With some trepidation I set out to see
the latest Mission Impossible film last weekend.....but before we
continue with this tangent I have a few confessions to make.
- I really would not have picked this as my first choice for an evening's entertainment but after moving to a new city and feeling a need to get out and meet new people, invitations to any movie just can't be turned down.
- I also never went to see the previous MI installment, Ghost Protocol, as Tom Cruise was in the depths of his Scientology craziness back in 2011 and it was just a huge red flag for me.
- I'm really trying to branch out, expand my film horizons and support cinema that doesn't come out of the Hollywood 'dream factory'.
In spite of all this, Mission
Impossible, Rogue Nation has to be the best action movie produced by
a major studio in some time. The plot is your standard convoluted MI
fare, with a shadowy organization known only as the Syndicate
seemingly working with disgraced spies from the world's intelligence
agencies for nefarious purposes we never can really figure out. Don't
worry, you only need to know they're nefarious.
Although this sort of plot may have
been fresh and new to moviegoers back in 1996, it's old hat to us in
the age of Wikileaks, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden. What really
sets this move apart from it's action peers is that Tom Cruise
legitimately still does his own stunts. It's hard to remember this
because all we hear about lately about him is gossip and innuendo but
I would argue that Mr. Cruise may be the last American action hero.
On that first scene, it really is him hanging off the side of a
transport aircraft. No stunt doubles, no CGI, just Tom Cruise, an
airplane wing, and the ground beneath him. The fact that this is so
rare in today's Hollywood makes such a scene all the more impressive
and stands in stark contrast to the usual drivel placed in front of
us as “Summer Blockbuster” fare. (Yes, Michael Bay, I'm talking
about you)
In addition to Tom Cruise and his
action chops, the other highlight of the film was the performance of
Swedish actor Rebecca Ferguson and her portrayal of disgraced MI5
agent Ilsa Faust. The two do seem to complement one another on the
screen and this dynamic partially makes up for the tendency of these
movies to inflate the role of the hero and completely eclipse the
role of supporting cast members.
This brings us to what I feel is the
film's major flaw; although we're meant to focus our attention on
Ethan Hunt (Cruise's character for those who don't know) the lack of
character development time given to the rest of the impossible
mission team is a waste of such good actors as Ving Rhames and Simon
Pegg. It also made Ethan's risk taking to help other members of the
team seem less believable. One could argue that in a movie like this,
character doesn't matter; we just want to see Tom Cruise blow things up. In defiance of this belief I have two arguments. First, a
talented ensemble cast is something that many films simply aren't able to secure and to have skilled actors relegated to forgettable roles is a
crying shame. Secondly, and most importantly, we care about what
happens to Ethan but with weakly developed supporting characters
we're left wondering why he risks his neck to save them. Obviously,
if you're sitting in the cinema watching this you just want to have a
good time, preferably without analyzing all that much. Still, without
being emotionally invested in a team of characters, their close calls
with death just won't be exciting and that's what these flicks are
all about, right?
This being said, I did enjoy the movie
and felt that it was a breath of fresh air in a stale Hollywood
landscape and encourage every one of you looking for an escape this
week to head to your nearest cinema and check it out. Keep my
criticisms in mind of course, but don't let that stop you from
enjoying yourself at the movies.
