Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

REVIEW:

I’m not sure how to clearly convey this, but Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation to me is like the Fast Five of the franchise. It’s the movie that doesn’t just keep the wheels turning—it rips the handbrake, shifts gears, and launches the whole thing into overdrive. Everything before it—from De Palma’s suspenseful original to Abrams’ more personal take—was laying groundwork (yes, even the chaotic M:I 2, bless its slow-motion heart), but Rogue Nation is the chapter where it all clicks. Much like Fast Five turned the Fast & Furious saga from a fun series into a global action titan, Rogue Nation marks the moment Mission: Impossible evolved from an already-solid franchise into a cinematic action juggernaut.

Of course, a large part of that shift is due to Christopher McQuarrie stepping in as director for the first time. He doesn’t just bring a steady hand to the chaos—he injects it with precision, tone, and style. His collaboration with Tom Cruise is the kind of partnership that feels fated in movie lore, like Spielberg and Hanks or Scorsese and DiCaprio. There’s a confidence here, a rhythm to the narrative and action that feels more assured than anything that came before. It’s not that Ghost Protocol didn’t raise the bar (it did), but Rogue Nation vaulted over it and kept sprinting.

The film wastes no time reminding us why this team works. Ethan, Benji, Brandt, and Luther open the movie mid-mission, bickering like a dysfunctional but lovable family. Simon Pegg’s timing is, as always, impeccable; Jeremy Renner’s Brandt tries to keep things on track with dry exasperation; and Ving Rhames’ Luther is the grounding presence that keeps the team dynamic real. It’s pure joy seeing this ensemble click, each of them bringing something different to the table. Sure, Paula Patton’s absence is felt, but it’s hard to be too disappointed when Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust arrives like a breath of fresh mystery.

Ferguson is the film’s secret weapon—mysterious, deadly, emotionally layered, and instantly iconic. The way she plays off Cruise’s Ethan Hunt creates a unique tension: not quite romantic, not quite adversarial, but always compelling. Every time they share the screen, it feels like watching chess played with razor blades. Ilsa isn’t just a side character or love interest—she’s a fully realised counterpart, and Ferguson brings depth to the role that lingers beyond the explosions.

Speaking of which—Rogue Nation features some of the most jaw-dropping stunts in the series. The now-famous airplane sequence where Cruise actually hangs off the side of a cargo plane during take-off is the kind of scene that makes your palms sweat before the title card even appears. And that’s just the beginning. There’s a nerve-shredding underwater break-in where Ethan has to hold his breath for three minutes—so intense I realised I was holding mine. The chase through the streets of Casablanca, mixing high-speed motorcycles and close-quarters combat, is action filmmaking at its finest.

Sean Harris as Solomon Lane might just be the franchise’s best villain to date. He doesn’t need a dramatic entrance or a lengthy monologue to be terrifying—his silence is part of what makes him so unsettling. That scene where he kills without hesitation upon his introduction? Instant chills. Lane feels like Ethan’s mirror—a strategist who matches him not in muscle, but in cold, methodical intelligence. He isn’t a cartoonish supervillain; he’s a ghost in the machine, and that makes him all the more dangerous.

The film also makes space for the fun spy stuff—because what’s Mission: Impossible without gadgets? The Opera House sequence, which itself is a masterclass in tension and visual storytelling, features one of my favourite gadgets in the whole franchise: Benji’s picklock cleverly disguised as what looks like a smartphone. It’s a small detail, but it exemplifies what makes this world so enjoyable—slick espionage with a touch of playfulness. And visually, this might be the best-looking entry yet. The cinematography is crisp, dynamic, and often elegant, giving weight and beauty to every location.

If I had one gripe—and it’s a minor one—it’s that we hear more about the Syndicate’s global acts of terror than we actually see them. I get that this keeps the pace snappy, but showing us just how cruel and far-reaching the Syndicate truly is could’ve elevated Lane from excellent to legendary. Still, this is a near-perfect cocktail of action, character, tension, and spectacle. Rogue Nation isn’t just one of the best Mission: Impossible films—it’s the moment the franchise cemented its legacy as the gold standard of modern action cinema.