Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

SPOILER-FREE MOVIE REVIEW

Desperate times, desperate measures.

Hey guys, it's been a long time since I last posted a review. Sorry for the long period of silence, I've been busy with assignments and exams.

Thankfully, they ended today and I wasted no time in going to finally see the fifth instalment of the Mission: Impossible franchise.

It's been four years since its prequel, Ghost Protocol, and I am very happy to say that they spent those four years very wisely.

From the moment the film starts, you get the vibe that the film was very well thought-out.

I have this theory that the longer the time spent in pre-production, the higher the chance of the final product being brilliant.

In this case, it absolutely justifies my theory.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation was one hell of a terrific film.

Despite it being the fifth film in a series that was honestly becoming a little dull and directionless, Rogue Nation has done to the "MI" franchise what Skyfall did to the Bond series - and that is breath some fresh life into it.

I was very impressed with the directing, script, music and the cast.

The film is written and directed by a certain Christopher McQuarrie, whom I've never heard of in my life.

I did some research on him and discovered that he had worked on some excellent films in the past, such as The Usual Suspects and Edge of Tomorrow.

This film, however, is only his third time as director.

Kudos to him, however, as he did a marvellous job.

His direction was spot on, and he managed to capture the absolute unpredictability and mystery of the world of espionage perfectly.

The script and screenplay was excellent, with great and relevant dialogue between characters as well as subtle twists here and there. The film's pacing was excellent as well.

The film's soundtrack by Joe Kraemer was also terrific.

One thing that I thought let the previous film down was the music, and thankfully they rectified that in this film.

I'm glad they used the iconic Mission: Impossible theme far more than Ghost Protocol, and that gives the film a classic feel - something the latter lacked.

On to the terrific cast, starting with the forever youthful Tom Cruise.

At 53, he's showing no signs of slowing down, so plenty of respect to him for that.

He looks superb, with a great physique and a face that looks at least a decade younger.

The IMF team (Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg) made a welcome return, and their terrific chemistry just added warmth to the film.

The villain was played by some bloke named Sean Harris (never heard of him), but he played creepy very very well and was a great villain despite his far-from-menacing body size.

Perhaps the standout performance was from another actor I had never heard of before - Rebecca Ferguson.

She was absolutely fantastic. From the fighting scenes to the more emotional ones, she nailed them.

Furthermore, she's quite stunning. It's also great that she didn't look too young (like most Bond Girls) for the leading man, and was in every way Tom Cruise's equal.

I sincerely hope to see more of Rebecca Ferguson in future films, because she is a great actress.

Moving on to the not-so-good parts, and sadly, there were some.

I didn't like how unrealistic some things were, from certain action sequences to the gizmos the IMF used.

It's hard to describe these without giving spoilers, but all I can say is that some were quite ridiculous.

Nevertheless, it is after all make-believe and hence it is acceptable in the world of film, I suppose.

I also didn't like the EXTREME product placement for BMW vehicles. I thought it was taking product placement to another level.

Every vehicle used was a BMW, and that lack of variety again took me out of the film a bit due to how unnatural it was for every car to be a BMW.

There was also a lack of music during a high-octane chase sequence in the middle of the film. Shame really. It was a spectacular scene which would have been made better if not for the lack of music.

Instead, they just relied on engine noise and the sound of crashing metal to provide suspense to the ears. That could've been done better.

That's all for the negative points! Nothing major, really.

All in all, the film was damn near perfect. It had a glorious mix of intense action and impactful emotion. 

Not only is it by far the best film of the franchise, it is also my favourite film of the year thus far (surpassing Kingsman: The Secret Service). That's how highly I rate it.

The Mission: Impossible franchise is well and truly back on track due to Rogue Nation, and it has set a benchmark for modern espionage thrillers to meet.

Can't wait for the Blu-ray to be out.

An awesome film.

9/10.