Ultimate Movie Year finds the best released films from weekends past to build an all-star lineup of cinema.

“Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”
Released July 31, 2015
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie

The prologue of “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” may be the best introduction to the film you’re about to watch that I’ve ever seen, and is the defining scene of Tom Cruise’s later career.

The IMF (Impossible Mission Force) team is trying to stop a cargo plane from taking off with a payload of nerve gas. Computer hacker Benji (Simon Pegg) is in the distance with his tablet, trying to stop the plane from taking off. Team members Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Luther (Ving Rhames) are helping remotely, but they can’t stop the flight. Here comes Ethan Hunt (Cruise) out of nowhere, running down (meme alert!) the departing plane and grabbing onto the door as it takes off. Here comes the money shot: Viewing from the back of the wing, we see Hunt on the side of the plane as it takes off in real-time, the ground becoming a distant landscape as our hero hangs on for dear life. No special effects, just practical ingenuity on the part of the filmmakers.