ReelBob: ‘Mission: Impossible: Fallout’ ★★★

By Bob Bloom

Fasten your theater seats — Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt as “Mission: Impossible: Fallout” rockets onto the screen.

This latest outing moves at such an accelerated pace that its 147-minute running time zooms by like a flash.

“Fallout” reverberates with references dating back to the initial movie in the series, as Hunt and his Impossible Mission Force team battle adversaries old and new.

This sixth “M.I.” plays like a feature on steroids. It gallops from set piece to set piece, from chase to chase and from stunt to stunt with hardly a let up.

You almost wish you could call a time out to catch your breath.

Forget the preposterous plot or the outlandish, over-the-top action and fight sequences; thanks to Cruise, director Christopher McQuarrie and their army of stunt personnel, “Fallout” is an adrenaline rush that, at times, keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The plot is the tried-and-true IMF staple: a race against time to secure a deadly device, smash a terrorist organization and unmask the secretive leader of the gang.

Complications, personal and professional, arise offering more and more challenges and obstacles for Hunt to overcome in order to succeed.

Honestly, though, it’s not the plot, but the infectious manner in which the cast and the filmmakers simply speed along not really worrying if any of it makes sense or is logical.

Cruise, now closer to 60 than 50, has matured in the role. His boyish charm and looks are beginning to weather slightly, which gives him a more mature and masterful air of authority.

And, bless him, Cruise should be an inspiration for any AARP member. He is the best runner in movies. When he begins to sprint, you are impressed by the clenched jaw, the legs churning like pistons and the arms propelling him forward.

Cruise is the poster boy for star power and cinematic charisma, even in a vehicle that most would consider a junk-food, disposable feature.

Seeing him leap from rooftop to rooftop or dangle from the undercarriage of a helicopter defines what makes the “Mission: Impossible” franchise so popular.

Along for the ride are such old colleagues such as Ving Rhames’ Luther, Simon Pegg’s Benji and Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust.

The new face is Henry Cavill’s Walker, a CIA operative and assassin, forced onto Hunt’s team by government in-fighting and politics.

Cavill displays a more lethal and calculating nature than he does as the last son of Krypton.

“Mission: Impossible: Fallout” is an irresistibly entertaining movie, with a death-defying, cliffhanger finale that will leave your heart pounding.

Class, mayhem and energy make the perfect recipe for this extravagant, summer blockbuster.

I am a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT
3 stars out of 4
(PG-13), action and bloody violence, language