'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation' Review

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation is a blast! This film has the best elements taken from each of the previous installments with an incredible motorcycle chase sequence, insane stunts, suspense, and great performances. 

The director, Christopher McQuarrie, does a terrific job behind the camera and brings freshness to the franchise. The motorcycle chase is probably one of the best motorcycle chase sequences I have seen in any movie because of the inventive use of great camera angles including one that makes you feel as though you are riding the motorcycle. 

Probably one of my favorite scenes in the film is the opera house scene which is very suspenseful and contains a little humor to balance the tone. There are two insane stunts featured in the film. One where Tom Cruise must hold on to a plane as it takes off that kicks the film off with a bang. The other being one where Tom Cruise must hold his breath for 3 minutes to help ensure the success of a mission that is filled to the brim with tension aided by the film's score. 

The film's cast is incredibly well rounded once again exploring a team dynamic introduced in Ghost Protocol. Tom Cruise is phenomenal as usual once again performing insane stunts in addition to a great performance. 

Rebecca Ferguson shines as the female lead yet doesn't outshine the ensemble cast around her and does quite well in action sequences specifically the hand to hand combat sequences where she kicks butt and takes names. Her character's intentions and alliance are unknown so she adds an element of mystery to the film.

 Simon Pegg is enjoyable as always adding quite a bit of humor to the film as he did in Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol and has a slightly bigger role this time around. 

Jeremy Renner returns with more comedic beats, and he does quite well in terms of performance. Ving Rhames reprises his role as Luther as the only actor to have been in all of the film's aside from Tom Cruise, and is enjoyable when onscreen. He and Renner are given a B-story line in the middle of the film and they worked quite well together. 

The film's villain is one of the best the franchise has seen since the third installment. The villain is portrayed by Sean Harris and is a compelling and intimidating villain much better than the usual villains for these films. 

Overall I highly recommend you go see Rogue Nation if you enjoy action flicks or are a fan of the franchise and would go as far as to say that it's probably one of the best action movies to come out all summer if not the entire year. By far my favorite of the franchise narrowly beating out Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol.

Film Assessment: A