A substantial story is appreciated, but you come to Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation seeking thrills, and this movie delivers. The fifth Mission grabs you by the throat immediately, and rarely releases its relentlessly tight grip for a full two hours. That spectacular airplane stunt you no doubt already witnessed opens the film in a splashy Bond-esque fashion, yet even as McQuarrie and Cruise settle in to the current mission, the movie hardly ever takes its foot off the gas.
Whenever Rogue Nation does slow down, it’s to enhance the characters, most of which we have grown to trust and care for over the years. The 007 comparisons don’t stop there, though, as McQuarrie places a handful of colorful adversaries in Ethan’s way, from the notorious “Bone Doctor”(a whiz with surgical knives) to a hulking henchman Hunt must dispense of in a riveting fight scene set in the Vienna Opera House. It’s in these moments that Rogue Nation is at its funniest, allowing Cruise’s tireless agent to show signs of fatigue, yet only pausing briefly before catching his breath – literally, and figuratively – and completing the mission.
The Mission films actually set themselves apart from Bond(or, the current state of Bond) by happily embracing the elements that make the blockbuster fun. In my favorite gesture, Cruise, this time out, has a habit of shrugging at the camera and raising one eyebrow during the craziest scenes, as if to say, “Yeah, I’m a little shocked we’re attempting this, but you’re here. I’m here. Let’s give it a whirl and see how it goes!”