Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – Discovering that an evil secret organisation called ‘The Syndicate’ actually exists, veteran agent of the IMF (Impossible Missions Force), Ethan Hunt, begins a campaign to bring it down before it takes over the world. However, when the IMF is disbanded and Ethan is branded a traitor, his team struggle to help him while under the watchful eyes of the CIA. When they find an encrypted file that could hold the names of all Syndicate agents, Ethan and the team are caught up in a dangerous game of cat and mouse to uncover the truth and stop The Syndicate from hurting anyone else.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) – Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Rating: 12A

Running Length: 131 mins

Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris

Genre: Action

REVIEW: ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION’

As the fifth instalment of the Mission Impossible franchise, ‘Rogue Nation’ proves that the series has no intention of slowing down any time soon. As with the previous two movies, the set up of Ethan having a team to back him up continues to be a successful formula in that it prevents him from appearing super human (unlike Mission Impossible II) by taking on the evil of the world single-handedly. It is always great to see that the heroes have doubts, make mistakes and even get scared and ‘Rogue Nation’ does this brilliantly without compromising the bravery and skills of those concerned.

While Tom Cruise is always reliably superb as the all-action hero, special mention must go to Simon Pegg (who plays Benji Dunn) who can portray a wealth of emotions while all the time showing his character’s good hearted nature. However, one of the main problems with ‘Rouge Nation’ is that although antagonist Solomon Lane (played by Sean Harris) is meant to be an evil man, not enough is done to show this so he never feels as intimidating as he is supposed to be.

‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’ is an action-packed roller coaster that, as has become expected of the series will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing about who to trust from start to finish. With a tamer than usual villain, some members of the audience may be a little disappointed but this movie is still arguably one of the best in the franchise.

CONTENT: IS ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

A young woman who has previously been shown to be very sweet is held at gunpoint. She is seen by a male character who is trapped and unable to help her. She is clearly frightened and, for a few seconds, the gunman makes her stand in front of the other character; he then shoots the woman in the head in cold blood while the man cries out in distress. This is clearly done to upset the male character and although the camera cuts away before anything gory is seen, this graphic, callous and unnecessary killing of an innocent woman is likely to be distressing for a lot of kids.

A character is knocked out with gas and, when he comes to, he is tied to a post and surrounded by some very intimidating men. He recognises one and calls him by his nickname ‘The Bone Doctor’ and although this is never elaborated on, it isn’t too difficult to guess why it was given to him! This man shows his victim a set of vicious looking blades which are clearly to be used for torture. He then goes on to beat the man, punching him in the torso several times. This scene does not actually involve any torture but the threat of it could be a bit upsetting for some children.

One character has to be underwater for a long time and, while they manage to hold their breath for as long as they need, something happens to delay him getting to safety in time. He lurches and gags as his air runs out and floats in the water, lifeless.

A woman undresses while talking to a male character. He faces away from her but the camera shows her remove her bra although only her bare back is seen. This character is also seen in a bikini but nothing sexual is implied.

There is a motorbike chase which includes many incidental characters getting knocked off their bikes and some being thrown over cars, no blood or gore is seen.

A major character is taken by The Syndicate and is forced to wear a bomb. They are clearly terrified and are forced to do what the villain tells them. This character is likely to be well liked so this could be upsetting and frightening for kids.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION’ FOR KIDS?

With lots of action, including an exhilarating car and motorbike chase, and humour to keep everything light-hearted, ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’ is bound to keep audiences happy from start to finish. While there are plenty of violent scenes, there is little graphic content and we therefore feel this movie should be appropriate for most kids aged 8 and over.

• Violence: 3/5 (An incidental character is shot in order to scare another, this moment is quite shocking but not too distressing. There is a knife fight towards the end of the movie and although each fighter receives several painful cuts, very little blood is seen and this scene is not as frightening as might be expected)
• Emotional Distress: 1/5
• Fear Factor: 2/5 (the villains are very intimidating and although they are believably violent, little is shown on-screen so the fear factor is relatively low)
• Sexual Content: 1/5
• Bad Language: 3/5 (infrequent mild to moderate cursing and blasphemy. A moderate curse word is said unexpectedly at the very beginning of the movie)
• Dialogue: 3/5(some violent dialogue including some ‘bad’ characters described as being killed by nerve gas. A character is said to have used a chemical factory to gas a village of 2000 people. Someone is said to have died while being interrogated (tortured). There is a slightly obscure prison rape joke where one character is afraid of being arrested and jokingly says that he could soon be ‘playing mummies and daddies with Omar the Strangler’)
• Other notes: Deals with themes of teamwork, espionage, breaking the law for the greater good, risking one’s life to stop evil and taking on an impossible mission to do what’s right.

Words by Laura Record

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