The Film
The Mission: Impossible series may be on its fifth director, but it certainly hasn't lost any of its magic. More importantly, it hasn't lost its star, Tom Cruise. Despite turning 53 this year, Cruise is as awesome as ever, and so is this franchise.
With Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, the M:I series picks up director Christopher McQuarrie, who worked with Cruise on 2008's Valkyrie, 2012's Jack Reacher, and 2014's Edge of Tomorrow. Let's keep these two kids working together, okay?
This fifth installment finds the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) on the brink of destruction. After 19 years, CIA Director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) seems to think that Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his crew are doing more harm than good. Hunley wants the IMF disbanded, but Hunt sees things differently and seeks to bring down the evil Syndicate on his own -- or at least with Benji (Simon Pegg), Brandt (Jeremy Renner), and Luther (Ving Rhames). The problem is that the Syndicate is led by the diabolical Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), a rogue MI6 agent.
It all seems like pretty standard operating procedure. Well, it seems standard for the IMF, until Illsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) enters the picture. She's bad, she's good, and she's everything in between. She's also a welcomed addition to the franchise, since she pretty much keeps you guessing throughout the film's entire 131-minute runtime.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is a fun ride filled with crazy stunts and an entertaining cast. However, I have to agree with Matthew Passantino's assessment that this M:I installment doesn't have the best villain. Frankly, you have to have a larger-than-life presence to outshine Tom Cruise hanging from the side of a plane, whipping around in a car and on a motorcyle, and performing an underwater stunt that would have Aquaman gasping for air. Still, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation has plenty of interesting friends and foes, as well as twists and turns. More importantly, it has the action -- a lot of it. Enjoy.
The Picture
This is the fifth installment in the Mission: Impossible series. As you can imagine, Paramount isn't going to deliver a Blu-ray with anything less than what you'd expect and want from such an action-packed piece of eye candy. This 2.39:1 transfer is a sharp one. The quality is best seen on the various faces throughout the movie, even though fleshtones do run a bit warm. Tom Cruise may not show signs of age when it comes to the many stunts featured, but you'll see it on his face here. (And that's not a bad thing.) Every line, pore, ripped muscle, and perfectly combed piece of hair is visible. The surrounding scenery is just as impressive, whether it's blades of grass, opera wear, bubbles, or bricks. Oh sure, there's a teeny flash of softness here and there, but it shouldn't detract from the viewing experience one bit.
The Sound
When I read that Paramount was giving this latest Mission: Impossible installment a Dolby Atmos track, I thought I'd have to install a seat belt on my couch. While this is an awesome track (hence the rating), it's not the non-stop barrage of sounds you'd expect. That's not such a bad thing, though. Instead, this track uses the Dolby Atmos height channels wisely, so when those moments do hit, you'll certainly know (and feel) it. The aforementioned plane scene is definitely one of those highlights, but there are plenty of others as well. However, the rest of the track is equally impressive. Dialogue is crystal-clear, even as Tom Cruise hangs from the side of a moving plane. Even better, the film is bursting with thunderous music and the type of sound effects you'd want in an M:I movie. Bullets go flying through the surrounds, opera sings (literally) with detailed beauty, cars deliver a massive crunch, and there's one killer moment of immersive Halo 5 game play.
The Extras
This M:I installment comes packing a slew of short featurettes that combine parts of the movie with little tidbits about the film. There's six minutes of Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie talking about motivations for the movie and specific scenes, as well as how their previous collaboration contributed to all of that. The franchise and this installment's characters are highlighted in separate featurettes, with Cruise getting an additional six minutes to talk about his role as a producer. Also, each of the most action-packed moments of the film gets its own short. Everything is certainly worth watching and will have you convinced that Cruise must certainly be part cyborg. (How does he do all of that??) If I had to gripe, I wish there was more information on getting the insurance -- which is something I never thought I'd ask about for anything. I mean, it's Tom-freaking-Cruise! Even Cruise and McQuarrie don't know, which is one of the tidbits the two talk about in the feature-length audio commentary. This is an excellent addition, with the two leaking tons of in-depth info in a nice conversation that flows well throughout the film.
Final Thoughts
Wow. It's hard to imagine that at 53, Tom Cruise still has plenty of thrills, chills, and ass-kicking left in him. More impressive is that the M:I series can still deliver on its fifth installment. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is an explosion for your eyeballs, with stellar action sequences and an entertaining cast. If you're a fan of the series or action films in general, this Blu-ray is a no-brainer. It has an excellent image, an even better audio track, and enough extras to keep you hanging on and hoping for another installment.
Product Details
Where to Buy:
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
