Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation Blu-ray Review

By: Lynn Barker

In Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, the famous Impossible Missions Force is disbanded but that doesn’t stop agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) from hanging off a plane in flight, dueling with a hot British agent and hauling butt in the most ambitious car and motorcycle chases yet!

Ethan (Tom) on the moving planeCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Another Impossible Mission

Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is defying death again as he prevents nerve gas being sold to terrorists while hanging outside a plane in flight. Hunt is out to prove the existence of the Syndicate, an international criminal organization but, faking an IMF assignment, the group gasses Ethan and plans on a torture fest. He escapes with the aid of hot and very capable Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) a rogue British agent working undercover.

Ilsa takes aimCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

The Guy in the Glasses

Following his only lead, Hunt searches for a man in glasses later I.D’d as Solomon Lane, the head of the Syndicate. Meanwhile, Hunt’s actions cause a Senate committee to disband the IMF due to their secrecy and reckless behavior. CIA head Alan Henley (Alec Baldwin) is up against IMF head agent William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Hunt, who has disappeared, is to be captured and brought in.

Benji has to take a lie detector testCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Wanted Dead or Alive

Soon, Brandt suspects that Hunley will have Ethan killed so he works with Hunt along with Hunt’s IMF cyber expert buddy Benji Dunn (a hilarious Simon Pegg) and retired agent Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames). As they get closer to finding Solomon Lane through an assassination attempt in Vienna and a wild mission in Morocco to recover Lane’s secret ledger which will expose all of the Syndicate’s agents, the gang still wonders if Ilsa Faust, who is supposedly helping them, is really on their side or is using them to further the Syndicate. The life of Britain’s Prime Minister will depend on them finding out.

Benji aids Ethan at the operaCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation Trailer

Special Extra Features

This Blu-ray/DVD/Digital set is packed with pretty sweet extras. It also looks and sounds amazing.

• Audio Commentary- Actor Tom Cruise and Director Christopher McQuarrie are so fun! They chat like old buddies while delivering laughs and very “insider” details on every scene covering story, action, characters, music, special effects and revealing some fun tidbits.  It is always cooler when the lead actor is in on these commentaries. You really need to watch and listen to this excellent one.
• Lighting the Fuse- A look at how the project developed from director Chris McQuarrie coming onboard to just how involved Tom is in creating the story. Chris also wrote the movie (with Cruise) and dialogue was tailored for each actor cast.  A nice look at how Tom works as well as getting this new Mission started.

Tom Cruise and Chris McQuarrie at Tokyo premiereCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

• Cruise Control- Tom produced this movie and was active in every facet of it. There is a lot of on-set video as we see him working daily. It’s a real “Cruiseathon” if you are a fan of his.
• Heroes- centers on the four main IMF characters as well as Ilsa.  Tom talks bonding among the agent characters as well as friendship with the actors playing them. He is really into the Ilsa character being a strong, kick-butt, smart woman who is Ethan’s equal.
• Cruising Altitude is my fave extra because it takes apart the inspiration and execution of that famous, “hanging from the outside door of a plane” opening scene that blew everybody away since Cruise risked some real injuries or death doing it. Tom says he didn’t sleep the night before… geez, who would? Very cool.
• Mission: Immersible focuses on the big underwater sequence in the movie. Tom and Rebecca (playing Ilsa) had to undergo some heavy breath-holding training. Interesting.

Ethan with British agent IlsaCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

• Sand Theft Auto goes into detail about the training and execution of the car and motorcycle chases in the film. There were so many cameras mounted on the car that Tom, driving, could barely see. He wonders how Simon Pegg as passenger wasn’t worried they would get hurt. Fun!
• The Missions Continue shows us scenes from the previous movies all the way back to the ‘90’s when Tom Cruise looked like a high school grad!  We see some of the early stunts and how they inspired some of the ones in the current film. No sign of stopping for this franchise.

Ethan is capturedCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Wrapping Up

This home entertainment set looks and sounds excellent. Extras are entertaining and having Tom talk with the director on the Audio Commentary is just a hoot!  I think almost every DVD/Blu-ray needs a Gag or blooper reel and there isn’t one here although there are snippets of goofing off between scenes.

Tom Cruise doing his plane stuntCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation is a fast-paced blast. The plot might be a little confusing for young kids but older tweens and teens should be able to follow. There are great locations and amazing action/stunts as usual and we are set up at the end for new missions.

Tom Cruise with Simon Pegg and their movie BMWCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

This set is a great holiday gift or a keeper for your own collection. Extras are cool enough for it to merit 5 stars.

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation Blu-ray Rating:

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation Blu-ray CoverCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

The Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation Blu-ray is now available!

Have Your Say

Are you a big fan of the “Mission” movies? Do you get excited watching Tom Cruise do death-defying stunts? Will you gift this set for the holidays? Leave a comment.