View Full Version : Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (Christopher McQuarrie)
Henry Gale
07-30-2015, 04:15 AM
IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2381249/) / Wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission:_Impossible_%E2%80%93_ Rogue_Nation)
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Henry Gale
07-30-2015, 05:03 AM
Not sure how actually great it is but all I know is I loved it.
It just moves. It just consistently hits all the right beats, switches up its scenery once the audience might feel even slightly bored by the sights on screen, varies the action tremendously, it's super tightly constructed with a joyous verve and nonchalantly clever twists and turns, and even five movies into this series, it manages to pull at least one mask reveal that actually took me by surprise! It wasn't even the sole employment of them! No small feat.
It's like a fifth album by a band that owns its identity in a well-worn two-guitar, bass, drums, and vocals, traditionalist rock style, except replace those instruments and genre with spies being double-crossed, globe-trekking, engaging in high-speed chases, climbing to new unheard heights of danger, and of course, those magic masks. Even a scene that uses a now-tired juxtaposition trope of having intense action set alongside an unsuspecting opera production manages to be an enthralling sequence. There's also some basic location shots that could act as straightforward connective tissue to dialogue scenes, but in Elswit's hands, he sneaks in a few compositions that are just quietly jaw-dropping out of nowhere -- one with escalators in particular. Not to mention he shoots the hell out of the higher-octane stuff too. A foggy sequence towards the end is especially gorgeous.
Renner and Rhames are fairly underused considering their involvement in past installments. It's structured as Cruise & Pegg's show with the antagonistic catalysts for everything going up against the IMF luckily fleshing themselves out sufficiently creepily with a fairly unrecognizable and perfectly reptilian Sean Harris in charge. Baldwin is fun, but basically just playing Jack Donaghy if he became more gruff and jaded in his post-NBC Universal days.
But REBECCA FERGUSON just owns this movie whenever she's involved. Aside from the stunning action the movie gives her (particularly the hand-to-hand bits), she's just the most insanely captivating, sexy, alluring presence a movie like this (or any type) could ask for. The White Queen just skyrocketed to the top of my TV watch-list out of the blue. Whew.
So yeah, I had a blast with it, and maybe if it doesn't click with you early on in the same way you'll take a more critical eye to it, but I think at this point you know where you stand with this series, and it's just as genuinely exciting as anything that's come before to put that sort of attitude aside and just let it take you for its ride. You don't always need to break new ground to build something to marvel at.
***1/2 / 8.3
D_Davis
07-30-2015, 05:40 PM
The MI series might be the most consistently good movie franchise. Although, to support that argument I have to pretend that MI:2 doesn't exist.
The MI series might be the most consistently good movie franchise. Although, to support that argument I have to pretend that MI:2 doesn't exist.
I'm an unabashed MI2 supporter. And I am well aware that we are a minority.
D_Davis
07-30-2015, 06:06 PM
I'm an unabashed MI2 supporter. And I am well aware that we are a minority.
I used to try to be because of my love for John Woo, but man...I had to come clean, and be honest with myself.
I think there is an OK movie there, but about 40 minutes needs to be cut.
I liked the second one as well. In fact this is the rare franchise for me that gets better and better with each one, for four consecutive installments now. This one might break that streak of mine, although that is based more on how much I loved the fourth one and Brad Bird's direction. I expect to enjoy this one a lot as well (and would be happy to be proved wrong about that streak).
Morris Schæffer
07-30-2015, 09:06 PM
I like mi2 enough. Heck, i've seen terminator genisys.
Irish
07-30-2015, 09:38 PM
Agree that the movies improve with each outing. Maybe a longer genesis between films helped; there's only been four installments over twenty years.
Curious too that the directors involved have always had a higher profile, but have also gotten arguably "worse" (Brian DePalma > Brad Bird).
Add me to the list of those in favor of M:I2. ;)
D_Davis
07-30-2015, 10:22 PM
MI:3 is my favorite; it's a tremendous film.
Henry Gale
07-30-2015, 11:31 PM
MI:3 is my favorite; it's a tremendous film.
Yeah, it'd be my pick too, but the rest are so hard to rank.
