Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation Movie Review

Reviewed by Lynn Barker on Jul 31, 2015

Rating:

Kidzworld reviews the latest Tom Cruise-driven thriller Mission Impossible Rogue Nation. Is it as action-packed as you hope?

By: Lynn Barker

Poor Impossible Mission Force’s Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). He is out on his own and positive he is fighting an organization of terrorists nobody else believes exists. Can he get some help, survive and beat the baddies? Hey, of course. It’s Tom Cruise!

Hunt (Cruise) on the wing of a planeCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Story Goes

After preventing nerve gas being sold to terrorists while hanging outside a plane in flight, Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is out to prove the existence of the Syndicate, an international criminal organization. He is captured by the Syndicate but escapes torture with the aid of Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) a rogue British agent working undercover.

Hunt with Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson)Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Following his only lead, Hunt searches for a man in glasses later I.D’d as Solomon Lane, the head of the Syndicate. Meanwhile, Hunt’s actions cause a Senate committee to disband the IMF due to their secrecy and reckless behavior. CIA head Alan Henley (Alec Baldwin) is up against IMF head agent William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Hunt, who has disappeared, is to be captured and brought in.

C.I.A. head Hunley gives Benji a lie detector test Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Months later, Brandt suspects that Hunley will have Hunt killed so he works with Hunt along with Hunt’s IMF cyber expert buddy Benji Dunn (a hilarious Simon Pegg) and retired agent Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames). As they get closer to finding Solomon Lane through an assassination attempt in Vienna and a wild mission in Morocco to recover Lane’s secret ledger which will expose all of the Syndicate’s agents, the gang still wonders if Ilsa Faust, who is supposedly helping them, is really on their side or is using them to further the Syndicate. The life of Britain’s Prime Minister will depend on them finding out.

Benji (Simon Pegg) in a closet at the opera aiding Ethan HuntCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Wrapping Up

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is a wham bang thrill ride packed with edge-of-your-seat suspense, some comic relief and non-stop, Cruise-driven action! The plot might be a bit hard to follow for younger kids, but tweens and teens should “get” it.

Hunt rides on as baddies crashCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

In addition to Tom Cruise’s much-publicized “ride” hanging outside a plane while gripping the door, all of the film’s hand-to-hand fights, car chases, underwater action and wild stunts, whether involving Cruise or Rebecca Ferguson in a really intense knife fight, are top notch and really well-shot. We saw the movie in IMAX and recommend that for a real “you are there” feel. The film’s exotic locations are used well, especially the huge Vienna Opera stages and the streets of Morocco.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is captured and brought inCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

The friendship between Ethan Hunt and his less physical buddy Benji is really well-established by actors Cruise and Simon Pegg who lightens up the film with some great everyman dialogue like “Hey, join the IMF and see the world….on a monitor….in a closet”. But, even Benji gets some good action moves in the film. Rebecca Ferguson does a great job as Ilsa, a smart and sexy spy caught in a web of intrigue that makes you constantly wonder whose side she is really on.

Hunt (Tom Cruise) in a high-speed motorcycle chaseCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

The famous masks used by the IMF are back so that you can’t be sure if you are looking at a baddie or is that Ethan or another IMF member under there? The film’s ending sets us up for a new IMF force with some of the old crew onboard. The film is a bit long but you won’t notice since the pace is almost non-stop. Tom Cruise proves that he has still got “it” as the biggest action star in the world. Stay tuned for more IMF adventure. We go 5 stars!