---
title: "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation"
year: 2015
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-rogue-nation"
fi1m_score: 76
critics_score: 73
critics_reviews: 23
published: "2026-09-19T12:40:57.148860+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-19T12:41:11.430193+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie · 2h 11m · MPA PG-13 · Action, Adventure

**Fi1m score: 76** · Critics 73 from 23 reviews

*In a sentence:* The plane stunt is in the trailer; the best thing in the film is a woman in a yellow dress backstage at the opera

> Christopher McQuarrie’s entry is the most carefully built of the series so far, with a Vienna opera sequence as good as anything the genre has managed in years. The plot is a MacGuffin in a box, and the London finale runs long.

## Synopsis

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) hangs from the outside of an Airbus A400M as it takes off from a Belarusian runway, because the nerve gas in its hold is bound for the wrong people and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) cannot get the door open. In Washington, CIA director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) persuades a Senate committee to shut down the Impossible Missions Force and fold it into his own agency, while William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) sits beside him unable to argue back. In a London record shop, Hunt is taken by the Syndicate, a network of former agents run by the quiet Lane (Sean Harris), and freed from a torture cell by Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), whose side is not clear. Six months later he is a fugitive and sends Benji two tickets to Turandot at the Vienna State Opera.

## Review

Christopher McQuarrie, who wrote [*The Usual Suspects*](https://film.one/film/the-usual-suspects), is the fifth director to take this series on, and he has looked at the four films before his and decided it is a Hitchcock picture with a larger stunt budget. Ethan Hunt hangs off a plane, is captured, is rescued by a woman he cannot read, and spends the rest of the film chasing a box while a man called Lane (Sean Harris) whispers down telephones. That is roughly the plot. It is also the best-built of the five, and for two thirds of its 131 minutes the most enjoyable.

The plane comes first, and McQuarrie has the nerve to get it out of the way. Cruise clings to the outside of an Airbus A400M while it climbs, and Robert Elswit shoots him from a camera fixed to the fuselage, so the wind drags his face sideways and the runway drops away beneath him with no cut arriving to help. We had seen the shot in the trailer and it still made our stomach turn, because there is no doubt at all that the man is out there. Then the door opens and the film moves on without pausing for applause. A lesser film would have saved it for the end and made us wait through an hour of set-up.

The Vienna sequence is where the film is best. Hunt and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) attend *Turandot* at the State Opera, and James D. Bissell’s catwalks and fly floors turn the theatre into a vertical maze above the audience’s heads. Elswit lights the stage gold and everything above it near black, so the assassins are shapes against the glow. Joe Kraemer folds Puccini into his own score and lets the aria’s climax do the work of a countdown, and Eddie Hamilton cuts between the singer, three guns and Cruise working out which one to stop with a clarity most action editors have given up on. Joanna Johnston puts Rebecca Ferguson in a yellow dress that can be seen from the gods, which is the point, and Ferguson takes off her heels before she fights. We sat forward for the whole ten minutes and did not sit back until it was over.

Ferguson is the film’s discovery. Ilsa Faust says every line so it can be read two ways, saves Hunt when she should not and leaves him when he needs her, and Ferguson plays her as someone who has planned for all of this and is tired. She fights like a person who has thought about it, with knees and doorframes rather than flourish. Harris gives Lane a wet, deliberate rasp and never raises it; he is a good villain because he seems to find violence tedious. Pegg gets the film’s worry and most of its jokes, Ving Rhames’s Luther Stickell turns up to be reassuring, Jeremy Renner’s William Brandt is stuck in committee rooms, and Alec Baldwin plays CIA director Alan Hunley as a man enjoying being wrong. Tom Hollander and Simon McBurney do dependable British work in suits.

The trouble is the box. The Syndicate wants a ledger, the ledger is in a red case, the case is in a vault under water in Morocco, and the film asks us to care about the paperwork. We did not. The vault itself is fine: Bissell builds it as a spinning drum full of water, Elswit shoots it in a green-blue murk and the rule is simple, one breath, three minutes, no air. The motorcycle chase that follows is fast and easy to read. But it is the third set piece in ninety minutes, and when the film returns to London for its last half hour it is mostly people in rooms explaining the plan to each other. Hamilton’s rhythm, so exact in Vienna, loosens. We looked at our watch, and then felt slightly ungrateful for doing so. There are 131 minutes here and about 115 of story.

*Ghost Protocol* (2011) had the Burj Khalifa and a plot that fell apart if you touched it. *Rogue Nation* has fewer landmarks and a story that holds, and it is the first of these films to give Hunt an opponent rather than a series of obstacles. McQuarrie also writes the running joke of the series into the script, that Hunt is not so much skilled as impossibly lucky, and then has the sense not to pick at it.

See it for Vienna first, for Ferguson second and for the plane third, which is not the order the trailer would have you expect. It carries a 12A.