I mean, M:I-2 is last place kinda by default, but even then it was my favourite movie of the moment when I was around 10 years old, regardless of how it might not hold up for me now (and I haven't seen it for at least a decade to know for sure).
Otherwise, my memory of the original is that it's awesome, Ghost Protocol is an expertly crafted blast, and Rogue Nation feels about the same tier as both of them (and with a more satisfying final third than Ghost Protes).
Dukefrukem
07-31-2015, 12:03 AM
1 > 4 > 3 > 2
D_Davis
07-31-2015, 12:12 AM
3 > 1 = 4 > 2
4 > 3 > 2 > 1. If Ghost Protocol had the villian on the level of III's PSH, it would have been a top five action film for me.
transmogrifier
07-31-2015, 01:18 AM
I find them tough to rank because, although I liked them all, they are ultimately disposable and weightless.
4 > 3 > 2 > 1. If Ghost Protocol had the villian on the level of III's PSH, it would have been a top five action film for me.
I whole heartedly endorse this statement.
Stay Puft
07-31-2015, 02:15 AM
1 > 4 > 3 > 2
That's probably my ranking, too.
I watched the first one recently and thought it held up well. DePalma crafted it quite nicely. I haven't seen the second recently, but I'm comfortable putting anything with a promotional soundtrack featuring Limp Bizkit and Metallica well at the bottom of any list. PSH is the only good thing about the third one (the new Star Wars movie is going to be terrible, sorry). Bird's entry is the most entertaining after the first. I still prefer DePalma for the craft, but Bird's work is a lot of fun and the setpieces are memorable (I loved the car park bit at the end).
That's probably my ranking, too.
I watched the first one recently and thought it held up well. DePalma crafted it quite nicely. I haven't seen the second recently, but I'm comfortable putting anything with a promotional soundtrack featuring Limp Bizkit and Metallica well at the bottom of any list. PSH is the only good thing about the third one (the new Star Wars movie is going to be terrible, sorry). Bird's entry is the most entertaining after the first. I still prefer DePalma for the craft, but Bird's work is a lot of fun and the setpieces are memorable (I loved the car park bit at the end).
What about a movie featuring Guns N Roses with cross over music video?
Terminator 2
3 > 4 > 2 > 1
http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/conan-up-high.gif
transmogrifier
07-31-2015, 05:30 AM
And the villains in the MI series are seriously dull.
megladon8
07-31-2015, 05:30 AM
For myself it'd be 3>1>4>2
Morris Schæffer
07-31-2015, 06:32 AM
1
4
3
2
Watashi
07-31-2015, 07:04 AM
And the villains in the MI series are seriously dull.
I really don't go to MI films for the villains. I see it for the crazy ass stunts and set pieces.
Rogue Nation is awesome. How is Rebecca Ferguson not Wonder Woman? I hope some casting director got fired for that.
transmogrifier
07-31-2015, 07:38 AM
I really don't go to MI films for the villains. I see it for the crazy ass stunts and set pieces.
.
Well, for those who appreciate an interesting antagonist, it's a problem.
Morris Schæffer
07-31-2015, 12:00 PM
Well, for those who appreciate an interesting antagonist, it's a problem.
I certainly agree, but I also understand the other guy. Nyqvist wasn't bad, he could have been better, certainly in these kinds of movies the stakes are always sky high and so there's faint logic in having as the adversary a dude with his finger on the big ol Mundo destructo button, as cliché as that is, but that final fight in that automated car parc was wonderfully shot, original, genuinely dangerous (of course otherwise it'd be Mission: Doable) and a lot of fun. I think Kurt Hendriks, aka Kobalt, put up a helluva fight there.
Skitch
07-31-2015, 01:05 PM
The whole series is great. I enjoy part 2 but its the misstep of the series. I can't believe anyone would put 2 over 1. Madness.
The whole series is great. I enjoy part 2 but its the misstep of the series. I can't believe anyone would put 2 over 1. Madness.
I can watch 2 far more often than 1, and that's why I ranked it higher.
Dukefrukem
07-31-2015, 01:33 PM
1
4
3
2
That's three MCers for this ranking.
