Coastal View News
“Mission: Impossible” is back! This, of course, is no
shocker. “Mission: Impossible” has become more and more cemented in that James
Bond territory—not exactly innovating at each turn, but nonetheless permanent. They
will keep making them. And, like your favorite snack food, you know you want
more.
Now, we might be obsessed with the Impossible Missions Force
(IMF). But in “Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation” the U.S. government is over
it. The IMF is being shut down. Congress and the CIA think it is outdated, too
costly, and just kind of a mess. Which makes perfect sense when you think about
it. Sure, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the rest of the IMF have saved the entire
planet countless times (well, as far as we know, at least four times) but from
the outside it must look like a train wreck: smoldering buildings, dead bodies,
huge costs, and nothing obvious to show for it that isn’t confidential except
for the apocalypse not happening.
Can’t hardly call CNN with that news.
So the glory days of the IMF are over. A lot of those in the
IMF think this sucks. But none more than Hunt, who, dang it, was right in the
middle of something. He, along with his usual crew, Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg),
Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), and William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), were right
in the middle of trying to expose and destroy an international terrorist
organization known as the Syndicate. In fact, right as the doors of the IMF are
being shuttered, the Syndicate captures Hunt. Not a good time to be laid off.
Lucky for Hunt there is someone else on the inside with whom
it seems he can work. Her name is Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). And I say it seems that Hunt can work with her
because it is not 100% clear whose side she is on. At first she is ready to
torture Hunt. Point against her. But then she helps him escape. Point for her.
Then she shows up later looking like she is going to assassinate a head of
state. Point against. But then she promises that she wasn’t really going to do
it and, again, helps Hunt get out of a mess. Point for.
It goes on like this for a while. And not just with Ilsa. We
know that Hunt is a good boy who will do the right thing. But who is with him?
Ilsa? The American government? The CIA? Former IMF agents? Foreign allies? Who
knows? The key (which we have all learned by now) is: Trust Hunt, follow his
gut, and see what comes out in the wash. This, it seems, is the only way to
accomplish an “impossible” mission.
“Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation” is more light hearted
than other “Mission: Impossible” movies. It takes itself less seriously. As Tom
Cruise grasps onto the side of an airborne cargo plane in the opening sequence,
Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, and Ving Rhames bumble and fumble in a mildly
concerned “here we go again” sort of way—how you might act if your sautéed mushrooms
were getting overcooked again. The scene feels like: Yeah, we know, isn’t it
just ridiculous what we have this guy do.
Ridiculous indeed. But that is precisely the charm of these
movies. Everything about “Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation” is ridiculous, but
also exactly as you would expect. Even the seemingly unpredictable twists and
turns are so obviously hardwired into the very DNA of this series that the most
shocking thing they could do is not
give us an outrageous, double-crossing, totally unrealistic ending. But, again,
that’s part of the charm. When you reach for your favorite snack food, you know
what you are getting, you know it’s not a culinary masterpiece, and you know
you won’t be spending time contemplating its transcendent qualities. But of
course you don’t care—not one iota.
As long as “Mission: Impossible” keeps bringing the stunts,
explosions, gadgets, chases, twisty plots, and all that other spy movie goodness—as
long as it keeps doing what it’s doing—we will keep coming back for more.
