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Mission: Impossible
- Rogue Nation
Bursting onto the
screen, with a barrage of action scenes, flashy transitions, hyped up
music, shoot outs, car chases, explosions, daring stunts and Tom
Cruise dangling from the Air… and that’s just the opening
credits. No, seriously. In one of its few tributes to the original
show, the Mission: Impossible films inject a few key shots from the
film you’re about to watch into its opening credits. It’s like a
short film with tonnes of action in it. Reminds me of that episode of
The Simpson’s where Bart wants the latest and coolest game around
‘Bonestorm” Not allowed to have it from his mother, he goes
around to his best friend’s house to play it, but he’s unlikely
to share. Bart enters his friend’s room to loud noises and flashing
lights, where Milhouse sits in front of the TV and excitedly says
“This is great. And all I’ve done is enter my name –
Thrillhouse!”. It’s like that; the start of Rogue Nation I
mean.
But before the credits
roll is a standout action scene I was expecting to see later in the
film. The much hyped and talked about footage that went on line late
last year of Tom Cruise hanging off the side of a plane as it takes
off, made headlines last year. Yes, he does hang onto the side of a
plane as it takes off, and although brief as its purpose is to open
the film with a bang, it’s expertly filmed. This sets the tone for
the latest instalment in the franchise. After this daring stunt,
Ethan Hunt is hanging out in London, being informed of his next
mission but runs into a spot of bother…
Meanwhile in the USA,
the IMF fights the CIA, while Hunt is MIA in the UK. Okay?It seems
the actions of Impossible Mission Force are too questionable to
overlook, especially the incident involving the destruction of the
Kremlin (a nice throwback to Ghost Protocol). So, they get shut down
– again, and Hunt becomes the his own agencies most wanted man -
again. But after his run in with a bad guy in London, he’s not
about to hand himself over. He gets wind of a secret organisation
called The Syndicate, who are equal to our hero’s agency in every
way; but instead of missions to keep the peace and save the world,
they are eliminating IMF agents.
Finding support in the
beautiful and mysterious Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) Hunt must uncover
the truth about The Syndicate, whilst establishing a relationship
with this British Belle who is essentially his female opposite; she
kick’s guys butts, has style to spare and works alone, running
around the globe hopping from one dangerous spot to another. Not sure
if he can trust her or not, Hunt feels a kinship for this agent none
the less, even though it’s unclear just whose side she is on. While
he plays a few dangerous games with her, Agent William Brandt (Jeremy
Renner) does what he can to protect the integrity of the IMF as it
goes under the knife to be dismembered by a ruthless CIA Agent (Alec
Baldwin).
No need to go into any
more plot, because you’ve either seen this film already and know
what happens, or you’re probably just begging the question, “Is
it any good?”
This is the fifth film
in a franchise that’s gone on for almost two decades. In saying
that, Cruise is no spring chicken anymore. He’s not really
old, but for a guy now in his early fifties, he’s in super duper
shape and once again takes on every stupid stunt on his own, making
it all look so easy. But even Hunt has his limits, and comes into
some close calls on more than one occasion. Cruise’s performance
this time around is resemblant of a man who has been doing this for a
while, and has grown to care more about the people he works with.
There is a strong focus on the relationships between the characters,
which keeps us as viewers emotionally invested in what happens to
them.
Each film, as you would
know, had its own visual style and blend of action and Rogue Nation
continues that trend. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who
previously called the shots on another Tom Cruise vehicle, “Jack
Reacher”, the filmmaker has a brilliant eye for detail and realism
when it comes to the movies many, standout action scenes. The opening
escapade with Hunt hanging off a plane as it rockets into the air,
proudly takes the mantle of this instalments “The Tom Cruise
Dangling from Mid Air Action Scene” .What follows is a well built
and suspenseful scene at the Opera, followed by an extreme underwater
swim where Cruise appears to hold his breath for long, continuous
shots, then things leap into a tightly filmed car chase and an out of
control motorbike chase, where again Cruise does all the stunts and
proves once and for all, he is One Crazy Son of a Bitch – but
ultimately, the bravest, most daring and hardest working actor in
movies today.
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