Okay For a While, Then a Great Third Act

Rating: 8/10 (12 August 2015)

While the opening of the film featured a very cool stunt involving Tom Cruise actually hanging on the side of an airplane (with a huge strap digitally removed, of course) it was very abrupt and felt like any average action sequence from the series so far, so after that I wasn't very excited and had to wonder what this film had in store for the rest of it.
Ethan Hunt faces one of his toughest challenges yet: instead of being called upon for a mission by IMF, his mission briefing at the beginning is actually a challenge by an organization known as the Syndicate, which is basically a "nation" of rogue agents who have joined forces, hence the title. While you think this would be a great premise for action and tension it doesn't really pay off until the third act, which I will get to later.
The writers of this film really seemed to not know what they wanted from the leading lady. In the scene which introduces her, we understand she wants to help IMF though she is posing as a member of the Syndicate. She explains to Hunt that for him to continue his effort against the Syndicate she needs the Syndicate to trust her. After this, there are moments where it is clear she is on the side of the IMF team, though the writers through curveballs left and right for us to question her loyalty, which isn't confusing, just really annoying. It is even confusing when people from London come into play with her and they basically screw her over, ridding her of the Macguffin of the film, which they know she needs to earn the Syndicate's trust. Do they just want her dead? Did they plan that so the villain wouldn't get what he needs? So not only is it a question of who she is loyal to, but who really trusts her as well.
The third act of the film is great, as one of the scenes is particularly tense - perhaps the most tense scene from the entire series, and the way the conflict of the film gets resolved is dark, clever, and fitting in that it parallels a scene at the very beginning of the film. I'm trying to avoid spoilers as much as I can, but you'll know what I'm talking about if you see the movie.
Maybe I just have to rewatch this in order to appreciate it as a whole, but the third act of this film is probably one of the best third acts I've seen from an action film period. It is probably in my top 2 of the Mission Impossible series, though that isn't saying it's necessarily great, but pretty good.
3.0/4.0