Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Length: 131 minutes

Opening: Now playing 

Love him or hate him, Tom Cruise has become synonymous with the incredibly popular Mission Impossible franchise that first started in 1996. Throughout the years, fans worldwide have followed international spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) as he travelled the globe, beating up baddies along the way while wooing many a beautiful lady. 

Now, those who have been patiently waiting for the past four years can head to cinemas nationwide and catch the latest instalment to the Mission Impossible story: Rogue Nation. The film revolves around Hunt’s uncovering of the existence of the “Syndicate”, an international crime consortium run and backed by unknown agents. Responsible for the hijacking of planes, the bombing of chemical plants and orchestrating wars, the Syndicate answers to no government and owes its loyalty to no one. 

Meanwhile, the IMF is dissolved when CIA director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) calls their usefulness and efficiency into question. Alone without the backing of his fellow IMF agents, Hunt goes underground and manages to piece together bits and pieces of information he manages to clean from various sources and creates a jigsaw puzzle of people and events orchestrated by the Syndicate. 

When Hunt finally hits a dead end in his search, he enlists the help of former IMF colleague, Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) to track down an elusive man whom Hunt believes is the key to unlocking the secrets of the Syndicate. The pair travel to Vienna, and then London, where a multitude of exciting, shocking events soon unfold, necessitating the recruitment of the rest of the team — William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames).

Along the way, Hunt manages to catch the eye of yet another vixen, this time, MI6 spy, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) whose loyalties remain unclear until the movie’s finale. Although new to this franchise, Ferguson plays the part of the mysterious Ilsa to perfection — the audience can’t quite guess her true motives, try as they may. Is she genuine or is she just an extremely talented actress?

One might think that after five movies, the Mission Impossible franchise would have run its course the way so many other franchises have. Miraculously, though, the film’s makers have done an outstanding job in not only writing a new story with a compelling plot line, but also managed to cast a group of actors that have great chemistry. A recipe for a successful movie. 

Benji’s sense of humour, Hunt’s sense of righteousness and stubbornness, Brandt’s seriousness while betraying a flicker of a softer side and Ilsa’s deviousness all mesh together to bring us perhaps one of the most exciting action flicks that we can look forward to this year. 

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is the epitome of a great spy film, incorporating all the elements that makes us all love them. A likeable main character, a beautiful woman and a funny sidekick running around the streets of Europe in expensive cars and bikes, chasing down the bad guys. What’s not to like?

This article first appeared in digitaledge Daily, on August 5, 2015.