Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation

In 2015 in anticipation of Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation I wrote a post reviewing the other films in the Mission Impossible series.  As I discussed I am only familiar with the movies so although I know the premise of the series I am not one to judge how true the films are to it.  However I understand that in the show the Syndicate was a recurring threat to the main characters, much as SPECTRE is in the James Bond films.

As always I discuss spoilers so please watch the film first and then read the below.

Rogue Nation pits Ethan’s IMF team against the Syndicate, an organization that first started as a secret within MI6, until the Syndicate leader, Solomon Lane, went rogue and started conducting terrorist attacks.  The Syndicate and the IMF team are both after a piece of data which turns out to contain money that the Syndicate can use to fund future attacks.  IMF is absorbed into the CIA, headed by Alec Baldwin as a new character, Alan Hunley, making Ethan a fugitive for insisting to pursue the Syndicate. As with the other films in the series, Rogue Nation is set mostly overseas (London, Vienna, and Tangier).

In broad strokes the plot is quite similar to Spectre, which had MI6 folded into Joint Intelligence Service and Bond forced to pursue Spectre (also a shadowy organization) without MI6 support in many of the same countries.  Both films have their climaxes in London at night and feature the hero and villain separated by bulletproof glass.  The villain is also captured instead of killed at the end.   A key difference is the head of the Joint Intelligence Service turns out to be part of Spectre whereas Hunley, despite his antagonistic behavior toward Ethan through much of the film, is not compromised and ultimately becomes the new IMF secretary.

There are references to some classic films, which is a similar to Mission Impossible II, in which part of the plot recalled “Notorious”.  Ethan finds a woman named Ilsa in Casablanca as Humphrey Bogart did in that film by the same name.  A lot of the first act is in Vienna, where much of The Third Man was set.   A key sequence involving Orson Welles’ character, Harry Lime, occurs in the sewers, which is where the villain of Rogue Nation is caught.

Tom Cruise again produces and stars as Ethan Hunt.  As in Ghost Protocol, Ethan is serious in this film and smiles little, dedicating himself completely to finding the Syndicate I think in part to justify his domestic sacrifice.  Ethan performs eyes shrugs a lot in the film, as he did a few times in Ghost Protocol, which seems to be Ethan’s way of acknowledging some of the outlandish scenarios.  Ethan is determined but not ruthless the way Cruise’s character Jack Reacher is.  Probably the most violent thing Ethan has ever done is threaten to throw Owen Davian (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) out of the plane in MI3, but that was in direct response to a threat on his wife.  Jeremy Renner returns as Brandt, but has a smaller role this time and does not get to do much of the physical action.  Ving Rhames’ Luther Stickell, who only appeared briefly in Ghost Protocol, has a bigger role here and Paula Patton’s Agent Carter is not seen or mentioned.  Neither is Michelle Monaghan’s Julia.  It was clear that at the end of Ghost Protocol at the very least Julia and Ethan are living apart but perhaps they are no longer married (though Ethan may have had contact with her during the six months he spends in hiding).

Simon Pegg (who now has two Paramount franchises with Mission and Star Trek) adds more depth to Benji offering both comic relief and poignancy.  In part Benji represents the audience since he is a normal man in these extreme circumstances.  Benji’s kidnapping is played as seriously as Julia’s was in Mission Impossible III.

Rebecca  Ferguson, who I was unfamiliar with, makes an astounding impression as Ilsa, an MI6 mole within the Syndicate who is caught between her superior’s desire to cover up his actions in creating the Syndicate and helping Ethan without blowing her tenuous cover.   Ilsa is very poised and is also a tremendous fighter.  However, Ilsa’s humanity is probably her most dominant characteristic, proven repeatedly, which led me to rarely doubt that she was good, even when the plot suggested otherwise.  Ferguson has as much chemistry with Cruise as any leading lady throughout his long career and the characters worked especially well together.

Simon McBurney plays Atlee, Ilsa’s handler the head of MI6 who is a bit of a weasel, trying to cover up his own history with the Syndicate.  Atlee’s higher pitched voice and large glasses tells us right away that he cannot be trusted.

Christopher McQuarrie, who is probably most known as the Oscar winning writer of the Usual Suspects, but has also written Valkyrie and Edge of Tomorrow (both of which starred Cruise) and wrote and directed Jack Reacher, co-wrote and directed this installment.  McQuarrie’s character based thriller background is a good fit for this series, especially in the third act which has three suspenseful scenes and twists in each of them (the scene with the Prime Minister, the imaginatively staged scene at the London Tower, and the finale in which Lane is lured into the glass box-which provides symmetry the scene in the record shop). 

