There goes the warning there, I just wanted to make sure I threw that out there because I'm sure not everyone's seen it YET. This review will be presented as you the reader has already seen the movie. So if you have, please continue reading haha. If you haven't that's cool, when you do end up seeing it feel free to come back and check out my thoughts. I've been itching to share this review with you guys.
Alright so on to the review.
I saw Rogue Nation today in IMAX. I've been waiting for the the fifth installment of this franchise for a long time and couldn't wait at all to see it so I caught it this morning. Guys.........I loved this movie. Like I'm gonna go see it again REAL soon. It was one of those where halfway through I was already saying "man...i already know im gonna love this" lol. It's a bit different than all the other MI movies, it's like a blend of the best elements of the predecessors. It has the humor of Ghost Protocol, calls to the original, and possibly the highest of stakes yet. Simon Pegg as usual is hilarious. The pacing is one of the appreciable differences between Rogue Nation and Ghost Protocol. GP is a non-stop thrill ride from start to finish while Rogue Nation is mainly build-up.....and HUGE payoff with a number of standout scenes. Tom Cruise is back and still lookin great, still a [frick]ing maniac/daredevil. I don't know how the man does it but he's clearly the GOAT for what he's doing with all these great action flicks and stunts being over 50. And he takes the stunts to new heights (literally) in this movie and I didn't think it was.........*clears throat* "possible" Mcquarrie also did a great job shooting this movie, there was some truly remarkable camera-work in it. I think he particularly excels in the diversions and the overall espionage feel. Very worthy successor to Brad Bird.
And REBECCA FERGUSON, man she was great. She basically stole the show and made me an instant member of her fanclub. To me she's the best MI girl by far thus far. I knew from the trailers she'd probably be cool in this role....but she was the epitome of badass. Everything she did was so suave, so vicious.....unfortunately she'll probably be added to the list of MI girls we wanna see come back but never do (let's hope I'm wrong). Sean Harris as the villain is an upgrade from the considerably weak Hendricks in Ghost Protocol, Owen Davian is still the franchise's best villain...but Solomon Lane is satisfying enough. Very cerebal and ruthless to the core. But it's not like the antagonist matters as much in these movies...because let's be honest, it's the Ethan Hunt show, and with Rogue Nation it's Rebecca Ferguson's too.
STANDOUT SCENES
I have three of these that are all remarkable. No order here :
1) OPERA
Besides the opening scene with the "hangin off the plane" that dominated the marketing of this film, this opera scene was the movie's first great scene. I loved how the tension was displayed, 3 parties...all with their own separate agendas clashing at an opera while attempting to maintain discreetness. The fight near the ceiling between Ethan and the Syndicate dude was just so damn fun to watch. And then you had Faust (Rebecca's character) ordered to shoot the Austrian ambassador....all of it ending with his car exploding anyway. It was just so well done and a great segment for the movie. Also to note the part where Ethan and Illsa escape with the rope and try to play it cool when it falls afterwards.....that right there is the perfect humor for this franchise.
2) UNDERWATER RETRIEVAL
This scene is pretty much Rogue Nation's "Dubai" scene as far as something batshit nuts that Tom Cruise actually did (along with the plane of course) But more so this because he got very very close to dying, well he kinda actually was dead before Faust saved him (which was very cool btw). Tom actually held his breath six minutes to film this shit and I'm not even sure I can hold mine underwater for more than 1, especially not under all that immense pressure. The visuals and the obstacle was highly impressive. I was on the edge of my seat the entire scene.
3) MOTORCYCLE/CAR CHASE
Probably the best and most exciting sequence for me. And to think Tom couldn't get any more cool at age 53. Riding this baby around in a high speed chase after essentially dying and coming back to life twice in the previous 15 minutes?
I love pretty much every little thing about the action in this scene. The chase, the weaving through traffic, Syndicate members getting ran over, the precise camera work, Rebecca's sexiness in that gear. I even love how long it was, hell I wanted it to be longer! I could've took 10 more minutes of it it was so thrilling. Stuff like this is exactly what's solidifying this franchise as one of the best around. 1 or 2 more movies of this or GP's quality and it'll be in contention for one of the top action franchises ever.
FLAWS
No movie is without flaw of course, and while I did love this movie a lot, there were some....although I will say most are minimal to nitpicks. Not much that really ruins the movie in anyway. More like little stuff that bugged me some that I thought I should at least mention.
Renner Gets The Short End of The Stick......A-GAIN!
I just don't get what it is with these blockbusters not wanting to utilize Renner's talents. First Avengers, now this! Maybe there were some scheduling conflicts or something, but in one of the most thrilling action franchises today Jeremy Renner of all people didn't get a SINGLE fight scene in this movie and he's part of Ethan's team. I know they had him dealing with Alec Baldwin's CIA character and all...but geez he didn't get to do anything in Rogue Nation. His role was entirely delegated to arguing. He argued with Baldwin's character, he argued with Luthor, he argued with Benji, he argued with Ethan. Annnnndddddd...that's it. I guess they're grooming his character to start a debate team branch of the IMF
Seriously, what's up with that??? I mean at least Benji had a little scuffle in the opera scene!
SYNDICATE DEVELOPMENT
The Syndicate as a whole was completely fine in this movie. It served its purpose well for the story. I just didn't feel like it was executed as well as it could've been which would've made the movie close to perfect. There was no build-up of any Syndicate in any previous MI movie, only a small mention of it at the end of Ghost Protocol. This movie should've shown more of why they're such a huge threat, played em up as more epic. They actually didn't really do a BAD job of it at all I just thought they could've done better. There was one scene after the whole opera fiasco with Benji and Ethan where Ethan is explaining why he believes all these terrorist attacks are conncected and the Syndicate is responsible and yadah yadah. I think the movie either needed to expand that scene (make it longer) to display why number one what Ethan is saying even gives the audience enough reason to understand why you want to take em down so bad (because they didn't do the best job with that either) and number why they are only NOW mentioned as some huge problem when they've never been spoken of in the franchise. But I guess that kinda goes back into how this franchise doesn't do an entirely great job of continuity, and that's a whole other discussion lol. Again, not really a big deal just something I thought they could improve on.
There were a few other very small things like off the top of my head Lane not realizing after 3 damn times Faust had diverted that she wasn't loyal to him lol. For a smart man that didn't seem believable for him to trust her. Or maybe he was just head over heels for her (I know I was). And I guess Ving Rhames didn't do too much either although he still did much more than Renner. Again I'm clutching at straws here this movie was great. It's refrshing to see a movie you've been anticipating live up to expectation. As far as do I believe this is better than Ghost Protocol? Well my answer is I believe it is just as good...IF NOT better than it. I've only seen it one time thus far and that's how I feel....after more viewings my answer may change. Is it the best action movie of the summer?? I'll just say this and Mad Max are. When two things are both great I DO NOT like to compare because I simply don't see the point if they're BOTH great ya know?
I definitely will be seeing this movie again soon because I just had too much of a good time. Hell I might go again tomorrow haha. Rogue Nation, Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Christopher Mcquarrie, Simon Pegg, etc, etc....thank you all for delivering yet another great spy flick to this franchise. Always much appreciated. Oh and also, Chuck Norris approves.
And everybody knows when Chuck approves, you win....it's just the gospel
ESTIMATED RATING : 9.3/10