Also, I read, MI5 is the first MI movie where every shot of Ethan is Tom Cruise and not a stunt double.
Irish
07-31-2015, 03:55 PM
MI5 is the first MI movie where every shot of Ethan is Tom Cruise and not a stunt double.
I've seen the airplane stunt video (the one featured on the poster), and I still have a hard time believing this. If for no other reason than the insurance costs.
Also: 3 > 4 > 1 > 2
The third film was good all the way through. The fourth film was legit great until the sandstorm. The second film was forgettable outside the set pieces, which stuck out like sore thumbs. I don't remember a thing about the first film except a vague feeling of disappointment that they tossed out everything that made the TV show interesting and different.
Dukefrukem
07-31-2015, 06:40 PM
The first one is the only true espionage thriller. It's less of an action movie and more centered around trying to find out WTF is going on. There's a scene where Hunt is so confused about the situation and the events that transpired that he looks like he is breaking down- right before coming to his senses to break free from the situation. I love that it's a movie about not having control of the situation, or understanding really what's going on up until the very end rather than an action movie where everything you do is smooth as silk because you're a spy.
D_Davis
07-31-2015, 06:45 PM
I've seen the airplane stunt video (the one featured on the poster), and I still have a hard time believing this. If for no other reason than the insurance costs.
I've read multiple times that it is (nearly?) impossible to get insurance on a Tom Cruise movie for this very reason.
Skitch
07-31-2015, 07:21 PM
I would like to have a Mission Impossible movie where the enemy isnt from IMF. Dare to dream.
Yeah, this was another great outing for this series. And I agree with Henry regarding Rebecca Ferguson, she's pretty amazing in this. And I also liked how this movie, intentional or not, even took a stab at Jurassic World with her character, explicitly including a scene where she stops to remove her high heels before running off to join back in on the action. But yeah, good stuff here, this one definitely delivers.
number8
07-31-2015, 09:02 PM
I've seen the airplane stunt video (the one featured on the poster), and I still have a hard time believing this. If for no other reason than the insurance costs.
I've read multiple times that it is (nearly?) impossible to get insurance on a Tom Cruise movie for this very reason.
It helps when you yourself is the owner of the production company making the films.
David Ellison: On Ghost Protocol, we wanted to hang Tom off the side of a building and we actually couldn’t get insurance, and Tom wanted to fire the insurance company [laughs]. And we did and we got somebody to insure the movie.
Brad Bird: Since Tom was a producer on the film, if any company said, "We're not going to insure you," he would just go to another company until someone said yes. because there was no way that he was not going to do those stunts.
Irish
07-31-2015, 09:56 PM
Ugh.
It doesn't matter if Cruise owns the production company unless he owns 100% of it. And then he'd still have to find someone willing to underwrite the cost of the entire production and marketing budgets. The premium/ guarantee would be enormous. The benefit is what, exactly? 15 extra seconds on an Access Hollywood segment and a cool DVD extra? Against the threat of injury or death?
What you've both told me is that the movie was insured. Well ... duh? Of course it was. That doesn't say much against my original skepticism around the authenticity of the stunts.
My disbelief is that this would be an incredible amount of money to front for very little actual value. After the initial marketing push, few people will remember or care about any of this. From my own limited experience, corporations and the wealthy don't spend money like this unless it's low risk, high reward--- or they can rationalize the hell out of it. Strapping Tom Cruise to the side of a jet is a difficult thing to fool yourself into thinking is a good idea.
(But it also isn't a particularly strong disbelief because the story they're selling is more fun than me sitting here going "Pfft, bullshit.")
number8
07-31-2015, 10:25 PM
I was replying to Davis and just included your initial comment for context, hoss. But I am saying Tom Cruise is an insane person who will insist on these things for no good reason other than because he wants to do them, and since he is both the producer and the star of the project who can throw tantrums and threaten to pull out of he doesn't get his way, everyone seems to just say yes to him.
Dead & Messed Up
07-31-2015, 10:36 PM
Tom Cruise is in a weird, enviable space, because those kinds of demands are post-70s Brando level insane, but the kind of insanity that lends to great production value. I think many moviegoers want to see stars trying their own stunts and doing their own action. It's not some sort of dealbreaker if they don't, but isn't that pretty much why Jackie Chan is a guy we all love?*
*I mean, we do, right? Obviously.
