Very rarely do movies inspire me to do something other than having dinner afterward, but “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation” made me want to hit the gym twice a day for the next week.
That’s because the film consistently pushes the limits of what’s possible and what’s plausible in an action movie. Yet it always maintains a pace that allows you to swallow eye-popping set pieces that make an “Avengers” film seem more plausible.
Along the way, you look at your own physique and wonder why it doesn’t look as good as a 53-year-old Tom Cruise. You’d be hard pressed to find franchises still around for a fifth film, let alone any that are still surprising.
Perhaps that’s because few franchises can match the thrilling impulse whenever a crazy stunt, backed by the iconic “Mission” theme, graces our screen. This movie manages to walk a very tight rope; it evokes nostalgia with a few brass band notes, but manages to create a new package that is moving the series forward by blending old and new.
Let’s first talk about the old. Previous cast members Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames return to prove that they’re more than just teammates who watch the craziness from the sidelines.
Renner has a duality to him that makes you wonder if he’ll turn bad and give his squad over to the CIA while expressing commitment to the mission.
Pegg is forever stuck in the comic relief role, but here he adds a few serious notes that make you notice him as something other than a joke machine. Rhames has been around this block for twenty years, which allows him to inject the appropriate amount of weariness to his character.
But the new is what ups this installment from being just entertaining to a true thrill. Rebecca Ferguson is almost as much of a presence in this film is Tom Cruise, and her character is at once both alluring and suspicious; the series has never had as strong of a female presence like her.
Ditto for the veteran actor presence of Alec Baldwin, who has spent a majority of his career applying his talents to movies undeserving of it. Here he finds a meaty role and sinks his teeth in, applying an appropriate menace before pulling back the curtain to reveal a potential role in future installments that is much more exciting.
All of this serves to give us a break from one eye-popping stunt to the next, all headlined by a super-heroic Tom Cruise, as into the role as ever. He pushes the boundaries of human stunt-work in this film, and his method-like ability to push himself through all of these ridiculous stunts answers the “what next?” question before you can even ask it.
Perhaps that’s what makes it so surprising that a man capable of defying death multiple times can’t establish a legitimate bond with a woman. The few times “Rogue Nation” goes off key is when it attempts to establish some sort of relationship between Ferguson and Cruise.
The pairing comes off as forced, and it isn’t helped by the fact that age has robbed Cruise of what was once his greatest asset; a sensitivity and chemistry with women.
Maybe the next stunt for Ethan Hunt should be going on a date with a female. These few troubling moments keep this new film from being perfect, but it’s an exciting entry nonetheless.
“Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation” proves that it is possible to keep franchises fit by upping the existing formula and inserting new elements to push it to peak performance. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to the gym; I have to attain the physique of a 53-year-old man so I can hang out of the side of a plane.
Reach the reporter at jagger.czajka@asu.edu or follow @JaggerCzajka on Twitter.
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