Ethan Hunt seems to have acquired a near legendary status in this film.  As Khyser Soze was in The Usual Suspects, Ethan’s full name is stated out loud by the other characters of the film constantly.  Hunley even describes Ethan as the “manifestation of destiny”.

From here I will make a few general comments about some of the bigger set pieces of the film.

The opening scene cleverly introduces the four members of the IMF team are introduced (Benji, Brandt, Luther, and especially Ethan who literally runs into the movie.  The key shot is the awe-inspiring shot in which Ethan is hanging to the side of the plane as it takes off.  Of course what makes it most notable is that Cruise himself obviously did the stunt work.  Octopussy had a similar sequence but obviously used doubles and the plane was not as big.  The frustration as Benji is trying to open the door trying to decipher Russian characters adds some humorous suspense.  The payoff as Ethan falls into the plane and then steals the nerve gas is a lot of fun. 

The plane stunt featured heavily in the film’s promotion.  I believe it was a good decision to feature it up front and from here the audience can focus on the story rather than spend some of the movie waiting for it as we did with the Burj Kalifa sequence in Ghost Protocol.

The opera sequence is extremely well choreographed and edited.  Ethan and Beni effort s to find Lane while trying to prevent the Chancellor’s assassination contrasts nicely with the tension of the two snipers and the mystery of Ilsa’s involvement.  The escape with Ilsa again removing her shoes right before she and Ethan slide down the rope is a nice punctuation mark. 

Every Mission movie has a heist around its midpoint and Rogue Nation presents one of the most creative.  Ethan’s need to hold his breath for several minutes while trying to switch a keycard underwater while Benji retrieves the film’s MacGuffin is reminiscent of the first film’s superb CIA headquarters infiltration, but larger in scale.  Ethan’s portion was clearly filmed in one take but the demands of the sequence of course would not permit it to be shown that way since the audience needs to see where Benji is in the process.  Ethan ultimately is not up to this task and Ilsa’s cradling rescue of him is an affectionate touch.

The car chase makes use of the small spaces and has a particularly memorable stunt in which Ethan and Benji’s BMW rolls down the stairs.  The decision to leave it unscored heightens its impact.  The motorcycle chase on the Marrakech Highway has astounding sound design and I enjoyed it a lot more than the one in MI2, which had some crazy ideas that seemed to exist outside the narrative. 

The scenario for the last hour of the film when it moves to London is unique.  The IMF team actually has the MacGuffin instead of being in the normal position of trying to retrieve it and the debate within the team as to what to do with it drives the drama.  Ethan’s desire to capture Lane at all costs recalls the risk he took in Ghost Protocol in letting Hendricks have the nuclear code which almost started a war.  Ethan ultimately learns from that mistake and takes a more sensible road though he still takes a big chance (ultimately successful) in briefly capturing the Prime Minister, in a sequence that makes great use of Alec Baldwin’s timing.

The moment where Ilsa offers Ethan the chance to go away with her in the train station is notable for a few things.  The stress of being undercover only to be sent back in for her ungrateful boss has taken its toll.  Ilsa’s desire for another life, potentially with a kindred spirit, appeals to her.  Ethan’s response is that he seems to be briefly tempted but already decided how he will live his life.  Also, as we do not know if he is still married it is unclear how whatever arrangement he has with his wife would factor into this decision.

I do not recall a restaurant in front of the Tower of London though if there was one I sure would like to eat there.   The scene perfectly turns what Lane considers to be an impossible scenario on its head as Ethan is able to turn himself into the MacGuffin.  I doubt he memorized each account number even if he does have a heretofore unreferenced photographic memory, but he could have memorized a few to be able to successfully bluff Lane.  The idea of Lane communicating through Benji is ingenious and gives Pegg yet another note to play.

Few quibbles:

Ethan has been on the run from his own people in three of the five films and (and was running from the Russians in Ghost Protocol) although it is played for full dramatic effect I would be happy for him to conduct his next mission within the parameters of IMF.  Either that or disavow him publicly and have him work exclusively undercover as he did in the beginning of Ghost Protocol.

Brandt could have been more involved in the action.  For example he could have gone with Ethan in the motorcycle chase.  Instead this very tough agent who did a lot of physical work in Ghost Protocol serves a more comedic role bantering with Luther, though they do get one heroic moment.

Each film touches on Ethan’s romantic life we rarely hear anything about the other after two films with Brandt and three with Benji and five with Luther I have no idea if either of them are married or what their lives are like.

In conclusion I rank Rogue Nation second in the series right behind Ghost Protocol.  It is impressive that a fifth entry has this much energy.  If Cruise and his team (McQuarrie has already signed to be the first returning director) can maintain this much focus then I am eager to continue to enjoy the films. ****