Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation - B

Rated PG-13, 132 minutes

No matter your personal, off-screen feelings for Tom Cruise, you have to admit that the action-packed "Mission: Impossible" films, which have been going on now for nearly two decades, are his calling card at this point in his career. As the spy with more than nine lives, his fun and energetic but hardly surprising "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation" once again delivers the goods and is poised to be this summer's next big blockbuster. The IMF agency comes under threat from the Syndicate, a near-mythical organization of assassins and rogue operatives who kill to order. Faced with the IMF's disbandment, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) assembles his team for their final and most difficult mission—to prove the Syndicate's existence and bring the organization down by any means necessary. Directed and written by frequent Cruise collaborator and Oscar-winning writer Christopher McQuarrie ("Jack Reacher," "The Usual Suspects"), "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation" is another fast-paced, action-packed thriller in the "M:I" franchise and the fifth film in the series, showing a muscular resurgence (and while this is good, the previous entry, "Ghost Protocol," is better) along with that familiar, iconic Lalo Schifrin tune. Featuring Cruise and an all-star cast, some familiar faces along with some new ones, including Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Alec Baldwin, and as Cruise's love interest and chief antagonist, Rebecca Ferguson and Sean Harris, respectively, the film's typically preposterous plotting only serves to show off its energy and some well-staged action sequences, including an impressive opening scene (and the one prominently featured in the film's trailers) with Cruise literally hanging off the side of the plane, as well as many breathless car-motorcycle chases, the best one of which occurs mid-film amidst the Moroccan desert, not to mention a sublime underwater scene and a clever climax with more of those all-too familiar masks. Someone is always double-crossing someone in the "M:I" films which makes it seem redundant and confusing, but they're also terrific fun to watch, with some stellar comic support from Pegg as Benji, who by now is in need of his own comedic spinoff spy movie that could put Melissa McCarthy to shame. "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation" has few, if any surprises, but it's still vastly entertaining and a decent thriller that's fun to be a part of. A must-see if you enjoy these movies.