Rogues to
Riches
Film:
Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation
Cast: Tom
Cruise, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris
Directed by:
Christopher McQuarrie
Duration: 2
hrs 10 mins
Rating: * * *
1 / 2
Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation follows the tried and tested
template of other MI films and spy thrillers and pulls it off in style. The
franchise got a huge boost after the Brad Bird directed Ghost Protocol in 2011.
But unlike most other franchise sequel, there is a certain sincerity about
Rogue Nation, box office is not the sole consideration as to why this film was
made.
Christopher
McQuarrie (who wrote The Usual Suspects
and directed Jack Reacher, Edge of
Tomorrow with Tom Cruise) is at the helm of affairs here and he has peppered
the film with enough action and thrills to make this fifth film in the series,
one of the better mainstream Hollywood films in recent times. And they did it
in 2D.
It opens
with a bang with Ethan Hunt (Cruise) literally hanging outside an aero plane
full of chemical weapons, trying to stop it from taking off. The ground work is
done, you are already hooked. That action sequence doesn’t have anything to do
with the main story though. A syndicate is in operation threatening global
peace. The CIA boss (Alec Baldwin) wants to shut down the IMF (Impossible
Missions Force) because he thinks Hunt has gone rogue.
The
Syndicate is run by Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) an ex-intelligence agent who is
a Moriarty like figure. While Hunt is
trying to figure out the identity and destroy the Syndicate, he is also on the
run, with support from his trusted friends Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and the tech
guru Benji (Simon Pegg). A mysterious woman (Rebecca Ferguson) also keeps
appearing though it is not clear whose side she is on.
Like all spy films, there is a good deal of globe- trotting
involved here Austria, Morocco and eventually it all keeps coming back to
London. Even though there are some
sequences, like the assassination attempt at an Opera (Puccini’s Turandot in
this case), that belong to the seen-that category, yet they are executed with
sufficient zing to keep you engaged.
The film moves at a fairly rapid pace and there is enough
action from time to time – a high speed bike chase and a remarkable underwater
sequence (somewhat like the opening of Gravity
but underwater) stands out. The rather straightforward climax is relatively
tame but that is a minor grouse.
The script also makes an attempt to infuse some serious
sense in the goings on. The agents that do all the work on the ground are
merely pawns in the hands of the higher ups – In that case, to whom should
their loyalties remain, friends, allies, country or ordinary civilians who
might be caught in the cross fire.
Tom Cruise plays Hunt with elan, his character is described
as “living manifestation of destiny.” At 53, he still actually looks like
someone who can do all that which is being done on the screen. Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson is
impressive, she looks glamorous when need be and also plays the tough cookie
with conviction.
Most sequels are franchise movies range from truly terrible
to just about watchable, this MI is different – they have delivered the goods
and it is worth looking forward to the next one now.
Published in The Navhind Times on 9th Aug 2015
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