I must have missed something fundamentally riveting about this film, or, the film is mostly the same as any other Mission Impossible film - Bike chases, car chases, aerial chases - it's all there and as good or as cheesy as the previous films. The story, however, did not hold my interest. Simply put, it's about thwarting a terrorist attack by double crossing double agents. Seen that before? The issue isn't just the tired old save-the-world generic script but the heavy onus on Tom Cruise to hoist and thus save the film from mediocrity; which he does single-handedly. But it isn't enough. The action choreography, though thrilling, has all been done before. Not only in previous films of this franchise, but the same as in the Die Hard and Bond films. If John McClane can take down a helicopter with a car and James Bond can take out a motorcade with a plane, then guess what? So can Ethan Hunt. But if these are standard expectations in superspy films, then there should also be a super villain we all love to hate. How good was Philip Seymour Hoffman in MI3? In this film, the villain, who turns out to be a double agent (SURPRISE!) is an embarrassment to the entire cinematic world of villains. But I like how he ended up resembling Two-face from the DC comics (so much for being a double agent...two face, get it?).

So if I recommend this film, it would only be for Tom Cruise and his infectious energy in every scene, with one in particular revealing Ethen Hunt has a heart of gold. As Maveric, Ron Kovic, Cole Trickle, Lt. Kaffee, Lestat, Jerry Maguir, Les Grossman, Tom Cruise has immense versatility matched only by his onscreen magnetism. At 56 he's still got it and probably the only reason "Mission Impossible - Fallout" is watchable. That said, the second biggest disappointment (after the wooden villain) is the lack of any real mission that is seemingly impossible to pull off. Part of what made the earlier films thrilling was just that: the hi-tech heist. From dangling upside down to steal a microchip in the first film to actually holding his breath for six minutes underwater in "Rogue Nation" (to steal another computer chip), doing the impossible was one of the highlights of those films. None of that here and no hi-tech gizmos either. Instead, new director Christopher McQuarrie (who previously wrote the brilliant "The Usual Suspects" and "Edge of Tomorrow") settles for oomph over an actual story that lets us care about any of the characters. Even the whimsical team camaraderie we loved about the previous films are missing here with Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg taking a back seat (and Jeremy Renner nowhere to be seen). Driven by its strong action formula, "Fallout" will entertain the masses, but memories of which will self-destruct in less than five months. If that sounds corny, wait till you see the last thirty minutes...or the longest 15 minutes in cinema to diffuse a nuclear bomb.