Explosive action scenes but needs to be reminded there is no I in TEAM

Rating: 8/10 (9 August 2015)

Tom Cruise and newcomer Rebecca Ferguson bring their A-Game to this movie, their action sequences are explosive, enthralling and heart- pounding. This movie is well worth a watch but, and I'm afraid there is a but, it has, whether knowingly or not, adversely tweaked with the DNA from its previous instalment. They seem to have lost the gentle but hugely satisfying feeling brought about when a team of highly capable individuals work as a cohesive unit to accomplish their seemingly impossible task with a whole lot of charisma and style. And that's what is missing that would have brought a new level of suspense, reminding us why we love watching the IMF in action and which made Ghost Protocol such a success; think back to the Dubai hotel scene, India party server scene, even the opening prison break sequence, all of which was done with finesse, adding just the right amount of comedy and trademark Mission Impossible charm. As it is the huge talent of Jeremy Renner is relegated to a glorified bureaucrat who doesn't really contribute to or influence anything, Ving Rhames is there only to keep some sense of continuity in the IMF universe but thankfully Simon Pegg does add his usual unique blend of comedy / drama.
The only other let down was the way Christopher McQuarrie chose to use the now overly familiar face-masks to access a very high-profile target, the scene left a bit of distaste and felt like a cheap way to cheat their way through the story; now in its fifth movie most intelligence agencies would be aware of the existence of these masks and that there would surely by now be some sort of countermeasure in place to mitigate their threat.
Imagine bringing that old-school team charisma from the TV series and which Ghost Protocol had picked up, dial-down the Tom-Cruise show, combine that with Rogue Nation's expertly stitched together action sequences and that would be one fine sequel to look forward to; see I'm salivating already. You won't be let down by Rogue Nation, but it pains me to say it could so easily have been spectacular.