Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015) – Film Review

Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Cast: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner
Certificate: 12

By Anel Blazevic

Another MI, another Quarrie-Cruise hook-up (Edge of Tomorrow, Jack Reacher) and another reason to fork out your hard-earned cash if Bond-inspired, Bourne-alike action adventure is your filmic thing.

Simon Pegg ups the comedy quotient, Rebecca Ferguson ups the girl power levels and Tom Cruise – as is his wont – ups himself to the nth degree. He looks disturbingly young, rugged and handsome at a bewildering 53-years-old.

Indeed, he’s now been starring in the franchise since he was 33 and the movies have already been going 10-years longer than the original TV series managed. Cruise still oozes star quality, out-stunting actors half his age, even performing half of the extreme driving skills on show.

“A brain-frazzling motorbike chase”

Plot-wise it’s standard fare. A civilian-killing terrorist group are the predictable baddies, racing against Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and MI6’s Ilsa Faust (Ferguson) to discover the real identities of a shadowy and dangerous organisation called The Syndicate. So shadowy, in fact, that some don’t even believe it exists – but Ethan knows better.

The action, as always, is phenomenal. The famed MI set-pieces are brilliant, including one brain-frazzling motorbike chase through Casablanca, but – for once – you’re left guessing about the denouement to its very end.

A raucous, globe trotting spy thriller with its fair share of wit and originality.

Me, I’m sticking a tenner on Cruise turning up in full superhero mode in the next Marvel epic. You heard it here first.