MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE ROGUE NATION (Christopher McQuarrie). 131 minutes. Some subtitles. Opens Friday (July 31). Rating: NNNN
Where to watch: iTunes
So heres a surprise: it turns out the Mission: Impossible franchise doesnt require a distinctive directorial vision after all. This is not a knock on Christopher McQuarrie, who takes the reins of episode five, Rogue Nation, after directing star/producer Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher and co-writing Valkyrie and Edge Of Tomorrow for him, too.
This is the first time the star has tapped a long-time collaborator for a Mission movie, and the result confirms that Cruise himself is the primary creative force behind the series. Once again, we have a globe-hopping action adventure that demonstrates that Cruise is basically the smartest, shrewdest and most capable human being in the world or, as another character describes him, the physical manifestation of destiny.
Also once again, the villain of a M:I movie is an enemy within in this case, a literal Rogue Nation called the Syndicate, which operates inside the worlds governments and espionage agencies, working to shape geopolitical realities while good men and women are distracted.
Cruises superspy, Ethan Hunt, is the only one on to them, but any comparisons to the Suppressive Person concept of Scientology are, Im sure, entirely coincidental.
All subtextual readings aside, you may ask: is Rogue Nation any good? Yes, it is. McQuarrie may not have the style or snap of predecessors Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams and Brad Bird, but hes a shrewd writer, and hes created a new machine from elements of their films.
Rogue Nation opens by upending the standard operating procedure, disbanding the entire Impossible Mission Force after the events of Ghost Protocol and stranding Ethan in London, friendless and unsupported.
This, of course, is merely an inconvenience. Six months later hes putting the band back together to chase the Syndicate, with Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner and Ving Rhames returning from previous adventures for another round of insanely dangerous, gloriously complicated action set pieces.
But the most interesting element of this new adventure is something the M:I movies have lacked entirely until now: a female ally whos not only as capable as Hunt, but the equal of his entire team.
The White Queens Rebecca Ferguson is remarkable as Ilsa Faust, a British national of enigmatic allegiances. In a film full of twists and reversals, the biggest surprise of all is a woman with her own agenda. Guess nothings impossible after all.
normw@nowtoronto.com | @normwilner
