An American action adventure; A story about an agent of a covert American government intelligence agency called IMF, whose order is to infiltrate a criminal organisation. Not all is what it seems when he joins forces with the CIA. The sixth installment of the series never forgets its MO, which is to entertain, and it works as a stand-alone film requiring only a smidgeon of backstory. It has superb staging, a combination of spycraft, intrigue and action. It is as convoluted as the wiring mechanism on a nuclear device but it still manages to keep the viewer's interest with boldness and confidence, thrilling races against time, and trademark surprises. It is all buffed smoothly with a stirring soundtrack. The film's appeal boils down to the visceral - the stunts. Although there isn't a series-defining sequence as there was in the original film, Cruise performing many of his own stunts provides a renewed interest in this series and the spy fantasy subgenre. The film is a bit too long, in particular the third act which drags amid escalating absurdity, a combination of one part fatigue and one part thrill as one high-octane sequence follows another. As an aside, it is worth noting that Tom Cruise is as old here as Roger Moore was in his final outing as the fantasy spy OO7. Both had charisma - the glue that makes these films work. No one hustles harder than Cruise in these films as a 'human special effect'.