Some great set pieces especially the underwater heist and the opera scene but overall a step backwards in terms of direction, script, and cinematography. Sean Harris and his weak chin make for a good villain and the ‘anti-IMF’ concept is strong: this should have been the foundation for a two-parter not DEAD RECKONING’s nebulous rogue AI.
The tone is thankfully carried over from GHOST PROTOCOL but unfortunately ROGUE NATION marks the point at which the franchise decides to be to ‘friendship’ what the Fast & Furious franchise is to ‘family’. There’s some ironic commentary on the franchise itself and the script deliberately subverts many of the Mission: Impossible tropes that have developed but, given where the franchise goes in the next few films, it feels less like subversion and more like stagnation.