Milky Joe
07-31-2015, 11:59 PM
Tom Cruise is awesome. Aside from how insanely horrible/horribly insane he is, as a person, he's literally awesome. You can't say that about many people these days.
Dead & Messed Up
08-02-2015, 05:20 AM
Saw this today at the Chinese Theater IMAX in Hollywood. Big booming sound, gorgeous screen.
Fun flick! I haven't seen the prior two MI films, but this was zippy and fun with a globe-trotting spirit that broke up the action. The stunt work impresses intermittently, Cruise holds interest. There's a undercurrent of cinephilia I might be over-reading, but the opera scene is straight out of The Man Who Knew Too Much, the two heroes bond in Casablanca, the filmmakers must have known the cachet they gain by casting an actor from In the Loop as the UK prime minister, the villain appears to be channeling Peter Lorre, and the lead actress looks uncannily like Lauren Bacall - she does good work, but her role, like most roles in the film, comes down more to what information she has than who she is.
That emphasis on information - that's all the movie is about - makes the experience sort of ephemeral. Eating dinner afterwards with friends, I realized we didn't talk about the movie at all. Which isn't to say I had a bad time. Just that I wonder if the film could've taken a bit more time to create more interesting character arcs and difficult dilemmas. One confrontation at a sidewalk diner seemed like it was going in that direction, but then someone played a trump card, and that was that.
But for being a fun, occasionally very tense action flick, it kept me interested and entertained.
On, loved and appreciated that the motorcycle mooks in Casablanca looked completely inconspicuous in their all-black leather/helmet/bike getup, and that they evidently had a change of clothes waiting for someone (go figure, she gets the only helmet with a clear visor). I respect that unapologetic movie-ness.
Also, this is one of the most violent PG-13 films I've ever seen. There's a truckload of people shot, knifed, broken-necked, and otherwise maimed. You wonder if the rating has any utility anymore.
D_Davis
08-02-2015, 06:19 PM
Tom Cruise is awesome. Aside from how insanely horrible/horribly insane he is, as a person, he's literally awesome. You can't say that about many people these days.
He's one of the hardest working actors of all time.
The value in his doing his own stunts is what it brings to him as an artist. He finds value in it, and in art the most important thing is for the artist to find value in his or her own work.
Skitch
08-02-2015, 08:23 PM
It also serves the art. When a camera cuts away to an obvious stunt double/back-of-the-head maneuver, it pulls me out. Not justifying his lunatic insistance at doing these things, but there is some validity to it.
Milky Joe
08-02-2015, 11:43 PM
He's one of the hardest working actors of all time.
The value in his doing his own stunts is what it brings to him as an artist. He finds value in it, and in art the most important thing is for the artist to find value in his or her own work.
Exactly, and, as has been pointed out before, look at all the director's he's managed to work with over the years: Kubrick (with whom he worked intimately on the longest single movie shoot in history), PT Anderson, Spielberg, Scorsese, Oliver Stone, De Palma, Tony Scott, Sydney Pollack, Francis Ford Coppola, et cetera. The guy knows cinema, lives & breathes it. You have to respect that.
I saw MI5 last night. It was freakin' awesome. Not much more to say. Most big-budget movies these days feel like they are carrying a creepy agenda behind them. I get the same feeling watching them as when I watch CNN or Fox News. This one—and pretty much all Cruise movies—felt like the antidote to all that.
Morris Schæffer
08-05-2015, 10:11 PM
Very, very good, but that airplane opening hit me hard. As in very dissapointing. Brief, anti-climactic, in fact completely possible. So yeah, great stunt, poor compared to the Burj Kalifa sequence. Granted, Rogue Nation has some other thrilling action scenes, but I've seen chases before whereas the airplane sequence might have been a real centerpiece, like the train scene in the 1st and indeed the Burj Kalifa one in the fourth, but it's over before it starts. Hell the scenes in the trailer seemed to last longer than the actual scene in the movie. Another thing that I found hilariously bad was the moment when the grey BMW crashed backwards in Morocco. It would have been a great stunt had it simply come to a halt, which would have been appropriate given the angle of the car's trajectory but instead it rolls over 5 billion times Michael Bay-style. In a series which has truly begun to manifest itself as an action lover's dream, and rightly so, a certain bar was set, a certain standard is understood so this kinda looney tunes malarkey is unneeded, unwanted.
