best TV
theme songs out there. In ROGUE NATION, composer Joe Kraemer’s
score intersperses Schifrin’s song throughout the film, and at just the right
moments. Not overbearing, but it never fails to induce excitement in this
writer’s head.
So, back to Tom Cruise. Say what you will about the man’s
off-screen antics, he is one of the best action stars around. A big statement,
you say? Aside from still being one of the (if not the)
best-looking actors on any screen (suspiciously so, because how does anyone
look that good for this many decades?), he knows how to act. Cruise takes his
job seriously, no matter what film he’s in, so much so that he does his own
stunts. Yes, that’s not just a rumor going around about the plane thing. In
every action scene in this film, you’re seeing Tom Cruise—hanging onto a plane
(not to worry, he was also strapped securely to the side), racing along the
highways of Morocco on a motorcycle, trying to do something “impossible” while
underwater in a tank and holding his breath for an absurd amount of time (in
that scene, he actually held his breath for six minutes, twice as long as the
character had to, to the point where the director stopped filming because he
thought he was going to drown). The guy’s a machine. If you think about it,
this is one major reason the action sequences in his films are so realistic.
Without a stunt double, there is no need to keep the camera away from
close-ups. Because of this and some stellar directing by writer and director
Christopher McQuarrie (JACK REACHER, 2012), the action scenes in this
movie are way above average with very little CGI
used. One of these days Tom Cruise will probably die while filming a movie,
maybe (as I mentioned above) after he insists on being sucked out into space,
just so a scene has maximum realism. Maybe this is why he’s never starred in a
movie that takes place outside of our atmosphere. No one wants to be
responsible for killing such a profitable leading man.
M:I has always been borderline sci-fi, considering
the technology the characters often use to get the job done. One does wonder
how they manage to build such elaborate… let’s just say “devices” to avoid
spoilers… when they’re basically cut off from any outside support. Granted,
they do have oodles of cash stowed away in various hidey-holes. A certain
amount of willing disbelief-suspension is required now and then. The
filmmakers, however, imbued the film with such realism in their
bigger-than-life situations and effects to make me willing, at
least.
The cinematography was quite stunning. From an opera house
in Vienna to the streets of Casablanca, Morocco, every scene is shot big,
in digital perfection. Especially the Vienna scenes, and a jaw-dropping
motorcycle chase later in the film. The shots are from varying angles, all to
enhance a feeling of exotic awe with the beauty of the places we are brought
into. I’m reminded of Robert Ludlum’s books, where he would choose some of the
most exotic and beautiful locales for his stories. This is a big reason I strongly
recommend seeing MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE–ROGUE NATION at the
theatres, while you can. Not because the CGI looks better in the theaters,
since there’s very little of that, but because the actual footage
of real people doing nutty things for our entertainment looks better on the big
screen. At least this one does.
What makes this series of films, especially the latter three
Abrams-inspired productions so appealing? Look back at the early James Bond
films, specifically with Sean Connery and Roger Moore. The Connery films took
the exploits of agent 007 seriously, much like the recent Daniel Craig forays
into Bond’s world. There was some humor, but the mission (and the women, we’re
talking Sean Connery here, after all) were the primary focus. When Roger Moore came
onboard, the filmmakers put far too much emphasis on gadgets and bad puns, to
the detriment of the franchise (in my opinion, other’s may vary). I lost
interest in the Bond films near the end of the Moore era. The exploits of Ethan
Hunt in the M:I films feel like the perfect blend of serious action and
humor. Simon Pegg (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, 2004, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS,
2013) was obviously brought in to help with the humor, though Pegg’s Benji Dunn
has his serious moments throughout. I enjoyed Pegg’s performance a lot in this
film. He knows when to be comical and when not to (yea, yea, as do the director
and writers, I know).
Another dynamite supporting cast member was Rebecca Ferguson
(THE RED TENT, 2014, HERCULES, 2014) as Ilsa Faust, an agent
working for bad guy Solomon, or is she? This question goes back and forth
throughout the film. Though I’m guessing she doesn’t do her own stunts like
co-star Cruise, she has a great presence and her action scenes were very well
done. Quick kudos also to Jens Hulten (SKYFALL, 2012) as henchman Janik
Vinter, aka the Bone Cutter (or something like that). He doesn’t have a lot of
lines, but held the screen with an abundance of quiet menace.
Finally, there were a couple of scenes near the latter part
of the film which I found a refreshing twist on the way Hollywood usually deals
with plot roles for the distinct sexes. That’s all I’ll say, but it was nice to
see the We’ve Always Done It This Way model tossed out the window
more than once.
As you can tell, I enjoyed MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—ROGUE
NATION quite a lot. If you’re one to search out thrillers with real-life
action and fight scenes that aren’t over-edited to the point of triggering
seizures, check this out soon. As the short-attention-span folks already learned,
I give this movie Four Knives for one of the most fun,
over-the-top thrill-rides in recent movie memory.
© Copyright 2015 by Daniel G. Keohane