Mission Impossible: Fallout

For a series going into its twenty-second year, the "Mission: Impossible" franchise didn't, until recently, feel particularly beholden to the usual modern franchise rules - varied tones as different directors came in and out, with the main thing tying things together a couple of key iconic moments from the TV series ("Your mission if you choose to accept it", the rubber masks, Lalo Schifrin's uber-tense theme tune) with a range of ridiculous stunts for Cruise to indulge in. They've become a tad more sequential since the fourth film made reference to what happened to the wife that Cruise had acquired in the third film, and the fifth made reference to the events of the fourth as reasons why they IMF are completely irresponsible and should be shut down. But this one's the first direct follow-up - it carries over the female lead and villain of the last one and keeps the supporting cast virtually intact (except for Jeremy Renner, who sits this one out) as stolen nuclear warheads lead to a globetrotting adventure that involves releasing last film's nemesis, re-engaging with the last film's femme fatale and even catching up with that wife we hadn't seen substantially for three films.

If there's a criticism it is that the film does kinda believe the audience is far more engaged with the minutiae of previous films than it actually is - but to a certain extent, all gets forgiven as the stunts get increasingly outlandish and the action sequences ever more tense. If the actual plotting gets a bit random, it's hardly the reason you're coming along, and the finale which combines a high-stakes helicopter chase for cruise with a log-cabin fightout between villian, femme fatale and Simon Pegg's tech guy keeps tension high for as long as it possibly can. I don't know that I need another round with Sean Harris' baddie - two films in, he's still more whispering menance than anything particularly intriguing or motivational - though Rebecca Fergoson's femme fatale does have a nice wild-card energy that has managed to get her almost to co-protagonist level with Cruise (she's usually the one more likely to be changed and affected by the events of any one film). Still, this is glossy international spytrotting entertainment done right, and provides all the right thrills.