碟中谍5：神秘国度
Directed by:
Christopher McQuarrieScreenplay:
Christopher McQuarrieCinematography:
Robert ElswitComposer:
Joe KraemerCast:
Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin, Sean Harris, America Olivo, Simon McBurney, Jingchu Zhang, Tom Hollander (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
With his elite organization shut down by the CIA, agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team (Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) race against time to stop the rise of a new global threat, The Syndicate, a dangerous network of rogue operatives turned traitors. To stop them, Ethan must join forces with an elusive, disavowed agent (Rebecca Ferguson) who may or may not be on his side as he faces his most impossible mission yet. (Paramount Pictures)
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Reviews (12)
If I leave aside the story, which is unnecessarily complicated and the only thing it seems to be saying it that Tom Cruise needs to be running somewhere constantly, I still have to admit that I haven’t seen a better action movie yet this year. And to be honest, I don’t know whether I will see a better one ever. The scenes in Vienna and in Morocco were absolutely great. The opera tune Nessun Dorma and bucketloads of suspense actually created one of the most emotional action scenes in the past few years. Simply put, it was a hell of a scene that made me stop breathing, coughing and blinking. On top of that, the crew that Tom put together to help him with his trouble lifts your mood any time it can. Especially Simon Pegg, who was literally on a roll in the first half of the movie. Jeremy Renner and Ving Rhames certainly didn’t disappoint either and that’s despite the fact they got a lot less screen time than they would have deserved. What else can I add… This year’s best action movie sure was fun to watch. If you think about the wannabe artists who keep knocking the camera left and right to add three cheap effects, you have to admit that such clear shots must satisfy even somebody who can’t speak.
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An elemental blockbuster mixing old style with modern, where every blow hurts a lot and gives out a good meaty slap. The shots of Rebecca Ferguson are an ode to legs and Tom may be getting old, but he’s getting harder with age in action scenes (because it looks better), and he knows how to make fun of himself. McQuarrie’s screenplay is a really classic British school spy chase movie that often goes against the standard procedures for the series. The action is first-rate, the editing is a joy to watch (the opera) and my teeth were chattering from the antics in Morocco. I look forward to watching it again. If you managed to read to the end of it, this review will self destruct in 5 seconds...
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A compromise between De Palma's first and Abrams' third work - but beware, the word compromise is not pejorative this time. No way. Christopher McQuarrie has talent to spare, because after Jack Reacher, he proved that he is a great director as well as a writer, and the fifth Mission: Impossible offers very imaginative and honest action (the breathtaking opera part alone is better than the entirety of Ghost Protocol), a beautifully old-school spy story full of twists and turns of all kinds, and well-written characters (for example, Simon Pegg's Benji has finally become a full-fledged member of the team and not just a joke, Ilsa, played by Rebecca Fergusson, plays it so beautifully on all sides that we still like her even though we have absolutely no idea what she's up to). I guess I really can't help but admire Tom Cruise in the lead role, but you know who surprised me the most out of the cast? Jeremy Renner! I've never liked him this much, and here he's actually playing an ordinary office rat. Yes, yes, again, it owes that to the script. So I applaud and will be happy to see Mission: Impossible 6 undertaken by the same creative team.
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The strength of the Mission: Impossible franchise has always been the combination of clear constants and creative deviations between individual instalments. Iconic elements had already been established by the original television series (the disguises, assignment of missions with messages that self-destruct, the burning fuse), and the movies use these original attractions as identifying elements that can be altered or simply set aside. The individual films place greater emphasis on the distinctiveness of style and inventive action sequences, both of which are provided by the fluctuation of the directors. In this respect, the fifth film of the franchise is precisely crafted but, at first glance, it is seemingly the least distinctive of the M:I movies. Judging from his work as screenwriter, Christopher McQuarrie gets along very well with Tom Cruise and has precise command of the filmmaking craft, but he is not a filmmaker with a distinctive formalistic signature or a clear concept of action sequences. With the precise spatial arrangement of the action scenes and the inventive interconnection of those scenes with attractive settings, McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible picks up where Brad Bird left off. However, the distinctiveness of Rogue Nation and thus the benefit of having the screenwriter in the director’s chair are reflected in the dialogue, as well as in the interaction of the characters and their motivations. More than in the previous instalments, this time the story relies more on teamwork and thus loyalty, friendship and professional ethics, which form the foundation of the key narrative twists and are embodied in the fascinating, ambiguous character of Ilsa Faust. Ilsa draws attention to herself not only due to the charisma of the actress portraying her, Rebecca Ferguson, but also as the prototype of a new action heroine. Not only is she equal to the main protagonist in terms of ability and tenacity, thus forming a perfect professional team with him, but she also doesn’t slip into any traditional clichés and takes on some key privileges of her male colleagues (rescuing the hero, the final fight). In fact, she superbly balances between charm, toughness, exaggeration and fatefulness, flawlessly epitomising the entire film and its personality. ____ P.S. Who would have thought that an ambitious character actor would become the Hollywood equivalent of Jackie Chan (from the golden era of Hong Kong cinema)? And, what’s more, in an era when American cinema does not have any action stars, at least not the kind whose name is synonymous with or guarantees a certain type of attraction. Starting with the fourth Mission: Impossible, interviews with Cruise and making-of videos absolutely evoke Jackie Chan’s ethos. Like Chan, Cruise emphasises that the breakneck sequences and the permanent exposure of himself to real danger are done for the viewers and their sense of amazement. From Ghost Protocol to Rogue Nation, Cruise’s passion, determination and fanatical hard work deserve all the more recognition for forcing the competition to also back away from deceiving audiences with computer-generated sequences and camera flourishes, thus making Mission: Impossible the vanguard of a new era of spectacular action films.
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I don't remember a spy blockbuster that was ever this tight. I was fascinated by the way in which McQuarrie primarily tells the story and works with the characters, keeping the action more incidental, as a means to move the plot along and not the purpose. At a time when all explosions and chases are compulsory attractions, Ethan Hunt's world ends up as a pulsating but not frantic action movie, which will probably be blamed for being boring and long-winded. However, the light "low-profile" fits it perfectly, even if it is crafted with bravura (the Turandot editing) or technically imaginative (the shooting down of two motorbikes by a car). Yet here, it's all about the protagonists, the minimally portrayed villain (compare to the underused Nyqvist from last time), the perfectly written and superbly acted female lead (I admit that the ambiguity kept me tense until the final denouement), and last but not least, Hunt himself, who has parked himself as an ordinary member of the team with a trio of chattering sidekicks on hand. I was excited right after the screening, but I didn't really know why. In hindsight, I see this as an outrageously complex and thoughtful film that will be hard to compete with this season, and if it scores at the box office, Cruise will definitely pull a distinct persona into the film world. I hope he succeeds.
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