Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
CIA chief Hunley (Baldwin) convinces a Senate committee to disband the IMF (Impossible Mission Force), of which Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is a key member. Hunley argues that the IMF is too reckless. Now on his own, Hunt goes after a shadowy and deadly rogue organization called the Syndicate.
Darf Nader reviewedJune 11, 2025
When I think about the first MI, it seems quaint in comparison to this. I restarted watching the whole series from the start, forgetting which I had seem before or not. I was only taking it half-seriously, enjoying the clever plots and schemes of Ethan Hunt and the the slowly expanding IMF gang. The stories were fun, but the thrills felt dated, but to be fair I am looking at them 30 years. The spy technology of the early files are so hilarious and definitely did not age well.
So the cast is nice and clean: Tom Cruise continues to defy his "peculiar" IRL personality by being the one of the most underrated character actors of our time. Ving Rames is his usual loveable self, though his role in this film is a bit muted. Simon Pegg has gotten out of his desk-jockey shell and plays the nerd that's grown a pair quite well. Erm... Hawkeye... heh- his role is perfectly intermixed in his usual double agency. He does way more in this franchise than with Marvel IMHO. Alec Baldwin plays the misguided CIA agent that is trying to break the whole thing up, but I still didn't want him to get too hurt. As for the arching, Sean Harris brings the quiet "mwah-ha-ha-ha!" He doesn't relish death like Philip Seymour Hoffman did. He just DGAF about who was in the way- he just did the math and decided he was the protagonist and he played it. But the trophy roll in this film is Rebecca Ferguson who absolutely brings it as the foil. No wonder is now the star in Silo and Lady Jessica in Dune. She just carries a hot gravitas that is undeniable.
But back to the film: the first thing that sets this apart is that the techno-spyjinks are in the background and only serve to further the twists and turns of a well-written thriller. The characters and their overall baddassery make this film great. The action is engaging and creative. Even the car chase never slips into that mind-numbing dullness of your typical action trash. It's simply fantastic.
Second, unlike MI:4 - Goat Protocol, it doesn't get bogged down with a single engagement with waaay too much time spent on the iffy spy tech, but the team succeeds anyway only by dumb luck. In MI:5, the pacing smoothly moves between short lulls to regroup before the next set piece. The setup reveals the goals, not the plans, which reveal themselves as they unfold, one small revelation at a time. And while this installment still uses the familiar tropes like the breakaway flashbacks and timers that stop at the last possible moment, it still feels fresh. And of course, they don't forget how the title is coincidentally the same name as a certain British agency, which makes the film extra, as the kids purportedly say. And to that end, I have not seen a Bond film that comes close to being this good of a thriller.
The final set piece was a beautiful puzzle box and It might be the best close of any of the films. There was just so much payoff that kept rolling out that I couldn't help but feel giddy. And when it was all wrapped up, the ending was satisfying. There weren't loads of unfinished business and ending on a downer. The setup for what comes next really made me want to just watch MI6 even though it was 1 am. I really want to see how that they make lots of nods to another certain international British agency.
In short, it was the best installment yet. Like all of the prior films, it can be equally enjoyed as a standalone movie, perhaps even moreso. Ignore the haters and just sit back and enjoy.