*Fi1m score 76, published 19 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like it, and a good many like it a lot: eighteen of the twenty-three reviews are positive. The praise gathers around three things. Christopher McQuarrie’s set-pieces, above all the Vienna opera sequence, are called clear, elegant and tense; Tom Cruise’s in-camera stunt work is credited with giving the action real jeopardy; and Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust is named in nearly every review as the film’s discovery, a poised and capable lead who matches Cruise rather than decorates him. Several critics rank it above every previous entry.

The reservations are about story rather than spectacle. The plot is called thin, the characters sketchy, Ethan Hunt a blank, and a number of reviews find the film too long and the finale wearing. A few think McQuarrie the least distinctive director the series has had, with editing that blunts some scenes. The spread is fairly narrow. The one outright dissent is The Guardian, which finds it shapeless and exhausting, though even there Ferguson is singled out.

### Reviews we read (23)

- **Empire**, Ian Nathan (90/100, inferred): McQuarrie delivers state-of-the-art thrill-making in a classical mould, making this the best in the franchise. The review singles out the elegant, suspenseful set-pieces (especially the Vienna opera sequence) and the return to pure genre entertainment without sprawl or irony. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-review/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it the second-best franchise entry of the summer after Mad Max: Fury Road thanks to a sharp script with surprises, a nonstop pace, and an absorbing plot that elevates the action set pieces. McQuarrie deepens the drama by isolating Ethan Hunt, with strong praise for Tom Cruise's physical commitment and Rebecca Ferguson's poised performance as Ilsa. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-film-810873/)
- **Variety**, Justin Chang (90/100, inferred): Chang calls it an unusually spry and satisfying entry, commending McQuarrie's clever screenplay for its conceptual unity and lightness, along with Cruise's committed stunt work and the film's knowing sophistication. [Read](https://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-review-tom-cruise-1201547859/)
- **Screen Daily** (85/100, inferred): The film succeeds as the most satisfying, gripping and intelligent entry in the series yet, with a strong yarn from McQuarrie, magnificent action scenes and an excellent turn from Rebecca Ferguson that make it a sexy, propulsive thriller. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-review/5090914.article)
- **IndieWire**, Eric Kohn (70/100, inferred): The review highlights the film's proof that the franchise endures, focusing on its classical spy elements and Rebecca Ferguson's standout role as a refreshing female lead who matches Cruise's energy. McQuarrie's direction brings a tighter, more old-fashioned structure with strong set pieces like the opera sequence. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-mission-impossible-rogue-nation-is-proof-that-some-movie-franchises-wont-quit-60037/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (70/100, inferred): Turan praises the polished entertainment and Cruise's vigilant stewardship of the franchise, highlighting the standout physical action sequences and Rebecca Ferguson's mature, substantial performance as Ilsa Faust. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-mission-impossible-rogue-nation-review-20150731-column.html)
- **Slant Magazine**, Christopher Gray (70/100, inferred): McQuarrie largely maintains the series' kinetic pleasures but is the least distinctive director yet, with blunt editing that weakens some action scenes like the opera sequence; the film excels in visceral thrills and Cruise's commitment to impossible stunts. Ferguson is singled out as the secret weapon for her steely, chaste chemistry with Cruise amid self-conscious commentary on luck versus skill. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/mission-impossible-rogue-nation/)
- **The Independent** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the action exhilarating and the stunts spectacular despite a thin plot and sketchy characters. McQuarrie freshens familiar ingredients from other spy films, with praise for the music, sound design, and Vienna opera sequence. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-movie-review-tom-cruise-50-is-still-like-a-puppy-in-this-relentless-action-soap-opera-10423721.html)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film sleek and engaging rather than just another clenched-jaw blowout, praising its twists, global trotting, gadgets, and strong supporting cast including Rebecca Ferguson as a capable new addition. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/31/movies/review-mission-impossible-rogue-nation-with-tom-cruise-and-plenty-of-stunts.html)
- **Vulture** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film pretty good overall but not as lyrically inventive as Ghost Protocol, singling out Rebecca Ferguson as the best reason to watch for her cool, formidable presence and fighting skills. It succeeds most when playing straight, with highlights in the motorcycle chase and knife fight, though some sequences suffer from choppy editing and overreaching ambitions. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2015/07/movie-review-mission-impossible-rogue-nation.html)
- **Evening Standard**, David Sexton (60/100, inferred): The film is a satisfactory summer blockbuster with genuine tension from Cruise's real stunts, but it is too long, lacks meaning, and grows dull. It matches previous entries without springing many surprises. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-review-cruising-for-a-bruising-10428307.html)
- **Little White Lies**, Adam Woodward (4/3/2): Tom Cruise's hyperkinetic performance and in-camera stunts are the film's main assets, but McQuarrie fails to give the franchise new ambition or resolve its identity crisis, resulting in an unexceptional entry reliant on legacy elements and a thin plot. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/mission-impossible-rogue-nation)
- **Time Out**, Tom Huddleston (3/5): Ethan Hunt remains a blank, unappealing hero and the plot is uninvolving, though Rebecca Ferguson and Sean Harris provide highlights and the action scenes are tight and effective; overall a diverting but empty blockbuster. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/mission-impossible-rogue-nation)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (30/100, inferred): The film delivers relentless action sequences but lacks modulation or narrative shape, feeling like an endurance test despite strong stunts. Rebecca Ferguson stands out as a capable, cerebral femme fatale who outshines others in the cast. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/02/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-review-tom-cruise-rebecca-ferguson)
- **Collider**, Haleigh Foutch (90/100, inferred): The film is the best in the Mission: Impossible series to date and an exceptional sequel that raises the franchise's game. McQuarrie is singled out for his inventive direction, particularly the clear and tense Vienna Opera House set-piece that blends franchise elements without repetition. [Read](https://collider.com/mission-impossible-5-rogue-nation-is-the-perfect-action-sequel/)
- **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it the best in the series yet and the best summer movie of the summer, crediting the smart script and direction by Christopher McQuarrie along with Tom Cruise's impressive action-hero performance. [Read](https://deadline.com/2015/07/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-review-tom-cruise-best-yet-1201485705/)
- **Den of Geek**, Ryan Lambie (4 out of 5): The critic calls it a brisk, hugely entertaining spy thriller with top-notch action direction and imaginative set-pieces that feel fresh. Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust stands out as a welcome, equal-footing addition who delivers some of the film’s best action scenes. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-review-2/)
- **NME**, Nick Levine (3.5): The critic praises the return to practical, old-school stunts and tense set-pieces along with the infectious camaraderie and Cruise’s charisma. Rebecca Ferguson’s well-rounded, ass-kicking Ilsa Faust is singled out as one of the summer’s great female action leads. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-various-artists-16194-312049)
- **/Film**, Angie Han (80/100, inferred): It is another solid entry that matches predecessors in stunts and introduces a standout new character in Ilsa Faust. The film prioritizes thrilling practical action sequences over deep character or thematic depth but succeeds as entertaining popcorn cinema. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/539074/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-review/)
- **The Playlist**, The Playlist Staff (B): The film delivers terrific, well-crafted action set pieces and stunts that carry the story, with strong performances especially from Rebecca Ferguson. The convoluted plot is beside the point for an entertaining, self-aware blockbuster. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/review-mission-impossible-rogue-nation-starring-tom-cruise-rebecca-ferguson-jeremy-renner-more-20150729/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Cassam Looch (70/100, inferred): The film is an overlong yet thrilling action sequel that confirms Tom Cruise's status as a top Hollywood star. It excels in spectacular stunts like the plane sequence but has issues with extended finales and peripheral elements. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-review/)
- **The Wrap**, Alonso Duralde (70/100, inferred): The review finds it delivers solid popcorn thrills with globe-trotting stunts but notes it goes slightly overboard and falls a bit below the prior entry, leading to some fatigue by the end. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-review-tom-cruise-simon-pegg-jeremy-renner-alec-baldwin/)
- **Digital Spy**, Simon Reynolds (60/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a serviceable old-fashioned summer entertainment with strong adrenaline from its set-pieces and a memorable breakthrough turn from Rebecca Ferguson. It is ultimately hampered by functioning mainly as a showcase for Cruise’s stunts, with story and character development taking a backseat. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a660028/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-review-tom-cruises-spy-series-in-need-of-rejuvenation/)

