This is Tom Cruise’s Impossible Missions Force agent Hunt in a nutshell: a romantic daredevil who seems to actively enjoy throwing himself off tall buildings. After nearly 20 years, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Cruise might have grown weary of his thrill-seeking alter-ego. But here he is in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (film number five), clinging to the sides of planes, making leaps from high places and hurtling around on motorbikes. Christopher McQuarrie takes over from Ghost Protocol’s Brad Bird as the director here, and he also writes the script with a story credit going to Drew Pearce. McQuarre keeps the plot fast-paced and light for the most part, even going so far as to throw in a few references to earlier films – one character’s lucky key ring, for example, is a subtle yet clear reference to Mission: Impossible III. And while it’s fair to say that some of the story elements are also familiar from earlier movies, and that certain events stretch credulity even by the franchise’s own standards, Rogue Nation’s refusal to take itself too seriously simply adds to the fun. One of Alec Baldwin’s long monologues about Ethan Hunt’s prowess as a spy is absolutely priceless. McQuarrie’s handling of the action is also top-notch. One of the best things about the director’s previous film, the flawed Jack Reacher, was his action direction, and he makes the most with his expanded budget here: in terms of set-pieces, this is among the best in the franchise so far. Slightly less gadget-laden than Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation comes up with some cleverly-wrought new scrapes for Hunt to find his way out of. Robert Elswit’s cinematography is just on the right side of frenetic, constantly placing the camera in the midst of the action without sacrificing coherence. We may have seen Cruise hurtle around on motorcycles before (it seems to be written in his contract – see M:I 2, Knight And Day and even the sci-fi flick, Oblivion), but McQuarrie and Elswit bring an immediacy to the chase sequences that makes them feel fresh. Rogue Nation also has an enigmatic new arrival: Rebecca Ferguson’s wonderfully-named Ilsa Faust, who is to Hunt what Irene Adler is to Sherlock Holmes – his physical and intellectual equal. She’s a great addition, and winds up getting some of the best action scenes in the entire film. If there’s a problem with Rogue Nation, it’s one that also marred Ghost Protocol: after a late action set-piece, the suspense slackens in the final reel. Part of this might be due to the villain, Solomon Lane, who’s enjoyably spiteful and cunning rather than an outright physical threat. It’s a criticism that could be levelled at Michael Nyqvist’s briefcase-carrying toxic uncle in Ghost Protocol and Dougray Scott’s renegade shampoo model in Mission: Impossible 2. Why the franchise has never been able to consistently provide us with a menacing villain is something of a mystery; even extraordinarily talented Philip Seymour Hoffman, after a terrific introduction, was ill-served by Mission: Impossible III. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is out in UK cinemas on the 30th July. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
