Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

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. (07/30/2015)

It's as if I were seeing on the screen my first spies, my first car chase, my first badass fight scene. As if Christopher McQuarrie were in a room I know well, using Ethan Hunt's hand to open a door that has been carefully hidden. And as if beyond  it, a game is afoot from the old school, where there is room for London fog, surprising paraphrases of Casablanca, and in the spirit of the series, even truly impossible missions, above all with a water tank where I was almost holding my breath for the main hero at the end. Before viewing, I didn't have much hope for stepping in the same river a fifth time, so getting up from this ever more appealing team is getting tougher and tougher. Welcome to the IMF. (07/30/2015)

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... (07/30/2015)

Mission: Impossible – a nation of bastards in a glass cube: the best villain in the history of the series, the best car chase since the third Bourne, the most dangerous James Bond on heels of all time, hi-tech and retro, slow and furious, brilliant minimalist finale and Tommy Boy in the best form of his life. In the end, I roared with bliss like tur (andot). It’s different than the architecturally decorated part four, but still bad-ass. This is why you go and stare at an unreasonably large screen. Spectre is going to have a really hard time. (07/29/2015)

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. (08/19/2015)