Possibly the best in the series to date

Rating: 9/10 (23 August 2015)

"Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation" is the fifth instalment in the 60s television series turned blockbuster franchise that has been chugging along for almost 20 years, and shows very little sign of losing steam. This time around, the IMF are hot on the tail of the Syndicate, an underground organisation hell-bent on taking down Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his squadron, as well as establishing a global "rogue nation", hence the film's subtitle. Pouring salt into the wound is CIA director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin), who intends to disband the IMF and absorb it into his own organisation. Can Hunt prove that his team are still capable of saving the world, or will this mission turn out to beimpossible?
I suppose it is worth mentioning how this weighs up to the other films. The first film was okay; it had some impressive moments, and Brian De Palma's direction added much stylistically, but the plot was an absolute clusterfuck, and by the end, I had turned my brain off because I couldn't make anything out. The second filmI'd rather not talk about. It took itself WAY too seriously, and failed to deliver even as a dumb action blockbuster, subjecting us to slow-mo and love scenes, with some story about Ebola thrown in there, I guess. The third film was also passable; it had the most memorable villain of the franchise (I miss ya, Phillip Seymour Hoffman), but lacked the style that the first two had. Ghost Protocol was where things got interesting. It was the first film in the franchise where I was actually invested in the characters and the storyline, and I felt that the gadgets and the actions scenes got a lot more creative.
And now we have this onewhich might be the strongest in the franchise thus far. No kidding. 19 years, and these films are getting better. How do they do it?
The action set pieces here are not only the best ones the series has given us so far, they are also the most exhilarating that I have seen in general for quite some time. There were times where I audibly gasped or winced; I was on edge through much of the running time. Even through many of the quieter scenes, which are mostly exposition and character development, I was invested I cared about these characters, and I wanted to see them pull through.
There is also an enigmatic femme fatale by the name of Ilsa Faust (up and coming Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson) whose motivations are deliberately kept vague for most of the movie. Is she working of the IMF, or is she a pawn in the Syndicate's game? The mystery surrounding her is handled very well, but even then I could kind of guess where she was going. Regardless, she is a fairly interesting character, and does add something to the team's dynamic.
The leader of the Syndicate, ergo the film's antagonist, though not as effective as PSH from the third film, still feels volatile whenever he is on screen, and his cunning and wit feels like it poses a legitimate threat to our protagonists.
If this review feels like it's running on fumes, then it probably is, as I can't really say much about this other than that it was a damned good time at the multiplex. If I had to pick apart something, then it would be the running time, as I felt that maybe the climax went on for a bit too long. But in the grand scheme of things, that's a nitpick, and MI: 5 is definitely a mission you should choose to acceptI know a lot of other people have probably made that pun, but still.