Tom Cruise (Oblivion) is back in his fifth outing as IMF super-agent Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, taking what has become a high-octane action movie series to the next level of big budget stunts and special effects. While there’s a small fraction of the intelligent spy genius of the very first installment of the series, which we can’t help but miss, there is a distinct amount of high-paced intensity and outlandish action sequences in the big budget blockbuster.
The series has had a number of directors over the years, with everyone from John Woo, J.J. Abrams and Brad Bird struggling to top the brilliance of Brian De Palma in the very first movie. Rogue Nation sees the introduction of Christopher McQuarry to the seat of power behind the camera, following up on his previous work directing Cruise in Jack Reacher in 2012 and then again in Edge Of Tomorrow last year, so there was a lot of responsibility sitting on his shoulders with the fifth entry in the series.
Release date
The film had a North America and UK release date of the 31st July 2015, more than twenty years following the box office release of the first movie in the series back in 1996. It’s available in IMAX 3D, 3D and 2D screenings and with so many big budget stunts and special effects crammed into the trailer alone, it could be worth watching in as many dimensions as possible if you’re a fan of the series, but it doesn’t lose too much in the balance if you go for 2D.
The DVD, Blu-ray and digital download release date in the UK has been confirmed for the 7th December 2015, followed by the US release on the 15th December 2015.
Story
This time around, Ethan Hawk must rally a team to protect the IMF from an underground threat called The Syndicate, the rogue nation of the film’s title, which controls an international criminal organisation. While it’s managed to keep itself off the radar up until this point, it’s now going after Ethan and his crew, forcing them to embark on their biggest mission to-date to ensure their very survival in an onslaught of attacks.
However, the Syndicate isn’t their only enemy as they’re also being targeted from inside the US government to shut down the IMF due to the mayhem they’ve caused in previous missions. When they fail to comply in an attempt to protect themselves from the relentless Syndicate, they find themselves on the CIA’s hit list too, forcing them to fight a battle on two fronts in a bit to protect their unusual way of life.
Cast
Joining Cruise once again is Jeremy Renner (Avengers: Age Of Ultron), who entered the series in 2011’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol as intelligence analyst William Brandt. He stars alongside Simon Pegg (Star Trek Into Darkness) as technician Benji Dunn, and Ving Rhames as computer expert Luther Stickell, who’s been on board since the very beginning of the series. They’re added to this time with new cast members on the good side of the fence by Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson, who joins the IMF fight against The Syndicate, while Alec Baldwin leads the fight inside the US government against them and Sean Harris (Macbeth (2015)) spearheads The Syndicate attack against them.
Production
The plot was written by director McQuarry with help on the storyline from Drew Pearce (Iron Man 3). The producer credits are fairly significant with Tom Cruise, J. J. Abrams (Star Wars The Force Awakens), Bryan Burk, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger completing the team effort. Skydance and Bad Robot Productions have come together to make the movie, which will be released by Paramount Pictures.
Review
We’re always going to be slightly negative about the Mission Impossible series following its transition from intelligent spy thriller to action blockbuster and that’s still the case with Rogue Nation. The trailer below looks just as high-octane as the previous three movies and doesn’t appear to tap into the dark espionage genius of the opening film all that much, and that’s definitely the case now that the film has been released. Although, if you look at it as a fun, big budget stunt fest then it probably won’t disappoint too much.
While it’s far from being a masterpiece there are a few positives in the mix. For example, Rebecca Ferguson is a strong Hunt girl and the concept of a secret underground rogue operation is solid enough, if a little similar to SPECTRE, so it does just about live to some of the hype that surrounds it. On the downside, the addition of Sean Harris to the villainous side of the equation doesn’t work out as well as expected. Having impressed massively in ’71 and looking certain to do so again in the 2015 adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, he just lacks the bite to inspire fear, especially with his odd delivery of lines. Read our full Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation review for more details to see if it’s one to add to your DVD or Blu-ray collection.
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