Still, easily one of the better blockbusters in the last bunch of years.
Henry Gale
08-05-2015, 10:24 PM
Oh right, the plane opening. Yeah, it wasn't the greatest, and maybe if the marketing didn't have it everywhere it would've been more special, but then we wouldn't have known going in just how much Cruise Craziness™ was involved. When the opening credits ended and it revealed they were done with it, I went "Oh. Wait. What the hell happened?!" but then that seemed to be my last major issue with it.
Also, amongst being so generally impressed how well this came, it was a bit stunning to read that they were re-shooting the ending as recently as mid-June. I mean, I know it was originally scheduled for a Christmas release, but jeeeez. And not even on those new-fangled digital cameras! The old type!
Morris Schæffer
08-06-2015, 06:30 AM
I suppose there's less control in such an environment than burj kalifa which was an immovable object. The marketing team probably fucked up by showing benji in the trailer, lying under the grass and Tom urging him to remotely open the doors. I was half hoping Benji would fail and Tom would be forced to crawl to the front of the plane with his mag gloves, break the cockpit window and blurt out an "I'll fly!" to the flabbergasted pilot.
Milky Joe
08-06-2015, 06:38 AM
Thankfully I avoided all the trailers and marketing and stuff. I had heard something about a plane, and insurance issues, but didn't know what exactly it was until it happened. It worked pretty well for me.
Lazlo
08-06-2015, 04:06 PM
I thought the plane sequence was great. Yeah it wasn't the big climactic set piece, but it was a great tone setter. I loved no one knowing where Ethan was as it started and then that first time you see Cruise is so goddamned heroic. And I loved Cruise's shrug to the guy on the plane. Like, "Sorry dude, this is the type of shit I do all the time." It's wonderfully tossed off.
The opera sequence was my favorite, with the motorcycle chase running second. The opera sequence was so well done in terms of tension and geography. Ferguson is gorgeous and thoroughly intriguing in that dress.
The big letdown was the underwater sequence. There was so much talk about Cruise learning to hold his breath for six minutes so they could have an unbroken long take. But the scene barely has any that aren't blatantly augmented by CGI. Ethan didn't need to get knocked around that room so much by robot arms and shifting currents to make the scene suspenseful. Really disappointing.
Really loved Ferguson's storyline with all the reversals and mystery on who's side she was on. Exciting stuff. She's clearly the MVP of this movie and hopefully stays on board as the series progresses.
Skitch
08-09-2015, 03:20 PM
Finally caught it this weekend. Ton of fun! But I think I preferred parts 3 and 4 more. My biggest complaint was there wasnt any mention of his wife. I feel like there wasnt closure on that plot which was a big part of 3 and 4, and because of that it affected the maybe yes maybe no love interest angle relationship.
Morris Schæffer
08-09-2015, 07:26 PM
Finally caught it this weekend. Ton of fun! But I think I preferred parts 3 and 4 more. My biggest complaint was there wasnt any mention of his wife. I feel like there wasnt closure on that plot which was a big part of 3 and 4, and because of that it affected the maybe yes maybe no love interest angle relationship.
Of all the things to complain about... :)
Didn't Ghost Protocol make it clear there was closure? In the sense that they couldn't see each other again because then she'd be a target again.
I'm willing to entertain the notion that perhaps there's something I'm missing here and that it might have warranted a few lines of dialogue in Rogue Nation, but still not the kinda complaint I expected from anyone.
Dukefrukem
08-10-2015, 01:54 AM
I dont know guys. I suppose the premise was OK but the action didn't feel very well thought out. I thought the "impossible" mission was the worst of the franchise. Worst than MI2. The whole walking camera security area was stupid.
