Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Numero uno this year. This sequel to Mission: Impossible delivers exactly what you’d expect: a frantic, dynamic pace that will give the faint of heart a heart attack. The most well thought out story of all the installments, Tom Cruise in more excellent form than ever, surprising and unexpected twists, a solid villain with an interestingly snarky voice, and fantastic diverse action (the motorcycle chase is among the best of its kind). Just a good dose of intelligent thrills. 100% (08/07/2015)

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)

I cannot deny that I really enjoyed Rebecca Ferguson and all that neatly shot, imaginative and various actions scenes without overt-the-top CGI (especially the motorcycle scene is simply perfect), but what is the best thing about it (apart from Rebecca Ferguson, of course) is the final minimalist personal London third, when it definitely turns into a classic British-style spy film, where the well-written characters (not only in terms of action blockbuster) mess with each other using dialogs "I know that you know and you know that I know" at the airport, in the room or on the restaurant terrace, and it completely does without any action. And it works, because it's not silly at all, while respecting the principles of the genre, and McQuarrie makes you forget that twenty years ago, in terms of script, he was able to do with one room and unfortunate narrator. As you can clearly see from this, he was mainly concerned about the characters and the plot and the action and tinsel were sidelined; which is an unprecedented thing for a summer popcorn movie, which in fact it is not. (08/07/2015)

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)

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)