While Rogue Nation feels weaker compared to Ghost Protocol, that still leaves a fair bit of room for greatness. The humor, action setpieces and wicked spy gadgetry are a good deal more muted, but in some aspects RN could be considered superior. The villain is far more memorable than Cobalt, with understandable motives I wish the film had explored more. On a related note, RN flirts with some interesting subtext about the expendability of people, and the morality behind governments committing evils for their own interests versus a terrorist organization like the Syndicate committing evils for the interests of the world. It's not terribly substantive, but it's more than the franchise has attempted before, and I prefer that approach to a forgettable action flick that eats up screen time pretending to be profound. This also features one of the best and tightest plots I can think of that revolve around clandestine master manipulators, though I might need a second viewing to confirm.