I still remember vividly, going to the cinema to watch the first Mission Impossible.

Rating: 6/10 (4 January 2016)

How time flies. This is the fifth installment in the franchise and it shows no signs of stopping. This film deals with a shadowy organization called "The Syndicate". The job of The Syndicate is to eradicate all existing IMF field operatives.
Naturally The Syndicate crosses paths with Ethan Hunt, and then, all hell ensues. As with all the mission impossible films, action remains the prime focus. We have high-speed car chases, speed-bike chases, underwater action and plenty of gun action in between.
We have Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson in her debut Mission Impossible role. My favorite actor "The Main Man" Alec Baldwin makes his first appearance in the franchise. I'm always glad to see him. I consider him the best of the Baldwin brothers in both appearance and personality. He is capable of carrying an entire film on his own if given the opportunity. Check his films out: as Adam Maitland inBeetlejuice (1988), as Jack Ryan in the action thriller The Hunt for Red October (1990), as Lamont Cranston in The Shadow(1994 too good film), as Robert "Bob" Green alongside Oscar winning British actor Anthony Hopkins in The Edge and as Jed alongside Nicole kidman in Malice(1993).
Back to the film. Tom Cruise plays his role in a stereotypical fashion. He acts know for acting's sake and to show the world that he still is as young as he used to be. But time conquers all. As in the classic tale of the tortoise and hare, the one who started last, ends up winning. I'm referring to time/downfall as the tortoise and youth and beauty/success as the hare. Another moral: no one can claim to be immortal - good luck Mr. Cruise.
You can even see the class difference between Alec Baldwin and Tom Cruise. Alec is clearly a superior and much underrated actor. Alec is four years older than Tom.
I must again mention that casting Mr. Pegg as a sidekick to inject a dose of comedy in the movie is a bad idea. Why not instead cast Jim Carrey for the role. Probably for the reason that he'd steal the show. I also do not like Ving Rhames. I prefer Jean Reno over Rhames.
Verdict: Christopher McQuarrie who is mostly a writer known for winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Usual Suspects, directs the film. His other directed films Jack Reacher and The Way Of The Gun. I would not call him an experienced director. Joe Kraemer handles the music in the film. He does his job well, however he has only worked in a meager amount of B-films. An Alan Silvestri, James Horner, Christopher Young, Jerry Goldsmith, Basil Poledouris, Giorgio Moroder, Danny Elfman he will never even approach those Titans Of Film Music. Robert Elswit is the real veteran cinematographer in the group and he is the one that saves this film from utter disaster.
Now I must mention the villain in the film: Sean Harris who I immediately recognized because he starred in Prometheus(2012). He is incompetent in the role of a villain. I have seen better villains like Allan Rickman who played Hans Gruber in Die Hard(1988), Anthony Hopkins as the nefarious doctor Hannibal Lector, Doug Bradley who played Pinhead in the Hellraiser films.
Overall a decent way to spend some time but inferior to the original first film which remains the best in the franchise.
Thank you for reading my review. Live long and prosper.