Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
starring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Simon McBurney and Alec Baldwin
screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie
directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Rating: ♦♦◊◊◊
This is the fifth film in the current Mission: Impossible franchise. Clearly the mission is NOT impossible, and I think the series ought to be re-named Mission: Possible. I used to enjoy the old Mission Impossible TV show with Peter Graves when I was a boy, but I have not at all been a fan of the Tom Cruise incarnation of it. I wanted to watch Rogue Nation because I was attracted by trailers featuring secret agent Ethan Hunt dangling from the external door of an aircraft as it took off, cooling demanding over his radio that the door be opened. Now! That scene occurred in the first few minutes and for me the film was stagnant - not downhill - from there. Like all the Mission Impossible movies Rogue Nation represents hyper action. The action is so hyper that it’s tiring to watch. In addition, the story line is too convoluted. It was interesting enough to watch to the end, but I would never re-watch it for fun because it’s really not very entertaining. The humorous technology geek Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) is the film’s best feature.
It really bugs me when movies get the subtitles wrong. I understand that sometimes the subtitles are paraphrased for time reasons. But other times the subtitles are just plain wrong. In this movie the word “gate” is wrongly used instead of “gait” in reference to a security system that, among other things, analyzes a person’s walking style. Who does these subtitles, anyway? Are English subtitles for movies released in Japan written by Japanese?