Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
Go! It's still good to be on the Hunt.
Mission: Doable; but still exciting.
It is 19 years since the first Mission Impossible film dropped out of a laser-protected air vent in the ceiling and into our lives. Giving us more twists than a 60s light-up dancefloor and more artificial faces than Harley Street, it has changed the style of spy flicks irrevocably. Over the course of four films, M:I took James Bond's stiff upper lip and contorted it into an emotional Ethan Hunt; played by a thoroughly energised Tom Cruise. Hunt was more physical than Bond, more modern, more reactionary, more inventive, more maverick. Also great was that Hunt didn't sex everything that moved - he's less of an entitled, moody, misogynistic bastard. Coming full circle, if Hunt was ever seen as an American Bond, Bond is now a British Hunt (not to be mispronounced, deliberately or otherwise). It is a reflection of how solid and consistent the films have been that their influence has rebounded back across the Atlantic. Even the generally maligned M:I 2, with its opening rock climbing scene and high speed motorcycle chase, still had bits of choreographed brilliance that other action stunt films would seek to emulate.
Love him or otherwise, Tom Cruise himself has a stature that almost no other current film star can match. Whether it comes from regular yoga and pilates, brushing twice daily, or the aliens behind Scientology, no one knows, but he has developed a virtually impenetrable aura of gleaming white-toothed stardom. Mission Impossible is his most beloved solar system and, in many ways, it is where he excels most. His willingness to perform his own novel stunts - such as abseiling down the World's Tallest Building (TM) in Mission: Impossible, Ghost Protocol - is remarkable, and brings a level of, "Woah, I can't believe he did that!" excitement to the M:I films that is rare in modern cinema's green screen age. Such is his commitment that after nearly two decades of wholeheartedly being sweaty, wide-eyed, shouting and running around, Tom Cruise simply is Ethan Hunt. There is no separating the two.
If you choose to accept it, you'll find that in keeping with all this familiarity, M:I - Rogue Nation is standard issue M:I. Hunt's employer, the IMF* (presumably having resolved their lending negotiations with Greece) is again in trouble with its Mommy, the US Government. Apparently the IMF is just too damn destructive, and the agency gets disbanded and absorbed into the red-tapey, eye-rolly CIA. Ethan is left out in the cold by the CIA chief (Alec Baldwin, The Departed) as a disavowed agent, but continues to hunt down the "Syndicate" - apparently an "anti-IMF" made up of dodgy ex-spies from the world over. Travelling across London, Vienna and Casablanca, he brings his Ghost Protocol team back together (including Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, and relentless servant Ving Rhames) as well as being forced into working with an British "is she bad, isn't she bad" spy (Rebecca Ferguson, The White Queen), who adds a much lacking dose of powerful femininity to the mix. There are masks (always with the masks), cars with more tech than an Apple Spaceship (coming May 2020), some kind of magazine laptop, a thrilling motorcycle chase, and of course, a gun made out of a flute. Most importantly, Cruise performs his usual athletic display of sprinting and leaping; this time with swimming and hanging off the side of an airborne plane added for good measure. It's like a solo, tight-black-t-shirted Olympiad, with one inevitable winner. As the CIA chief puts it, "There is no person he can't beat, no person he can't become. Hunt is the living manifestation of destiny." Woah. Gold, Silver and Bronze for Hunt then. And sounds like a hot date with a CIA chief.
The Mission Impossible format is well-rehearsed but malleable enough to still be up to date and hugely enjoyable. Rogue Nation reboots and reinforces the franchise with pace, energy and direction; twists and turns; betrayal (or is it?), misdirection (or is it?!) and most importantly, bags of fruitful jeopardy. The basic storyline is clean and simple, letting the focus remain on the jolts to our senses and screws to our sensibilities that we so crave. Like Cruise himself, it is slick and sinewy; cinematic and dramatic and will keep you involved throughout its 131 minute running time. There is light comedy in the relationship between Hunt and his team, and their relaxed chemistry from Ghost Protocol is well carried into Rogue Nation. It perhaps wavers a little into superhero territory, elevating Hunt to infallible status, which diverts from the necessary feeling that his success will be eventual rather than inevitable. Maintaining the prospect of failure is an important aspect of enjoying the jeopardy of the film, but overall, it stays on the right side for the most part and sufficiently retains its feverish anxiety.
So go. Any film that participates in the spy genre usually has to add something to justify it's existence (your move The Man From U.N.C.L.E...), but Mission Impossible (along with Bond and possibly Bourne) can claim to be the modern spy genre. With this most recent instalment, the ageless Cruise and his maturing franchise still justify that title; and with it, our time and eyeballs.
*Impossible Missions Force. Dumb name, yes, but they invented it for the TV series of the 60s.
So go. Any film that participates in the spy genre usually has to add something to justify it's existence (your move The Man From U.N.C.L.E...), but Mission Impossible (along with Bond and possibly Bourne) can claim to be the modern spy genre. With this most recent instalment, the ageless Cruise and his maturing franchise still justify that title; and with it, our time and eyeballs.
*Impossible Missions Force. Dumb name, yes, but they invented it for the TV series of the 60s.
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