## Details

- **Director:** Christopher McQuarrie
- **Director:** Christopher McQuarrie
- **Screenplay:** Christopher McQuarrie
- **Story:** Drew Pearce, Christopher McQuarrie
- **Cinematography:** Robert Elswit
- **Editor:** Eddie Hamilton
- **Music:** Joe Kraemer
- **Production design:** James D. Bissell
- **Costume design:** Joanna Johnston
- **Producer:** J.J. Abrams, David Ellison, Tom Cruise
- **Cast:** Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt; Jeremy Renner as William Brandt; Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn; Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust; Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell; Sean Harris as Lane; Simon McBurney as Atlee; Zhang Jingchu as Lauren
- **Runtime:** 2h 11m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13
- **Release (the US):** 31 July 2015
- **Genres:** Action, Adventure
- **Budget:** $150 million
- **Box office:** $683 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-qBD17wwrQ

## Where to watch in the US

- Paramount+: streaming, hd
- Tubi: free, hd, leaving 2026-10-01
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd
- Apple TV: add-on, hd
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $16.99, uhd
- Apple TV: buy $16.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-19.*

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## If you liked this

- *North by Northwest* (1959), Fi1m 89: Hitchcock’s suave man on the run, and the template for every crop-duster since. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/north-by-northwest.md)
- *The Man Who Knew Too Much* (1956): An assassination timed to a cymbal crash at the Albert Hall; Vienna owes it everything.
- *Police Story* (1985): Jackie Chan does his own falls through glass, and the outtakes prove it.
- *Haywire* (2011), Fi1m 74: Soderbergh lets Gina Carano fight for real, in hotel rooms, without music. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/haywire.md)
- *Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol* (2011), Fi1m 82: The previous entry: bigger building, sillier plot, the same man refusing a stunt double. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-ghost-protocol.md)

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-rogue-nation