'Rogue Nation' provides another stellar installment in the 'Impossible' franchise

Rating: 9/10 (1 August 2015)

Tom Cruise and Co are back with a bang in this fifth installment as Ethan Hunt is in pursuit of a anti- government agency known as 'The Syndicate' whilst being chased by the CIA and Alec Baldwin. 'Rogue Nation' delivers a powerful punch by way of its remarkable action set-pieces, from Tom Cruise hanging off a plane to jumping into a whirlpool. Cruise's status as action superstar is now beyond all doubt as he is once again the star of the show, Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner are also great, providing comic relief whilst maintaining a subtle dramatic touch to their roles. The new addition comes in the form of Rebecca Ferguson playing a skilled assassin playing both sides equally leaving the audience questioning her loyalties. Ferguson is a fantastic casting choice as she is able to share the screen with her co-stars and outshine them by some way, the 'Mission' franchise once again supplies a strong female lead which many other franchises are simply neglecting. The film hearkens back to previous mission films with an increased focus on espionage and deceit rather than the more blatant approach we received with 'Ghost Protocol' this is certainly welcome as Christopher McQuarrie, the films writer and director, creates an intricate setting in which viewers are made to think "who is the bad guy?". The film becomes problematic when it focuses too much on the story without utilising the characters McQuarrie shows us namely Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell who is criminally underused and instead becomes non-existent in scenes. It is also SLIGHTLY too long with an extra 10-15 mins that could do with cutting. Nevertheless 'Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation' is an accomplished piece which has some truly incredible set-pieces that action films today very rarely will compare to and is certainly one of the better films in the franchise.