Mission Impossible returns to us with it’s 5th installment entitled “Rogue Nation’ again with the ever enthusiastic Cruise at the helm to see if he can improve on what already is a good well established franchise.

This time Cruise is on the run from his own government after the IMF are shut down and absorbed by the CIA (by Alec Baldwin) after the carnage Cruise et al left in their wake in the previous film. In turn this has led the US Government to become sceptical of Ethan Hunt’s suspicion of a mass terrorist group known as ‘The Syndicate’ are killing off a series of the most influential people on the planet. Then we have chase sequences, good set pieces, crosses, double crosses, triple crosses and Shaun Pegg giving us plenty of laughs to boot.

The plot is everything we come to know about espionage, and that’s fine so long as it isn’t repetitive and dull and what this film does is use its pacing and action to implement a plot that we have perhaps seen before, but make it unnoticeable in that fact. From the first scene we are treated to the marquee scene of Cruise holding onto a taking off plane and from there they waste no time in going from a torture scene, to a spoiled assassination, to infiltrating a stronghold, to a car chase… and suddenly we’re into the second half of the film. The script is dealt with in such a way that necessary details are laid out in front of you to connect the dots together and while the backgrounds of our cast are somewhat of a mystery, in this case the film didn’t need to spend time fleshing them out in this way. That is not what Mission Impossible fans go to see their films for. Instead what we are treated to is action with the right blend of innovation without being completely ridiculous and staying entertaining throughout.

The cast hit all the right notes. Ving Rhames returns to add some nostalgia to the team, Jeremy Renner returns in a more limited capacity but for his character it makes sense, Cruise gives us Ethan Hunt as entertaining as ever and Simon Pegg adds the comedy and hi-tech nous we know him for. But the gold stars go to the franchises newcomers. Rebecca Fergerson’s character was entertaining, well thought out and has a proper arc, something not seen in a lesser billed actor in a while. She ends up being the central piece to the ongoing chess match between Hunt and the Syndicate and motives you are left guessing until the very end. Lastly we have a proper villain. Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) gives you everything you want from a villain without being ridiculous. Seemingly without flaw he comes across as a match and more for Hunt in every way and is played with a cold calmness that is unnerving and very watchable. Harris hit the right notes of being relatable to the plot but without turning into a cartoon villain.

The only gripe with the film is that the running time is it is a tad too long, but that’s it. It is hard to believe that the studio was rumored to tried have sacked Cruise after the 3rd installment, although this was around his Oprah sofa jumping/scientology spouting days, as this seems to be the moment Cruise has made this franchise his by will and doesn’t seem planning on stopping with already announcing shooting of the next one in the Summer of 2016.

TL;DR

What I now consider the 2nd best film in the franchise the film is fun action adventure entertainment that will leave you anything but bored. Regular cast put in a good shift but additions of Rebecca Ferguson and Sean Harris polish the film into one of the best of the year in the genre.

86/100