Solid Installment to the Evermore Strengthening Franchise

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 2015)

OVERVIEW You would think that the fifth movie of a franchise would not maintain the quality of screen writing, acting and action that made it predecessors so good. Prime example is 'Terminator Genisys'. Admittedly I haven't seen that movie, but apparently to a lot of reviewers the story logic collapses in on itself, the acting is bad and the dialogue even worse. Both franchises take a similar look to their lifespan, you had two solid movies (MI: II more action orientated) and a less than admirable third movie. Then they both try to re-invent themselves , Terminator you could say failed (at least in a non-box office perspective), and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol in my opinion surpassing the previous films. The fourth Mission Impossible was a really tight, well written movie.
Not much changes this time round. You have a new enemy emerging called the Syndicate, which has been troubling Ethan Hunt for over a year with tracking them, being questioned whether they exist or not. All the while, the IMF is being determined in a court of law whether it is fit to still operate with it's un-orthodox way of getting results. Once the IMF is shutdown, Ethan refuses to back down as he, with the help of Benji and a mysterious British Intelligence agent, attempt to foil the unknown plans of the evil organisation. Nice setup, and the movie carries it along nicely.
PERFORMANCES As per expected Tom Cruise puts in a solid performance as Ethan Hunt, however his real ambition for stunt work throughout the movie really is the stand out, which I will mention later. The supporting cast also are very good, however there were three standouts for me. Simon Pegg was great throughout the entire film, he is almost now the comedic yin to Cruise's intense yang. I think the writers for, example, Star Trek and MI recognise his on screen presence and write him a lot more dialogue and get him involved more in the filming process. With Star Trek Into Darkness he had considerably more screen time than the first movie, and the same goes for this movie.
The other two mentions are for the surprising cast choices of Simon McBurney as the head of British Intelligence, Atlee, and Sean Harris as the founder of the evil Syndicate, Solomon Lane. Both actors mostly take up television roles so it's nice to see them get some exposure. Harris did a great job acting alongside Tom Cruise as the antagonist, and McBurney was very good as the somewhat questionable organisation head.
NOTEWORTHY MOMENTS I think it goes without saying that the set pieces in this movie were by far the standout moments. You have of course the ridiculous opening scene where Tom Cruise runs across the wing of a moving plane, and also hanging on the outside of a plane, most likely hundreds of feet in the air. Crazy stunts. There was also the tension riding café scene with Benji and Isla Faust and the final plan to try and outsmart Solomon Lane. However there were two that stick in my mind.
Firstly the behind the set Opera scene at Vienna, where Ethan with the help of Benji is trying to track down an assailant that he believes is in the Opera House, but it forms into something completely different. The slow build of confusion and tension as Ethan tries to piece together the significance of the Chancellor of Vienna being at the Opera House the same time as his target. It really is a great scene from start to finish and shaped my opinion from the get go. The later scene is the motorbike chase. High Octane, fast moving and just a joy to watch.
FINAL VERDICT A shorter review this time but this is a solid installment to the evermore strengthening franchise. There were some cheesy lines here and there, but the performances held the film high, the plot and action set pieces made this an enjoyable movie.The new formula they are using for these films is working, and so long as they stick to it and continue to be creative with the source material, there will no doubt be another two or three solid follow-ups in the wood works, and I wouldn't have a problem seeing them.