By When Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol ended, I couldn’t fathom how a sequel could top it. It went so far over the top that I truly believed it was un-toppable. (Turns out, I actually wrote something to that effect in a blurb back in 2011, which was a very long time ago.) More importantly: I didn’t want the inevitable sequel to top it, not in that way – a nuke knocking against a city building is enough for me, thanks.
I missed the trailers for Rogue Nation, didn’t really follow the news and only saw the (admittedly numerous) posters that popped up around the city these past few weeks. I figured there was a reasonably good chance I’d see it. A trailer wasn’t going to make or break Mission: Impossible for me, and I like going into things blind.
Of course, the opening scene of the film features a plane taking off while Ethan Hunt holds onto its exterior, waiting rather impatiently for someone to hack into it and open the damn door. So it’s hardly subtle, but Rogue Nation did dial things back a bit, making some interesting contributions to the series in the process.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Release Date: July 31, 2015
Rating: PG-13
The first time you see Tom Cruise in Rogue Nation, he’s running. Of course he is. He has to run. It’s a contractual thing (probably). He spends a lot of the film running. It makes sense, since he’s really on the run this time. In Ghost Protocol, the IMF (which I always get confused with the International Monetary Fund, which says something weird about me) was publicly disavowed but still privately accepted. In Rogue Nation, the CIA is after Ethan Hunt’s head. Following the events of Ghost Protocol, with a destroyed Kremlin and the aftermath of a freaking warhead hitting a building (not causing much damage in the process, but none-the-less), everything is blamed on the IMF. No one knows that the Syndicate he’s been tracking is a real thing. There’s been no evidence that anyone else could see, so… Ethan becomes a wanted man.
But you don’t catch Ethan Hunt. Unless, of course, you work the Syndicate. Because Rogue Nation gets interesting really early. Every movie, you get to enjoy the hoops that Hunt has to go through in order to hear his mission. It’s fun and always a little bit silly. But things are different this time. After picking up the proper vinyl record, he goes to listen. It sounds normal at first, confirming his suspicions about the Syndicate’s existence, but then you realize that the use of subjects is… odd. The phrasing doesn’t quite sound like something the IMF would have in a transmission. And, of course, it’s not an IMF transmission. It’s the Syndicate’s. Hunt turns around to see the man at the top of the organization put a bullet into the head of the young record store owner who was so excited to actually see Ethan Hunt in person as sleeping gas fills his room.
A little much, perhaps, but interesting. Subversion, right? I like subversion. Parts of Rogue Nation are surprisingly subversive. Many of them are not, but with a film of this magnitude, you kinda have to take what you can get.
I saw the film in IMAX. Ghost Protocol remains the only film I’ve ever seen in LIEMAX, as they call it, and while seeing it big was a treat, there’s nothing in the film that quite has the majesty of that tower scaling scene from the previous film. There are some fantastic sights and sounds, and it’s definitely a film that takes advantage of a theater, but you’d get pretty much the same experience on a traditional screen that I got on one the size of a building.
One of the few things I genuinely like about big budget films is their ability to literally span the globe. In that respect, Rogue Nation doesn’t disappoint. Its intrigue takes you through numerous countries across at least three continents. You’ll see familiar landmarks and some totally new terrain. It’s awesome, really. (As an aside: If you’re a big budget movie that doesn’t use multiple countries for locations, what are you doing with your life?)
And the things that happen in those countries are pretty cool too. There are crazy foot chases, motorcycle chases, car chases, fist fights, knife fights, gunfights etc. It’s all very exciting, and it takes place in some excellent locations (the catwalk battle at the Viennese opera house is a personal favorite, though I did spend the entire time internally shouting, “JUST THROW HIM OFF! OH MY GOD!”). That parenthetical does bring me to something that won’t come as a surprise but will still affect whether or not you can really get into the film: Rogue Nation insults your intelligence, just a little bit. It explains and overexplains everything, just in case you missed it the first time. Characters will describe what things are, not because they need to know them but because they think the audience does. (Sometimes, they’re right, but heavy-handed exposition isn’t really the most enjoyable way to get crucial information.)
That said, it’s not quite as dumb as it could have been. You could pick it apart until there was nothing left (I expect the fine folks at Cinema Sins will do just that before too long), but… why? What’s to be gained from wondering how and why characters do the things they do? They’re complicated – too complicated, probably – but that’s not always a bad thing. In fact, it allows for some interesting development from Ilsa, the sole female character of substance. Ilsa’s a badass, too. Like, an actual one, who can kill people and don’t need no man. (Most of the time.) And really, her final interaction with Ethan Hunt was invigorating, not because of what it was but what it wasn’t. It’s not what you expect these moments to be like, but it’s what you hope they will. For all of my complaints, I just sat back and let it wash over me. And I enjoyed the heck out of it.
Good on you, Rogue Nation. Good on you.