"Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation"

Let’s be clear…Tom Cruise is a badass. And the only reason we don’t recognize this fact, is because we’ve fallen for the dumb stuff about his Scientology beliefs. But make no mistake, that’s him hanging on the side of a cargo plane. Are you friggin’ serious?! The physics of the move itself is immortalized. Also keep in mind, through the decades, we’ve had John Wayne, Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. If you went pound for pound what he’s been able to do physically at their age versus Cruise at the same age…I’m not sure how to word this: This motherfucker takes the crown.

And it’s not just this one stunt. He gives you this for free. The rest of the movie has him in peril throughout. Because they do this awesome thing, where they switch the terms. He is no longer the hunter, but the hunted. And they saddle him with people we like. But are they good or bad? Are they will the IMF or against them. As fictional as it may seem, these special task force of spies are believable.

They are fun, they are precise, and just having Rebecca Ferguson (who plays Ilsa) added to the mix makes for the next installments interesting. They make no mention of Michelle Monaghan  who married Ethan Hunt in previous installments. Will she make a return? Who knows? We do know Ilsa could be an older sister to her, looks wise. Ilsa is a great character. She is beautiful and lethal. The big talk about Michelle Yeoh going head to head in “Tomorrow Never Dies” is pale in comparison to when Ilsa does go hand to hand against a male henchman. She physically looks like she can do it.

What makes this also such a great time is…Cruise is often dumbfounded by how he’s able to survive when odd things happen. It could be a nod to even the cheekiest of Roger Moore’s Bond. Straighten your tie after throwing someone off a roof-type stuff. But that’s the joy of it. It actually doesn’t get tiring. For example a scene where (and I’m not ruining it since it’s in the trailer) he just came back from the dead…and he and Benji have to go on a high speed chase. It’s absolutely ridiculous to have Cruise drive in his condition. They address it. But they use it for great laughs. Reactions to just…bizarre moments. Even Renner and Rhames gets in on the fun. Particularly watching Pegg and Cruise flip a BMW end over end in what can end in permanent injury, they banter about the incident like a great Preston Sturges gab fest.

This movie is what espionage movies were about. Brisk and expertly made. It moves from location to location and doesn’t seem forced. This is by far the best action movie this summer. Why? Because even though the techno gibberish is goofy, THEY make it work. Through self-referential humor. Or just addressing the nonsense of spy-dom, this is the fun we may not see in the new James Bond. So lap it up while you can.