Dukefrukem
08-10-2015, 01:56 AM
1 > 4 > 3 > 2
1 > 4 > 3 > 5 > 2
Dukefrukem
08-10-2015, 01:57 AM
Side note: I paid $40 for two tickets to see this today.
Double You Tee Eff?
number8
08-10-2015, 04:08 AM
"Ethan Hunt is the living manifestation of destiny, Lemon."
Skitch
08-10-2015, 12:32 PM
Of all the things to complain about... :)
Didn't Ghost Protocol make it clear there was closure? In the sense that they couldn't see each other again because then she'd be a target again.
I'm willing to entertain the notion that perhaps there's something I'm missing here and that it might have warranted a few lines of dialogue in Rogue Nation, but still not the kinda complaint I expected from anyone.
I know, :p, but I thought the stuff with his wife was really interesting...and to be fair, it was a big part of the last two movies. I thought it was left kind of vague. Its not really a complaint as much as "I wish they would have".
Stay Puft
08-10-2015, 06:21 PM
Good movie. Halo 5/5.
number8
08-13-2015, 08:55 PM
Hahaha, this is great: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/finally-a-non-embarrassing-classical-music-scene-in-a-blockbuster-movie
Performances of “Turandot” are bedevilled by the problem of the ending, which Puccini tragically did not live to write. Here, the police decide the issue by removing the singers from the stage.
transmogrifier
08-19-2015, 03:27 PM
And the villains in the MI series are seriously dull.
And this latest one might be the dullest of them all.
This seems to be going through the motions, and the third act is just an anti-climactic mess. It can be funny at times, but this is more disposable than usual. Mild nay.
1=3=4>2=5 or something like that.
transmogrifier
08-19-2015, 03:30 PM
....it was a bit stunning to read that they were re-shooting the ending as recently as mid-June. !
It shows.
Dukefrukem
08-10-2018, 03:26 PM
1 > 4 > 3 > 5 > 2
I'm happy to report that after an extensive rewatch of this franchise, this ranking still remains true.
This one is very flimsy in plot, scope and dialog, which feels like a huge letdown coming off Bird's set pieces and banter. I liked the quick intro mission (everyone remember VX Gas from the Rock) and the quick tie-ins to not one previous MI movie, but two. We get Alec Bawldin bringing up the NoC list mission from the first movie, and a quick graphic of the nuclear warhead skipping off San Francisco building crashing into the bay from Bird's movie. Later, Hunt rides a motorcycle which I'm certain is a throwback to MI2, showing the audience that Hunt hasn't forgotten how to ride one. But then 10 minutes later, Golly Gee, Hunt is disavowed AGAIN. This time a secret organization called the Syndicate, known by no one, and unclear of their motives, becomes Hunt's newest passion to defeat.
Now we have, by far, the dumbest Impossible Mission in the series, where Hunt needs to swim into an underwater cooling system, which is supposed to only COOL a massive computer, but instead it was built to have robots switch out ID cards that hold the security profiles of how people walk through a hallway. ... If you thought the human sized computer was dumb in Ghost Protocol, this is something that should be in xXx not Mission Impossible.
I'm starting to see a trend in JJ Abrams related projects where "the plan" is so dumb or lazy, the movie actually makes a point to joke about it (breaking the 4th wall). Harrison Ford does it Star Wars the Force Awakens when they talk about blowing up the Starkiller Base: "So it's big... How do we blow it up... there's always a way to do that".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4MgfmuQ07Y
And Simon Pegg does it in this movie when they are discussing Hunt holding his breath for 3 minutes. "You can do that... don't worry about him, all he has to do is install the fake profile before I get to the gate analysis. you said it yourself it's the only way. <scoff> that doesn't sound impossible." In the words of my friend DeadandMessedUp- Hot Potato Exposition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbLVq8V-uUc
Later in the movie, after extracting the data they needed, they go on a nice car chase through the streets of Morocco... come to find out in the most deus ex machina way, Benji had a copy the entire time, making the chase utterly pointless.
And finally, if we weren't already at the point where the script completely feel apart, with 10 minutes left tin the film we get the Syndicate's motivation, "Killing to bring about change". You might as well have had him say nothing and let it be the McGuffin. Oh wait, they already did that in MI3.
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