[7]

Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) jumps into the directing chair and delivers the best Mission Impossible of the first five movies. Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt, performing his own stunts as usual, which this time includes hanging onto the side of a plane through takeoff and flight. Together with returning team members played by Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner, and Simon Pegg, Ethan must stop a shadowy rogue organization called The Syndicate, led by Sean Harris, from tricking world governments into war. Adding intrigue to the proceedings is new co-star Rebecca Ferguson (Doctor Sleep, Dune) as a mysterious agent who seems to be working for both The Syndicate and the IMF.

Yes, it’s another arbitrary, interchangeable plotline, but with this sort of action movie it’s character that really matters. Rogue Nation finally makes good use of one of its long-disregarded but strongest assets — it’s supporting cast. Rhames, Renner, and Pegg are full-fledged team members with extended screen time. These actors, all highlights of past installments, bring immense likability and charisma to this fifth film. Their camaraderie with Cruise is the glue that keeps the audience engaged. And Ferguson is a hell of an added bonus. She’s stunningly bad-ass, a solid actor on Cruise’s par or beyond.

The set pieces this time around are finally up to the standards of a James Bond film. There’s an elaborate car and motorcycle chase through the streets of Casablanca, as well as a beautifully staged assassination attempt during an opera house production of Puccini’s Turandot, inviting welcome memories of Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much. Listen for cool, clever reprises of Puccini’s love theme within Joe Kraemer’s soundtrack — possibly the most energetic and propulsive score in the entire series.

With Alec Baldwin, Simon McBurney, and Tom Hollander.